Spend just a little time with Chris Andrews, and you will learn what lights him up.
"You don't pick music, it picks you," said Andrews.
He grew up playing guitar with friends and pursued a career in music, which quickly led to another passion.
"I traveled to Mexico a lot. I made a lot of friends down there and that's where I really immersed myself into the culture," said Andrews.
After many trips to Mexico, Andrews and his wife Geri were inspired to start something new.
"I'm like, 'Oh, that's crazy. We can't start a tequila brand," said Andrews. "We'll need a lot of money, and we'll need a whole team. Well, let's just look into it right."
That's when the Andrews' tequila company, Musica Tequila, was born.
An essential part of their process is to play music to the tequila as it's fermenting. They play everything from the blues to mariachi.
"The blues, you're going to get some spices from the Hungarian oak, which is very different, but you're also going to get a little bit of cocoa back from the barrel," said Andrews. "It's also got a smoothness to it. Now, is that from the music? I think so."
A big part of the Andrews' mission is to give back to other musicians.
"When you get a little older, you kind of realize what's important, like realizing now what music meant to me and music education meant to me," said Andrews. "We'll go to certain events and celebrate them, we'll do tasting events and we'll promote the event. We get to not only celebrate with musicians but we get to meet the people who are enjoying that music."
Whether it's in a barrel room or at a tasting event, Andrews is still chasing the same rhythm — one that started with a guitar and a trip to Mexico that he now pours into his tequila.
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