Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul's Bond Fuels Tequila Venture
The "Breaking Bad" stars leveraged their decade-old friendship to launch and expand their successful tequila brand, Dos Hombres.
More than a decade after the acclaimed series "Breaking Bad" concluded, stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul have detailed how their enduring friendship inspired the creation and success of their tequila brand, Dos Hombres.
The acclaimed AMC series, which ran from 2008 to 2013, followed Cranston's Walter White, a terminally-ill chemistry teacher who partners with his former student, Jesse Pinkman (Paul), to manufacture and sell methamphetamine. The show garnered numerous awards and a dedicated fanbase, spawning the spin-off "Better Call Saul."
Despite their close professional relationship on set, Cranston and Paul found themselves less connected after the series finale. "Three years after the end of Breaking Bad, we missed each other and we didn't know where the other person was most of the time after spending nearly seven years together, very close, sometimes too close now," Cranston recalled at a recent launch event for their new Reposado expression.
It was during a dinner in New York City several years after the show ended that the idea for a spirits venture emerged. Initially, the conversation turned to mezcal, a spirit Cranston had a negative early experience with. "I had a very, very, very bad mezcal when I was 19-years-old, and I didn't want to have that ever again," Cranston explained.
Paul then introduced Cranston to a better mezcal experience, leading to a shared desire to create something they were both passionate about. "We shared that same desire to do something passionate," Cranston said, emphasizing that the venture was not driven by financial need but by a genuine interest. "I don't want to have a job," he added, explaining that the business doesn't feel like work due to their shared enthusiasm.
Dos Hombres was officially announced in 2019, with the name reflecting their two-person quest. "We named it Dos Hombres - two guys on a quest," the duo stated at the time. "It’s been a long and crazy journey and we couldn’t be happier to share this with you and the rest of the world."
The brand has since expanded to include a range of tequilas and mezcals, such as Blanco, Espadin, and Tobala. Cranston and Paul have actively promoted Dos Hombres since its launch, even engaging with customers at events like Costco.
In 2022, Cranston and Paul reprised their roles as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman for a cameo appearance in the sixth and final season of "Better Call Saul," further cementing their iconic partnership on screen and off.