Celebrity-backed spirits brands are increasingly turning to original music as a brand-building tool, and Don Gato Tequila is the latest to make that bet. The additive-free tequila brand created by actor and producer Danny McBride has commissioned "Cool Times," an original song written, produced and performed by Charlotte-rooted artist Jon Lindsay, with longtime collaborator Benji Hughes on backing vocals.
The Song and the Spot
The track debuts in a one-minute house-party advertisement written, directed and shot by Chris Walldorf — a Don Gato co-owner — in Charleston. The spot follows Don Gato, the brand's fictional undefeated luchador-turned-tequila-maker, as he pours drinks at a sun-soaked poolside gathering before eventually taking the party into the pool. Musically, "Cool Times" is described as warm and loose, leaning into the unhurried, late-afternoon sensibility that defines the brand's aesthetic. The song title draws directly from Don Gato's "Made good. For cool times." tagline, extending a campaign that has already earned recognition from Ad Age, Adweek and MediaPost. McBride and director David Gordon Green built the brand's creative world through a series of "Saga of All Sagas" films mixing lucha libre mythology, cats and McBride's signature comedic tone.
"I've been a fan of the world Danny created for Don Gato from day one," said Lindsay. "The ads have been insane and deserve the recognition. With as hard as the guys were going at the 'cool times' vibe, I couldn't believe there wasn't already a slammin' song for it."
Tequila Meets Trade Storytelling
For beverage operators and on-premise accounts, the Don Gato campaign illustrates how craft-positioned spirits are investing in narrative depth rather than conventional advertising. Don Gato is produced from 100% blue agave grown in the Lowlands of Jalisco, Mexico, and is available in Blanco and Reposado expressions — a tight, focused portfolio that aligns with the brand's emphasis on quality and character over line extensions. The additive-free positioning speaks directly to a hospitality audience increasingly fielding questions from guests about what's actually in their glass.
The personal connections behind the project are notable. Walldorf attended film school with McBride; Lindsay and Hughes have collaborated since their early North Carolina days and toured nationally together as recently as last year, including a stop at SXSW. The creative density of those relationships gives the campaign an authenticity that purely transactional brand partnerships often lack — a quality that resonates with bar and restaurant operators building curated back-bar selections and looking for spirits with genuine stories to tell guests.
For operators watching how celebrity spirits brands compete, Don Gato's model — lean portfolio, strong visual mythology, original creative — offers a case study worth tracking alongside broader beverage industry trends. As restaurant and bar programming becomes an increasingly important differentiator for full-service operators, partnerships that blur the line between spirits marketing and entertainment content are shaping how guests discover and request brands by name.
The track is released through Daffin Records, which also released Lindsay's fourth LP, Big Stage, in 2025. This story was first flagged to RHFNews through Food & Beverage Magazine.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
