Two Truckloads of Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagar's Tequila Stolen in $1M Heist: 'It's Like a Movie'
Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagar's joint alcohol brand, Santo Tequila, had two of its trucks hijacked and robbed of over 4,000 cases of the distilled spirit in Texas last month — like something straight out of a Hollywood movie — resulting in an estimated $1 million loss for the company as its works to replace the bottles that can take up to 39 months to create.
Indeed, "It's like a movie, but it's real," Fieri said in an interview.
The two trucks were hijacked in Laredo, Texas, per reports, soon after they crossed the international border. The dual loads of alcohol were headed for markets in California and Pennsylvania. In total, the trucks were carrying 4,040 cases of Santo Tequila — that's 24,240 bottles — including the brand's blanco, reposado and a special extra añejo.
Now, Santo Tequila is left to deal with the impact of the surreal, oversized heist. Hagar, the former Van Halen singer and noted tequila lover, started the Santo brand back in 2017, bringing his buddy, fellow tequila enjoyer and food personality Fieri, onboard in 2019.
"We've worked so hard," Fieri continued to People. "This [2024] is our best year we've ever had in Santo. We just had all this momentum, and now whatever's on the shelf is all people are going to get."
Santo Tequila president Dan Butkus also spoke about the robbery and its effect on the company, underscoring that the loss of revenue will affect everyone related to the brand — from the distiller to the sales department.
"Our distiller is an independent distiller who's dependent on our sales for his livelihood and that of his team," Butkus said. "My sales team, my marketing team, the entire Santo Spirits team is dependent upon these sales. ... That's sort of the piece that's most hurtful to me. We've got to support these people both at the distillery and in the U.S., and we can't do it right now without the revenue from these cases."
Butkus added that around 35% of Santa Tequila's sales occur during November and December, as Forbes reported, driving home the effect of the theft on the Santo brand and the inconvenience it will cause for tequila consumers this holiday season.
