When one thinks of metro Detroit, tequila isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. Nayana and Don Ferguson, of Canton Township, are aiming to change that with their Anteel brand of tequilas.
The husband-and-wife team came to the business by a circuitous route. In 2016 they were vacationing in the Dominican Republic, where tequila is a popular drink. They recall dining outside, enjoying tequila, and noticing lots of Antillean hummingbirds.
“They were all over the place. They had such pretty colors,” Don says. “Now, fast-forward to 2017. I was working as a vice president of operations for a downtown Detroit mortgage company, and Nayana was working as a financial analyst in the auto industry. Her job got outsourced, and I made the decision to try and figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.”
It was then that Nayana asked Don the critical question: If you could do anything you wanted, what would it be? The answer was unexpected. He said the couple should own their own tequila company.
But realistically, Don thought there was no way it could happen.
His wife was quick to challenge that notion. As a 17-year survivor of pancreatic cancer and an 11-year survivor of breast cancer, she knows the importance of faith and positive thinking. She investigated the tequila business and found distiller Casa Maestri in Mexico within a couple of days (by legal definition, tequila can only be made in Mexico).
The couple invested their life savings and were able to work with the distiller to develop their own recipes for their brands of tequila. They got their product on the market within 11 months — fast for a startup, Don says. It helped that tequila doesn’t have an aging requirement, like scotch or bourbon.
They developed a blanco, or white tequila; a reposado tequila, which is aged briefly in barrels that were originally used for rosé wine; and an anejo tequila, which is aged for more than a year.
And with that, Anteel was born — and named after the colorful Antillean hummingbirds in the Dominican Republic. Over the past five years, the company has grown slowly but steadily, and it can now be found in 15 states. This year the couple expects to sell at least 7,500 cases; each case contains six bottles.
The cost of a bottle of blanco is $31, a bottle of blood orange blanco is $36.99, coconut lime blanco costs $36, and a bottle of reposado is $44.99.
Don credits the couple’s business sense and experience, as well as their patience, for bringing about success. He explains too many tequilas try to grow too quickly, and says the impact of the bottle’s shape can’t be underestimated.
He and Nayana asked their customers — restaurants and liquor stores — what they preferred. The answer was simple: a bottle that’s easy for bartenders to handle and can be stored tightly on shelves.
The tequila is sold in liquor and grocery stores.
In metro Detroit, it can be found at multiple outlets, from the Kroger on Gratiot Avenue in Roseville to Oxford Beverage in Grosse Pointe Woods. People also can order the product online. To order online or to find out where Anteel is sold, visit teeqspirits.com.
