Matthew McConaughey says he has no plans to sell Pantalones Organic Tequila, the brand he co-founded with his wife Camila in 2023. Asked about an exit, he answered with one word: build.
The exchange happened on Build or Break, the interview podcast hosted by KIND Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky, and was reported by Inc.com on October 14, 2026. Lubetzky asked McConaughey whether he would build or break his tequila company; McConaughey chose build.
What McConaughey said about an exit
According to Inc.com's account of the podcast, McConaughey framed the choice as a matter of unfinished work rather than a market calculation, saying there is still work to do and that he and Camila still love doing it. He added that he, Camila and the Pantalones team are focused on building the company rather than preparing it for sale.
Build or Break launched in September 2026 as a weekly series built around founders discussing setbacks rather than highlight reels, with guests including Mark Cuban, Chip and Joanna Gaines and Chris Paul. McConaughey's episode fit that format: the direct question about selling, and a direct answer about continuing to run the business.
Who else runs Pantalones Organic Tequila
Pantalones was co-founded by the McConaugheys alongside Guillaume Cuvelier and Andrew T. Chrisomalis, who serves as the brand's board chairman, Inc.com reported. Cuvelier and Chrisomalis previously built Davos Brands, the New York drinks company they founded in the mid-2010s that assembled a portfolio including Aviation American Gin, Astral Tequila, Sombra Mezcal and Ty Ku sake. Diageo acquired Davos Brands in 2020 in a deal reported at 610 million dollars.
That history gives Pantalones an operating team with prior experience building and then selling a spirits portfolio to a multinational, even as its most visible co-founder says a sale is not the current plan.
What is documented about the brand's production and growth
Pantalones launched in October 2023 with three expressions made at a certified organic family distillery in Amatitán, Jalisco, using 100 percent blue Weber agave: a blanco, a reposado rested nine months in American oak, and an añejo aged 15 months in American oak. The brand describes itself as USDA-certified organic.
Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits began national distribution of Pantalones in 2024, according to a company announcement at the time, following early traction that included recognition at spirits competitions such as the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. On October 14, 2026, Pantalones announced an international debut at Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve property in Costa Rica's Guanacaste region, as part of what the company called a continuing international expansion.
What this means
Pantalones has not yet been reviewed for a TW Score, so no figure from that database applies to it here. For scale, other celebrity-founded tequilas Tequila Watch does track sit well below the category's top scores: Teremana Blanco carries a TW Score of 57 of 95, 818 Blanco sits at 58 of 95, and Casamigos Blanco at 55 of 95. Whether continued ownership under McConaughey changes that picture for Pantalones is a question for when, and if, the brand is reviewed.