John Wayne's favorite tequila was Sauza Conmemorativo Anejo, a 100 percent blue agave tequila from Jalisco, Mexico, according to Tasting Table's reporting on the actor's drinking habits, not Patron or Don Julio.
The pairing comes from Wayne's own words. In a Playboy interview published in May 1971, the actor was asked about tequila and answered by naming the brand directly, saying Conmemorativo tequila was as fine a liquor as there is in the world. Tasting Table's coverage also points to an earlier, more theatrical gesture: Wayne is reported to have gifted cases of the tequila to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during Khrushchev's 1959 visit to the United States.
What Wayne Said About the Tequila He Drank
In the same 1971 interview, Wayne went further than a passing compliment, telling Playboy the tequila outranked whiskey and schnapps and every other drink he had ever had in his life. Tasting Table's writeup on Wayne's food and drink habits frames the choice as unpretentious for a star of his stature: Wayne did not reach for a premium bottle, and the outlet notes that Conmemorativo can still be found for around 20 dollars today, a fraction of the 150 dollar price point it uses as a comparison for luxury tequila. Other Tasting Table pieces on Wayne describe the same bottle turning up in his personal recipes, including a grilled chicken marinade published in a 2015 family cookbook.
Where Sauza Conmemorativo Comes From
Sauza Tequila traces to 1873, when Don Cenobio Sauza founded the La Perseverancia distillery in the town of Tequila, Jalisco, and became the first producer to export the spirit to the United States. The Conmemorativo expression itself dates to 1963, when it was introduced to mark La Perseverancia's 90th anniversary. The brand today sits inside Suntory Global Spirits, the Osaka-based company that also owns Hornitos and Tres Generaciones. None of that history overlaps with Wayne's two most commonly cited rivals: Don Julio traces to a 1942 distillery start under Don Julio Gonzalez, while Patron did not exist until 1989, a full decade after Wayne's death in 1979.
How Wayne's Family Turned the Story Into a Brand
Wayne's youngest son, Ethan Wayne, founded Duke Spirits in 2013 to honor his father's tastes, a company that now makes bourbon, rye whiskey and tequila. Chris Radomski, who co-founded the label with Ethan, has said the tequila line grew out of Wayne's affection for Mexico rather than a favorite recipe left behind, since unlike the bourbon, the team found no evidence of a tequila blend Wayne had worked out himself. Duke Spirits has released a Grand Cru Extra Anejo aged three years and a Grand Cru Reposado aged six months, along with a limited 1,000 bottle run aged six years with proceeds benefiting the John Wayne Cancer Center.
What This Comparison Leaves Out
Framing Sauza Conmemorativo as having outshined Patron and Don Julio makes for a tidy headline, but nothing in the reporting reviewed here points to a documented side-by-side tasting between the three. Patron was not on the market during Wayne's lifetime, and no scored comparison against Don Julio appears in the source material. Sauza Conmemorativo has not been submitted to Tequila Watch's blind panel, so no verified purity status or score exists for it here.