Jon Basíl Tequila | Uduimoh Umolo, who was born and raised in Chicago, had the opportunity to travel extensively at a young age, which allowed him to expand his mind to a variety of new and interesting experiences. Due to the fact that his parents had ties to both Ghana and London, he was able to receive his education in both of these locations. He is of West African descent. After getting back to the United States, the proprietor of Jon Basil Tequila realized that becoming an entrepreneur was the path he intended to take throughout his life.
“I started paying a lot more attention to how I was coming across as a Black man. My life in Chicago as a child and my life when I moved abroad were completely different, which prompted me to truly ask questions about the world and finally spurred my interest in starting my own business, as Umolo explains. “I ended up going to the University of Illinois in Urbana Champagne to study Advertising and Business, and I wanted to find a way to marry my interests of things that affected and touched culture into one,” Champagne says. “I wanted to find a way to find a way to marry my interests of things that affected and touched culture into one.”
As a well-known connector in his communities, the owner of the spirit business reached a point where he couldn’t properly identify with the beverage brands he was utilizing for various events and parties. At that time, he made the decision to switch brands. Therefore, rather than sit around and wait for something to come along, he decided to start his own business.
“Because I felt that it was important for us to have a brand that we actually identified with and that was true to culture, I came up with the idea of Jon Basil Tequila,” he said.
Mixologist Derrick Tuner and Uduimoh Umolo, founder of Jon Basil Tequila, are pictured above from left to right. This photograph was provided courtesy of Jon Basil Tequila.
Tequila is the only alcohol that has an elevating effect, and when it is created with 100% agave, it is the easiest for your body to process. Despite the fact that Umolo had a wide variety of spirit options to choose from, he settled on tequila. The guy who made it possible for his father to travel to the United States from West Africa was honored with the naming of the brand, and it has the name of his grandpa as well.
In the end, it was all about the culture surrounding tequila. Being in West Africa and noticing many of the similarities as well as the subtle differences in the cultures of both made it seem like the ideal choice. “When you consider the food and the components that go into the food, as well as the music, I wanted to bridge the gap between the two,” he explains. “All I wanted was to develop a brand that acknowledges those people who were instrumental in blazing the trail before us. Each time we take a taste of it, we raise a glass to them as a means to show them that we recognize the sacrifices they have made and that we are conscious of the responsibility we have to continue that legacy.
Even for someone who doesn’t generally drink tequila, Jon Basil is a great option because it has a very smooth taste because to the blending process, which is done using rain water. When you are getting ready to plan the menus for the holidays, the new year, or even a special occasion, we have asked Derrick Turner, the mixologist at Jon Basil Tequila, to provide us with a few cocktail recipes that are sure to get your guests talking about how much they enjoyed their experience.
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