Imagine my surprise a few weeks ago when I headed to my college town and there, smack dab on the front cover of the student newspaper was a picture of Kendall Jenner at a local bar. I know the Kardashians have access to private planes and more, so getting to a small town just south of Indianapolis would not be a huge concern, but the question was: Why was she there in the first place? It turns out, she and Jason Momoa have a few things in common.
Jason Momoa And Kendall Jenner Both Have Alcohol Brands
The first is that both have spent the past year+ promoting their respective alcohol brands. Kendall Jenner is heavily involved with 818 tequila. Her famous family has been helpful with making the brand well known, in particular pushing the striking white eight-shaped bottle that are the signature of her Eight Reserve tequila, a move that has even garnered some criticism for The Kardashians being "one giant ad."
Jason Momoa, on the other hand, partnered with Blain Halverson to bring imbibers Meili vodka, another celebrity liquor. The brand, pronounced may-lee, was conceptualized a few years ago before finally making it into stores in 2023. Momoa has also been sharing the brand to social media in recent months and he's toured widely in support of it, most recently in the U.S.
Which brings us to why Kendall Jenner and Jason Momoa have been spotted out across the country in recent months.
Kendall Jenner And Jason Momoa Have Been On Respective Tours In Support Of Their Brand
When Kendall Jenner randomly showed up in Bloomington, Indiana last month, she was there to promote her 818 tequila line. The Kardashians star headed to the local Kroger and then to Big Red Liquors – a well-known liquor chain for IU students in Bloomington and other nearby Indiana towns. Then she capped off her trip with a visit to a popular bar on Kirkwood Avenue, the Upstairs Pub, for a meet-and-greet and tequila tasting, per the local student paper The IDS (hattip to The Hyatt Place for keeping student newspapers on hand.)
A little research shows that Kendall Jenner also headed to Columbus, Ohio for a similar experience. Per 614 Magazine (which has its own celebrity connection given it is owned by former Masterchef contestant Wayne Lewis), Kendal Jenner stopped at TownHall and Standard Hall, where she hopped behind the bar and also provided a drink-making experience for some fans of 818 Tequila.
A day later she also headed to the Detroit, Michigan area where she reportedly popped up at Top Shelf Liquors and most definitely met up with some college students near Ann Arbor.
Kendall Jenner at the home of some students at the University is Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. pic.twitter.com/HhO2YLKOLuOctober 11, 2023
Meanwhile, Jason Momoa went on his own tour, which included a stop in Colorado he promoted via his own Instagram. He called the venue "wonderful" and even picked up a microphone that had conveniently been set up behind the bar so he could talk to fans. A later post on Instagram noted:
Thank you Colorado!!! Connecting with so many new friends (and a few from the past) was such an incredible experience! We are continually amazed by your love and support - see you at the next stop!!!
As part of his own tour, Momoa also made stops in places like Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as his home state of Iowa. A post from the Waveland cafe noted he'd stopped their amidst this tour, as well.
Jason Momoa and Kylie Jenner are absolutely not the only celebrities with alcohol brands. The OG’s in this game are probably Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin and, of course, George Clooney’s successful Casamigos brand. Aviation Gin’s sale came with a snarky comment from Ryan Reynolds while the sale of Casamigos led The Rock to compare his own Teremana tequila favorably to Clooney’s $1 billion sale. And we’re not even getting into the myriad other celebrity alcohol brands like Adam Levine’s Calirosa Rosa Blanco Tequila, Cameron Diaz’s Avaline organic wine, Jamie Foxx | Heritage Distilling Co. Brown Sugar Bourbon Whiskey, Channing Tatum’s Born and Bred American Craft Vodka, and Snoop Dogg’s 19 Crimes Cali Blend. Oh let’s not forget Blake Lively got into Betty Buzz despite not being an imbiber particularly herself. This list goes on and on.
If these spirited enterprises continue, at some point an a-lister may be at a venue near you, so keep your eyes peeled.
