On The Debbie Nigro Show, I had the pleasure of spotlighting Simon Cascante, founder of Montaukila Tequila. Boy oh boy, his story sure is a shining example of my mantra – “Risk It! or Regret It!”
Simon skipped college, started bussing tables at the LUNCH Lobster Roll in East Hampton, and took the long road to launching his own spirit’s brand. No investors. No celebrity endorsements. Just grit, Google, and a dream.
That persistence led him to cold-call nearly a dozen distilleries in Mexico until one finally said yes—thanks to a VP who had once vacationed in Montauk and loved the concept.
Now six years in, Montaukila is growing with a mobile cantina experience, premium celebrity-free tequila, and a hot new canned cocktail line.
Simon’s entrepreneurial focus? Staying authentic while scaling sustainably.
And here’s something I love: Montaukila is a locally owned, small-batch tequila company that believes in giving back. They donate 100% of their merchandise sales to Oceanic Global, an organization dedicated to ocean conservation.
This is the kind of business spirit that deserves a toast!
To me, Simon’s story is a reminder that success is rarely a straight line—it’s persistence, adaptability, and staying true to your vision.
AND… This is a great entrepreneurial business lesson in why you should never let a NO (or a string of No’s) deter you on your way to a YES!
Cheers to that!
Enjoy listening to this short podcast of my live conversation with the very inspiring Simon Cascante Founder of Montaukila on The Debbie Nigro Show.
If you’d rather read than listen the transcript of the audio is below.
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT:And now back to the Debbie Nigro Show.
0:00:14
(Speaker 2)
Oh yeah baby, a little tequila and a little vibe I want to share in the air today. Why don’t I introduce you to my next guest here on The Debbie Nigro show. I was getting lost in the moment there All right, so there’s a guy who embodies everything that I love about entrepreneurship Really, you know risk it or regret it is my mantra And when I see somebody has gone to the trouble of doing that and they’re pushing through and succeeding I’m like, oh, I’m definitely supporting this person. So I’m gonna introduce you to Simon Cascante.
0:00:47
(Speaker 2)
I hope I’m saying his name right. Simon Cascante. He’s a native of East Hampton and he’s the founder of Montaukila Tequila. I love his story. He skipped college and worked his way up,
0:01:00
(Speaker 2)
clearing tables at the Lobster Roll, one of my favorite places out in the Hamptons, in Amagansett and Southampton, and I know about Simon from my friend, Andrew Anthony, who’s been telling me about him for years, like this guy is classy. This is an amazing story. And yeah, he created this Montaukila because he just felt he had to. No outside investors built it from scratch, cold call distilleries in Mexico
0:01:25
(Speaker 2)
till one finally said yes. I’m like, please let me showcase this guy. Hello, Simon. Welcome to my show. How are you today?
0:01:33
(Speaker 1)
Hey, Debbie, I’m doing great. Thanks for having me.
0:01:36
(Speaker 2)
Oh, you don’t sound as exciting as I sound. You’re gonna have to step it up. What are you doing?
0:01:41
(Speaker 1)
It is a busy Monday, but I am excited, Debbie. Thank you for thank you for taking the time to have me on the show.
0:01:46
(Speaker 2)
So much better Simon. So Simon, this is a crazy story. I saw the feature story in the New York Post the headline about you said millennial meet the Li native who skipped college turned Montauk into Margaritaville with his own tequila brand. Now. I know this was not simple. I know it’s almost impossible to start a new anything, never mind a brand of spirits, never mind without any
0:02:09
(Speaker 2)
investors and I just loved your grit. So tell me just what’s going on with the vibe with this with your brand Monta Akila now this summer as we speak in
0:02:20
(Speaker 1)
real time out in the Hamptons. Absolutely. Yeah. And thank you for highlighting the fact that it is definitely, definitely difficult to put together. I think at the time, I kind of just, I blacked out and just threw my checklist and said, you know what, I just got to get to the next step. And hopefully I can get this on a table on a on a bar somewhere. Yeah. And then once I was able to get through all the nitty gritty and get it on a bar, I kind of just had to focus
0:02:45
(Speaker 1)
on the follow through, which is the marketing and the implementation of the brand and the identity. So this summer, you know, after a couple of years of trial and error, going through COVID and certain setbacks that I’ve had, definitely coming into my own,
0:02:59
(Speaker 1)
especially when it relates to the authenticity of the brand and really showcasing the brand in the most fundamental way possible. We launched a mobile cantina which operates private events and that has been going phenomenally well, really showcasing the brand on a more intimate level with the end consumer. And we also launched a
0:03:20
(Speaker 1)
canned cocktail which I worked on for two years. And that was a make or break project. And thankfully, that was one of the best decisions I made, especially with how hot these canned cocktails are nowadays.
0:03:32
(Speaker 2)
I know. Ready to drink RTD. My engineer, Bob, questioned me, says he doesn’t have tequila on tap on that mobile truck, does he? I said, I think so.
0:03:44
(Speaker 1)
Do you? I absolutely do. You mean like a tap like a beer would be served? Exactly. Wow. Like a wow factor. We show up and we set the thing up. They’re like how the hell are you doing that?
0:04:00
(Speaker 2)
I love it. I love it. You know doing something on your own and anybody who’s got great passion typically has a story of grit like yours that, you know, is the necessary back story to a huge success that comes down the road. But it’s always a journey, right? You’re in your sixth year of business. You are personally involved with driving the van and your mobile tantantina and going around and making these deals and special events and
0:04:29
(Speaker 2)
you do kind of want to keep a vibe of What Montauk once represented I found this fascinating because you know people hear about the Hamptons are like celebrities celebrity money bankers You’re trying to keep it to be you know a down-to-earth brand. Am I
0:04:46
(Speaker 1)
picking up that vibe? Without a doubt. Without a doubt. I think Montauk definitely represents something different to everybody. But I am looking, we coined the phrase celebrity free tequila. We’ve used that. Celebrity free?
0:05:00
(Speaker 2)
Celebrity free tequila. That’s cute. Yeah, that’s great. Now, you also had a great history of working your way up in the restaurant business and you credit that journey, learning all the pieces of the business to why you are able to enjoy this beginning of your great success.
0:05:20
(Speaker 1)
Absolutely, absolutely. I think as I’ve said multiple times, I think if you can manage a restaurant, you can manage any business and you can do it very effectively given the fact that, you know, lobster roll, as you know, is a very high volume staple and, you know, that is a lot of moving parts to manage and to operate. And taking that and implementing everything that I learned with the lobster rollral and thankfully Andrea and Paul the operators
0:05:46
(Speaker 1)
You know, they they and you know Everybody involved was just so meticulous when it came to that operation that it really set a great baseline for
0:05:55
(Speaker 2)
What to do with my own business. So yeah, she’s been bragging about you for a long time and She respects you like so much. She has told me about you in the past. It’s my honor to meet you now. I love a great spirit, Simon. I know you’re only 33 years old.
0:06:12
(Speaker 2)
You’ve got a lot of time ahead of you. You’ve learned a lot in your 33 years and I think one of the things you learned about business is never give up if you believe because read, and correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I read in the Post that you cold-called nearly a dozen distilleries in Mexico, but rejection after rejection
0:06:32
(Speaker 2)
till one of them finally said yes. Is that what happened?
0:06:37
(Speaker 1)
Absolutely, yeah. I remember Google was my best friend, and I created a list of distilleries. That was my starting point. I had to determine whether or not the manufacturer was even, you know, willing to take this on. And I remember the first couple calls were just immediate
0:06:53
(Speaker 1)
hard-nosed. And, you know, you find that first jab and you say, okay, what am I going to do with this? Am I going to invigorate or am I going to walk away? Thankfully, I decided to keep going, keep going down my list. And I think it was one of the last two distilleries on my list that picked up. And ultimately the VP of the company of the distillery
0:07:14
(Speaker 1)
had vacationed to Montauk. So he was familiar with the area. So when I was able to show him what I had come up with, concept-wise, he loved the concept. And, you know, we got to talking and ultimately he knew that he was kind of throwing me a bone. I was very very
0:07:29
(Speaker 2)
grateful. Yes you never forget who threw you the bone because then you just take it and run with it. So now you’re here you go you got Montauk Kila. You’ve got a brand and obviously you’re looking to expand. So where are you now? You’re in Montauk and I believe you’re moving into the Hudson So where are you now? You’re in Montauk and I believe you’re moving into the Hudson Valley and where else? What’s the big
0:07:48
(Speaker 1)
plan? What’s the next move? Yeah so we’re available right now from New York City to Montauk. There are a couple of accounts upstate New York that have been taking the product. The cans have really done a great service you know getting the product and the brand out there in a more versatile way. Outside of that, I’d say the next logical market would be ideally Florida or anything in the tri-state area.
0:08:11
(Speaker 1)
I’m really trying to be careful of where we expand to. I like to be as genuine as possible. I like to be able to have the infrastructure to support what I do in Montauk, everywhere else. You know, I don’t want it to be a hollow brand outside of Montauk. So I look forward to that.
0:08:30
(Speaker 2)
So what’s it taste like? If you had to describe your tequila, give me a taste of that.
0:08:34
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, so the tequila itself is a ultra premium sipping tequila. So it is on the same par classified as, let’s say, a Don Julioio and it is a fragrant light you know profile. A lot of people see the price point, they see the packaging, they see the relaxed vibe and they’re like okay this probably isn’t going to be the best tequila right? Once they taste it, it’s better than their favorite tequila. Nine times out of ten.
0:09:01
(Speaker 2)
I like it. No additives, locally owned, small batch, additive free, celebrity free, gluten free, 100% agave azul. But the flavor profile is unique to every tequila that I know. And were you the one who made the final decision on what it should taste like or did you have a lot of people weigh in on that?
0:09:19
(Speaker 4)
I’m curious.
0:09:21
(Speaker 1)
That was all pretty much me. We went through a sampling process of about six months. I was receiving the samples and then replying with notes and by the time we got to the end I was very happy with the blend that we had patented.
0:09:34
(Speaker 2)
Oh wow, okay, so you have Tequila Montequila Blanco and you have Montequila Anejo and you have Montequila Pomegranate. Ah, that’s a new flavor.
0:09:46
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, pomegranate was a, was definitely an exploratory, you know, product. I wanted to do something that was a little bit different when it came to infusions. I like the way pomegranate played with tequila, so we launched our pomegranate infuse, which is very light. It’s a very subtle hint of pomegranate. I didn’t want to make it too sweet or too overpowering, but people
0:10:07
(Speaker 2)
people do love it. Okay, love it. And then the last thing I want to mention is the ready-to-drink can. You chose Heat Wave, Montekila tequila soda, and
0:10:17
(Speaker 1)
classic. I’m a classic. So what is your classic versus Heat Wave? So the classic is our classic lemon-lime tequila soda cocktail. Really just having that baseline, this is what you expect when you have a tequila soda. Okay. And then our Heat Wave is our classic with habanero. And I went habanero originally because of the color differentiation from the classic to the heat wave, the heat wave is a red can and the classic is a green can. I was originally gonna go with jalapeno,
0:10:51
(Speaker 1)
but that would have been two green cans. So I said, I need to find a pepper that’s red that will play well with the tequila blend that we have, and thankfully Habanero was right there waiting for us.
0:11:00
(Speaker 2)
There it was. So Simon, okay, now here you are the crazy wonderful entrepreneur the spirit has you know has come to life you are the the the poster boy for you know risk it or regret it look what I did what advice might you have for other entrepreneurs who might start to waver when they keep getting no’s? I would say
0:11:22
(Speaker 1)
just stick to it you know I think’s going to be highs and lows and more than not, there’s going to be more lows than highs. Surround yourself with people that truly support you and that are not going to enable you, but provide the right amount of support when needed and understand that that’s part of the game, right? When you look at people starting a business and you see the success stories, you know,
0:11:44
(Speaker 1)
in press, you oftentimes don’t see the obstacles, right? All you see is the positives. And I think the advice is that the negatives are right there. They go hand in hand with success.
0:11:54
(Speaker 2)
Yeah, I think that’s good advice. It’s about not giving up. It’s so hard to know that that last bit of grit might give you a yes, you know? And it’s typically how that happens. It’s typically how it happens.
0:12:10
(Speaker 2)
Just when you’re about to say, really, maybe I should do something else, something great happens. So I’m so glad that happened for you. Congratulations to you.
0:12:20
(Speaker 3)
Thank you.
0:12:21
(Speaker 2)
Yeah, it’s great. Okay, well, I’m here to help whatever you need. I always love showcasing, you know tremendous spirits I think I think other people are inspired by guys just like you Simon and I appreciate you taking the time You probably had a busy weekend and I’m sure that why is today so darn busy isn’t aren’t the weekends crazy in the Hamptons? Why is today’s so darn busy?
0:12:41
(Speaker 1)
It’s just perpetual at this point. It’s all a blur. It’s all a blur, Simon
0:12:46
(Speaker 2)
Cascanti. Do you get a day off anytime in between all this? Eventually. Eventually it’ll come. It’ll come. All right. Well, I want to wish you the very best of success. And if you guys want to read about Simon, I’m going to post the New York Post article about his his wonderful story about skipping college and turning Montauk into Margaritaville they said with his Montauk killa. I surely will come out for a sip myself so look forward to tasting – and meeting you. Absolutely likewise. Thank you very much.
0:13:15
(Speaker 2)
forward to tasting and meeting you. Absolutely likewise. Thank you very much. Have a great great rest of your day. Ciao. You too. Bye.
