With the launch of a new tequila and mezcal, Lobos 1707 embodies inclusivity and remarkable taste.

Lobos 1707 founder and Chief Creative Officer Diego Osorio, CEO Dia Simms and early investor LeBron James

Tequila’s transformation over the past several years has been seismic. There was the tequila we consumed in our younger years with a singular intent (hey, no judgment here), and there’s the version we drink now. It’s the difference between analog and digital.

I ask Dia Simms about this change. “Tequila has truly evolved past its former reputation as deeper education and diversified products have increased general understanding of the spirit,” says Simms, a business superstar who worked alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs for nearly 15 years and eventually became president of Combs Enterprises. She’s now the CEO of the recently launched Lobos 1707. She enters a revitalized tequila industry that reels in $5 billion annually and is being led by premium 100% blue agave brands.

The lineup includes extra añejo, reposado, joven and mezcal artesenal.

Lobos 1707 offers extra añejo, reposado, joven and mezcal artesanal. And like all great brands, a backstory drives its every move. Founder and Chief Creative Officer Diego Osorio’s family provides the foundational blueprint. “My goal was to honor my family’s 400-yearold legacy in the wine and spirits industry,” says Osorio, who learned about the unique Pedro Ximénez sherry-barrel finishing process used by his family in Spain and replicated it for his new venture. The Osorio family coat of arms— represented by two wolves—is featured on every bottle.

Fifty-year-old sherry barrels from Spain are transported to the Los Altos de Jalisco region of Mexico, where agave is harvested and the spirit is distilled and bottled. Two master distillers lead the charge—one from Spain and one from Mexico. “You can really see the authentic partnership between the two come to life in the final product that honors both the Mexican and Spanish heritage,” says Osorio. One of the brand’s early favorites, extra añejo, is aged three years in American white oak and finished in Pedro Ximénez wine barrels. Drinking this liquid neat is the only way to go; Notes of sweet citrus, aging wood, roasted coffee and cocoa grace every sip and the finish.

When Osorio and Simms discuss the brand’s name (lobo means wolf in Spanish), they’re quick to reference the pack and the notion of inclusivity. “We make sure all members of the pack have a voice and a seat at the table,” says Simms. “Our table includes everyone who touches our brand, from the mixologists to jimadors to carriers.”

Even LeBron James. The hoops legend loves the brand’s taste and diversity ethos, and he became an early investor with Maverick Carter as part of Main Street Advisors. “Lobos 1707 is about celebrating the strength of the group and bringing people together,” says James, who knows a little something about group victories. “It’s about shared passion and values.” And for the brand’s growing legion of fans, it’s about running with the pack.