Astral Tequila, the brand Diageo has owned since 2020, has become the official tequila partner of Practical Magic 2, the Warner Bros. sequel opening in US theaters on September 10, 2026, according to trade outlet The Spirits Business.
The tie-in centers on a five-part social series called It's Midnight Somewhere, starring real-life sisters Brooks Nader and Grace Ann Nader, and pairs with a branded margarita tour running through four US cities this summer and early September, Maxim and The Spirits Business reported.
What the campaign includes
The microdrama and its surrounding push reference a specific scene from the original 1998 Practical Magic, in which Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman's characters make margaritas and drink tequila with their aunts at midnight. The Spirits Business described the tie-in as reviving that scene through Astral's own social content and a signature drink, the Astral Midnight Margarita, which the outlet reported is a frozen blend of Astral Blanco, lime juice and cream of coconut, garnished with a lime wheel and now on menus at bars and restaurants around the country. Jenn Rapp, director of the tequila and mezcal portfolio at Diageo North America, said the midnight margaritas tradition reflects Astral's belief that the best nights are made brighter by the people sharing them, an idea the brand is folding into the promotion. Brooks and Grace Ann Nader, quoted by Maxim, said making the series felt on brand for them given the shared theme of sisterhood. A companion tour, also branded It's Midnight Somewhere, has stopped at The Tall Ship in Boston and Salem Witch Fest in Massachusetts, running August 18 through 22, with further dates at Chicago's Edgewater Festival, Coney Island Fireworks in Brooklyn on September 4, and AMC Lincoln Square in Manhattan on September 9, according to The Spirits Business. The trailer stops offer tarot readings, photo opportunities and giveaways for guests of legal drinking age.
Why Diageo is leaning on Astral now
The push lands as Diageo's flagship tequila brands struggle in the US. The company's fiscal 2026 results, filed with regulators, showed US tequila net sales falling 21.1%, with Don Julio down 19.2% and Casamigos down 27.7% for the year, driven by a softer category and tougher competition. Diageo executives have previously said some consumers are trading down from the super-premium tier occupied by Don Julio and Casamigos into the premium segment where Astral is positioned, in the roughly $19 to $35 range in the US. A Diageo executive told trade press in late 2025 that the company was leaning into Astral to capture that shift as the tequila category overall softened. Diageo's own fiscal-year filing separately noted the company cut marketing investment by 13.6% organically even as it pursued cost savings of roughly $1 billion over three years.
Astral's ownership and the rest of the studio's tie-in roster
Astral was founded by Master Sommelier Richard Betts and is produced at La Cofradia, listed under NOM 1137 in the Tequila Valley of Jalisco. Diageo acquired the brand in 2020 as part of an up-to-$610 million deal for Aviation American Gin and its parent, Davos Brands, a transaction that also brought Sombra Mezcal and TYKU Sake into Diageo's portfolio, according to Diageo's own announcement and law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, which advised on the deal. Astral is one of several brand partners lined up around Practical Magic 2's release, joining SharkNinja, Charlotte Tilbury, Wayfair, Loungefly, Blaze Pizza, Pinkberry and Scentsy among others, The Hollywood Reporter found in a roundup of the film's merchandise and marketing tie-ins. The film itself, based on Alice Hoffman's 2021 novel The Book of Magic, reunites Bullock and Kidman with a cast that includes Joey King, Lee Pace and Stockard Channing.
What this means
Diageo does not break out Astral's sales separately in its public filings, so the tour and microdrama's actual effect on volume is not independently verifiable from anything published so far. What is documented is the timing: a mid-tier tequila brand attaching itself to a major theatrical release at the same moment its parent company is reporting double-digit declines across its higher-priced tequila labels.