Cabo Wabo is a nightclub, restaurant and bar company founded in 1990 by American rock musicians Sammy Hagar, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, and Michael Anthony. Located in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Sammy Hagar bought out the rest of the Van Halen members in 1996 after several years of bad management. Franchises exist along the Las Vegas Strip and on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.[1] It also has its own signature brand of tequila with the title of same name of the company.[2]
Hagar, who already had a successful music career, first visited the Mexican town of Cabo San Lucas in the early 1980s, before joining Van Halen in July 1985 after the departure of their founding singer, David Lee Roth. Seeking a place for himself and his friends to relax and play music, Hagar, and his long time friend, Marco Monroy, partnered up with fellow Van Halen members Michael Anthony and Edward and Alex Van Halen and opened a large bar, restaurant, and performance space named after the band's 1988 song "Cabo Wabo."
Launched in April 1990, the cantina was initially a financial failure, leading Hagar to buy out his bandmates. Under new management, the bar became popular with both locals and tourists as the town quickly grew into a major resort. In 2004, after plans fell through to open in Las Vegas, Hagar opened a second location in the basement of the historic Harvey's casino on the south shore of Lake Tahoe. However, that location has since closed. [3][4] A third location was opened in Fresno, California in 2008,[5] but had its license pulled by Hagar at the beginning of 2009. Cabo Wabo Las Vegas opened in The Miracle Mile shopping center at Planet Hollywood in November 2009. The club typically attracts an older adult clientele with its mostly rock music selection.[6]
Hagar claims he coined the name after watching a man walk unsteadily along a local beach after a heavy night's partying. Using the town's nickname, Cabo (which means "cape" in Spanish), and shortening "wobble" to "wabo" he said of the man that he was doing the "Cabo wabo." Hagar later used the phrase in his lyrics and title for the Van Halen song.
Tequila
Patrons drinking in a portion of the cantina
In the late 1990s, Hagar began selling his patrons a house brand of hand-made tequila he commissioned from a family-owned distillery in the state of Jalisco. In 1999, Winston 'Win' Wilson of Wilson-Daniels, a fine wine and liquor importer and distributor from Napa Valley began to import the tequila into the United States. An instant success, sales rose from 37,000 cases the first year to 140,000 cases in 2006, making it the second-best selling premium tequila in the United States.[7]
Several of the Cabo Wabo offerings have performed quite well at international spirit ratings competitions. The añejo offering received three silver, one gold and one double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition between 2008 and 2012.[8] Its reposado tequila received a score of 92 from the 2008 Beverage Testing Institute.[9] The blanco tequila received a gold medal at the 2020 New York International Spirits Competition. [10]
In May 2007 it was announced that Hagar would sell an 80% interest in Cabo Wabo Tequila to Gruppo Campari, the world's sixth-largest spirits company, for $80 million. Skyy Spirits of San Francisco, a vodka producer and subsidiary of Gruppo Campari, planned to market Cabo Wabo globally, with continued participation by Hagar. Gerry Ruvo, president and chief executive of Skyy Spirits, said, "Sammy has done a fantastic job building the brand, so we are going to obviously spend time with him and work with him to continue our efforts to take the brand to an even larger level, both here in the US and, more important, globally." Ruvo said Great Britain, Spain, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan, Germany and Italy are considered key expansion markets for tequila.[11]
Logo
In 1990 Noel Vestri was hired to design the original logo for the cantina.[citation needed] The logo for the tequila has since changed. Its newest iteration occurred in 2009 with a minimalist design featuring the letters in a weathered western font of silver.[12]
Michael Anthony Sobolewski is an American musician who was the bassist and backing vocalist for the hard rock band Van Halen from 1974 to 2006. He performed on Van Halen's first 11 albums and was their longest-tenured bassist. Following his 2006 departure, Anthony has collaborated with fellow former Van Halen bandmate Sammy Hagar for the supergroups Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar and the Circle. In addition to his music career, he markets a line of hot sauces named Mad Anthony and related products. Anthony was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen in 2007.
Cabo San Lucas, also known simply as Cabo, is a resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 202,694. Cabo San Lucas, together with the famous San José del Cabo are collectively known as Los Cabos. Together, they form a metropolitan area of 351,111 inhabitants.
Sam Roy Hagar, also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a successful solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "I Can't Drive 55". He enjoyed further commercial success when he replaced David Lee Roth as the lead vocalist of Van Halen in 1985, but left in 1996. He returned to the band from 2003 to 2005. In 2007, Hagar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen. His musical style primarily consists of hard rock and heavy metal.
OU812 is the eighth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1988 and is the band's second album to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. Van Halen began work on the album in September 1987 and completed it in April 1988, one month before its release.
Campari America, formerly known as Skyy Spirits, is an American spirits maker that is part of the Campari Group, the family of companies also known as Davide Campari-Milano N.V., a publicly traded company on the Milan stock exchange. Founder Maurice Kanbar launched SKYY Vodka, and its namesake company, Skyy Spirits, in 1992 in San Francisco. Sometime in the early 2000s Davide Campari-Milano acquired Skyy Spirits and changed its name to Campari America in 2012. It moved its US headquarters from San Francisco to New York City in 2018.
Jose Cuervo is the best-selling brand of tequila, selling a fifth of the tequila consumed worldwide.
Dos Lunas is a line of 100% blue agave tequilas produced in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, by Dos Lunas Spirits, LLC, headquartered in El Paso, Texas. The brand has the first triple-distilled silver tequila, a month aged Reposado, 18 month aged Añejo and 10 year old Extra Añejo.
El Espolón is a brand of tequila from Campari America. The tequila is produced by the Casa San Nicolas brand in the Los Altos (Highlands) region of Jalisco, Mexico. It has four products which are Blanco, Reposado, Añejo and Cristalino tequila. Each one is 80 proof or 40% ABV.
Red Voodoo is the eleventh studio album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, and his first album to feature his band the Waboritas. This album was released on March 23, 1999, by MCA Records. When Hagar finished touring in support of his Marching to Mars album, he recorded this album. Red Voodoo is an extension of the party atmosphere that permeated Hagar's concerts on that tour and the album contains a party-vibe. "Mas Tequila" was the lead single and alluded to Hagar's other career endeavor, as his Cabo Wabo tequila was being distributed throughout the United States.
Jesse Harms is an American musician and songwriter. He has worked with Sammy Hagar, David Lee Roth, Eddie Money, REO Speedwagon, Bad English, Guitar Shorty, Patty Smyth, and McAuley Schenker Group.
Davide Campari-Milano N.V., trading as Campari Group, is an Italian company active since 1860 in the branded beverage industry. It produces spirits, wines, and non-alcoholic apéritifs. From its signature product, Campari, its portfolio has been extended to include over 50 brands, including Aperol, Appleton, Cinzano, SKYY vodka, Espolón, Wild Turkey, Grand Marnier, and Forty Creek whisky.
The Van Halen Tour 2004 was a North American concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen. It was the band's first tour since 1998 and saw the return of lead singer Sammy Hagar, who left the band in 1996 after tensions with lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
Sammy Hagar, also known as the Red Rocker, is an American musician and songwriter with a music career spanning over 40 years. He rose to prominence during the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Montrose, which was his first band and debut into music. He left the band sometime in the mid-1970s and embraced a solo career, releasing his debut studio album Nine on a Ten Scale in 1976. He has since kept a steady successful solo career, achieving a hit in 1984 with "I Can't Drive 55". Hagar later joined Van Halen, replacing lead singer David Lee Roth in 1985. Hagar is also known for having associated and being a member of various other bands.
Don Julio is a brand of tequila produced in Mexico. It is the largest brand in value and eighth largest in volume. Its owned by the British-based multinational alcoholic beverage maker Diageo. It is distilled, manufactured and bottled by Tequila Don Julio, S.A. de C.V. from its corporate facility in the Colonia El Chichimeco district, in the city of Atotonilco El Alto, Jalisco, Mexico.
Chickenfoot is an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2008. The group consists of vocalist Sammy Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani, and drummer Chad Smith. Due to Smith's consistent recording and touring commitments with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kenny Aronoff joined the group in 2011 as a touring replacement drummer. While the band has not formally announced a breakup, in June 2016 Smith said that he had doubts about its survival due to their busy schedules.
Sauza Tequila Import Company is a producer of tequila located in Tequila, a municipality of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It was founded in 1873 when Don Cenobio Sauza started La Perseverancia distillery. Sauza Tequila Import Company is owned by Beam Suntory, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Their products include Sauza, Conmemorativo, Hornitos and Tres Generaciones.
1800 Tequila is a Mexican brand of tequila owned by the Beckmann family, who also own the Jose Cuervo tequila brand. The 100% blue agave tequila is bottled in Jalisco, Mexico. 1800 is named after the year tequila was first aged in oak casks, and is sold throughout the world. In the United States, the brand is owned by the Beckmann family's company, Proximo Spirits.
Tequila Avión is produced in Jalisco, Mexico, from the Agave grown at the highest elevations. Tequila Avión won multiple awards in the 2011 and 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The drink's parent company was founded by Ken Austin and aviation entrepreneur Kenny Dichter in 2009.
Maestro Dobel Tequila is a Mexican brand of blended tequila owned by the Beckmann Family, who also own the Jose Cuervo tequila brand. Maestro Dobel is distributed by Proximo Spirits.
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