Q & A with Sarah, the chief Lioness of Leonista 100% Karoo Agave

I love to party but I can't handle hangovers. 100% Agave spirits (Tequila, Mezcal) is the only alch I've found that you can have an amazing celebration on and wake up in the morning feeling fine. Its also the only spirit that gives me a buzz as apposed to making me feel sluggish. However there are rules to follow - Stick to tequila and don't have too much. I was the girl bringing a bottle of tequila to the party and drinking it on ice. Tequila Queen. 

I experimented with making my own in my garage for Afrikaburn in 2016. I wanted to give burners a gift in the desert of a spirit of the desert. 100% agave, high energy and good quality. Agave, which is made from, grows very well in Karoo, South africa. People loved it so I went to Mexico to learn how to do it properly from the maistro distillers. That's where I discovered Mezcal and all the other agave spirits made from the Agave. I was so inspired by my trip I came back home, found the farmers and distillers crazy enough to work with me and got the first 1000 bottles made. I got the money to start by planting 100 000 trees in Canada for 4 months. Those bottles were sold to friends, family and a few bottle stores but that was my Minimum viable product and what got me my first investor. We launched the company officially in Nov 2017

Mexico was the first adventure I ever went on alone and a life changing experience that catalysed me to start my own company. I traveled to surf and taste tequila but I came back with a passion for so much more. I traveled to Tequila town in Jalisco and tasted some of the most amazing tequilas I have ever tasted. Some were like perfume, some tasted like roses, others fruity.

I also explored southern Mexico - Oaxaca where Mezcal is made and also fell in love with that spirit which is also made from the agave but made in a more traditional way and has a smokey flavour. We ended up dancing naked on the beach under the moonlight till late. I never felt drunk, I just felt energized and the next day I woke up right as rain. I couldn't help but be inspired by that experience and want to bring it back to South Africa. I wanted to create the same culture and industry in SA that I saw in Mexico. 

The karoo is a quietly desolate and romantic place that gets under your skin and before you know it you're in love. Wide open landscapes, harsh climate, small shrubbery but some of the most delicious food and well made products come from the Karoo. It's a place that agave loves to grow. It is used as an emergency source of food for animals in times of drought. I found out how much agave was growing there through my BF family who have a farm close to Victoria west and through them was inrtroduced to the right farmers who have acres of agave ready for harvest. fields of gold waiting to be used. 

We make agave spirit from karoo agave = Agave Americana in the same traditional fashion that they make Mezcal in Mexico but with our own special African touches. Harvest, bake the pina in a wood fired oven, squash, ferment, distill and age in barrels to make Reposado. We use old American oak barrels that used to have brandy in them.

Leonista. "Leon" means "lion" and "ista" means "person" so it means "lion person" or "Lion energy." Good quality tequila gives you a buzz so we want leonista to give you an african buzz. Energy of the lion and lioness. We want consumers to have fun with the product and rewild themselves. 

The logo is a lioness with a sugar skull design so she is proudly African but inspired by mexico. which is the brand essence in a nutshell. 

  #REWILDYOURSELF The mantra we live by. Embodying our mission of Rewilding our planet with beautiful African products. By adding a “Touch of Wild” to everything we do.  

100% Agave 

100% Premium 

100% Organic 

Award winning 

1% for the planet - We are a company that is giving back to conservation at the same time as growing. 

We want you to rewild yourself by celebrating life with our beautiful products and in doing so help protect wild places. 

Rewild yourself, Protect wild places.  

Leonista is listed nationally in all major retailers and online stores.

PNP, Checkers, norman goodfellows, Takealot, Tops, blue bottle etc etc

if you ever can't find it you can purchase from our online store and get branded merch at the same time delivered right to your door nationwide.

We are also exporting to Japan, Netherlands, Germany and Nigeria. 

Our Vision - We want to be the Patagonia of the liquor industry. We strive to be successful and profitable with quality products sold all over the world, representing the best of Africa while also helping protect wild places.

If you want to partner with us. Invest with us. help us. Get in touch. Lets grow the pride.