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On October 26, Lewis Hamilton sits 56 stories up in a Mexico City skyscraper, wearing a Junya Watanabe suit and with his drink in hand. The word “his” applies not only as he’s the one sipping on it—but also because, well, he made it.
Earlier that week, Hamilton launched Almave, a non-alcoholic blue agave spirit along with Casa Lumbre. (For the uninitiated: blue agave is the plant used to make tequila. However, it is not fermented like tequila is, making it incorrect to label it as a non-ABV version of the liquor, although the taste properties are similar.) It’s not exactly news for a celebrity to do a deal with a brand—celebrity endorsements have been around since the 1880s when British actor Lillie Langtry became the face of Pears Soap. However, it is news when a mega-athlete of Hamilton’s caliber is actively involved in creating one: along with Casa Lumbre co-founder and master distiller, Iván Saldaña, he’s been part of every step from the tasting of the agave leaves to the naming of the brand itself. (Think less Bruce Jenner and Wheaties, more George Clooney with Casamigos.)
What made Lewis Hamilton want to go into the non-alcoholic spirits industry? The obvious answer is that it’s a growing business: according to Nielsen, between August 2021 and August 2022, total sales of non-alcoholic drinks in the US was $395 million—a 20% increase year over year. Meanwhile, more and more people are increasing interest in the sober-curious and mindful drinking movements.
Including Hamilton. The champion F1 driver has always been fascinated with wellness: a few years ago, he adopted a plant-based diet after reading about the myriad of health and environmental benefits, joining other top athletes like Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams. Yet he’s been drinking since he was 16, despite the drawbacks. “I’ll suffer for several days—sometimes it’ll be like three or four days,” he says of imbibing during a night out. It was at odds with the rest of his hyper-focused persona: “I’ve always been looking for how do you get that extra 1%? As an athlete, that’s what you are always doing.” Alcohol wasn’t adding anything to his life, it was detracting from it: Hamilton admits that it threw him off his peak during training.
Yet he struggled when it came to socializing with his friends—a key part of maintaining a work-life balance—without alcohol. “There is pressure within a social setting,” he admits. “You have that one shot and are like, ‘Damn, why did I do that?’ when you get home,” he said. “I was like, wow, that’s kind of crazy how I’m feeling pressured. And I realized, how can I be feeling pressure at 38? Imagine young 18 year olds.”
Then there was the mental health aspect: as a Formula 1 champion and a worldwide celebrity, Hamilton admits that sometimes the pressure can get to him. “The fact is—alcohol does not help with that,” he says.
So he dove head-first into solving his own problem and co-founded a tequila alternative—his spirit of choice—that made him feel like he wasn’t making such a social sacrifice. Almave comes in two variations: the first, Almave Blanco, is meant for mixing in cocktails. The second, the herbaceous Almave Ámbar, is for sipping on the rocks.
Hamilton says he hasn’t had an alcoholic drink in four months, and counting: “I don t know if I’m going to drink again,” he said of his new approach. “Since I’ve stopped drinking, I’ve just been feeling so much better, so much more clarity. I sleep better, I wake up in the morning and I can still get up at 5 a.m.,” he says. Two days later, he placed second in the Mexico City Grand-Prix—one of his top-place finishes of the season. Clearly, something’s working.
