De Leon Drink: The Simple Case Before Complications

A De Leon drink, as US searchers and bar tickets use the phrase, is DeLeón tequila: a 100% Blue Weber agave spirit from the Los Altos highlands of Jalisco, sold as separate Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo bottles rather than as one mixed cocktail. Diageo announced on January 8, 2014, that a 50/50 joint venture with Combs Wine & Spirits had purchased the brand. Diageo's January 16, 2024 statement says the company now solely owns DeLeón; its 2024 financial statements record an agreement that day with Combs Wine and Spirits LLC to buy the remaining 50% of DeLeon Holdco LLC for $223 million including transaction costs. Current DeLeón Blanco and Reposado pages on Diageo's The Bar list a 750 mL bottle; the Reposado line reads 40% Alc/Vol. Those figures name expressions, not a house cocktail.

I cooked the same station in seven kitchens and wrote seven hourly rates in a prep notebook. A posted range on a hiring flyer was never the check. Retail pages that print "DeLeón" as a product title collapse three maturation classes into one drink. I start with the neck label.

What is a De Leon drink?

DeLeón is a tequila brand. Diageo's The Bar product pages describe the liquid as 100% Highland Blue Weber agave from Los Altos, Jalisco. The Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT) states that tequila must be produced in the denomination-of-origin zone, made from Agave tequilana Weber blue variety, produced under Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-006-SCFI-2012, and bottled between 35% and 55% alcohol by volume.

The wrong answer that keeps circulating is to treat DeLeón as a single drink. Liquor sites use the brand as the SKU title, while Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo are distinct tequila expressions with different legal maturation clocks. A bar ticket that says "De Leon" can mean a pour of one of those bottles or a mixed drink built on the brand.

The comparison that settles the search is a named DeLeón expression against a generic tequila cocktail:

| In front of you | Label / law | Format | Does not prove | |---|---|---|---| | DeLeón Blanco, 750 mL, 40% ABV | Tequila blanco, 100% agave | A bottle | That you ordered a mixed drink | | DeLeón Reposado, 750 mL, 40% Alc/Vol | Tequila reposado, oak-matured | A bottle | That it is the same liquid as Blanco | | A ticket that says "De Leon drink" | Unknown until you ask | A serving | Brand, volume, ABV, or class |

Extra Añejo and luxury SKUs such as Leóna exist; they do not fuse the core lineup into one drink.

Who owns DeLeón tequila now?

Diageo does. Celebrity association is a 2014 joint-venture story, not a current title search.

On January 8, 2014, Diageo issued a release, carried by PR Newswire, stating that Diageo and Sean Combs had created a new joint venture that purchased DeLeón: a 50/50 global partnership between Diageo and Combs Wine & Spirits. Founder Brent Hocking appeared in that same text. Suggested retail on the five variants then on the market ran from $120 to more than $1,000 a bottle, with distribution in 18 US states plus Washington, D.C. Those 2014 suggested prices are not a 2026 Blanco tag.

On January 16, 2024, Diageo published a joint statement: Combs would dismiss his lawsuits with prejudice, and Diageo and Combs had no ongoing business relationship on Cîroc vodka or DeLeón tequila, which Diageo now solely owns. Diageo's Annual Report 2024 financial statements record that on 16 January 2024 Diageo agreed with Combs Wine and Spirits LLC to buy the remaining 50% of DeLeon Holdco LLC for $223 million including transaction costs, and is now the 100% owner of the brand.

Social posts that still call DeLeón "Diddy's tequila" describe a partnership those accounts closed.

How do Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo differ on a DeLeón bottle?

They differ by maturation class under NOM-006-SCFI-2012, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 13 December 2012. The CRT, which certifies compliance, restates the floors: reposado must mature in oak or holm oak for at least two months; añejo at least one year; extra añejo at least three years. Blanco, on the CRT class list, is tequila taken from the still with alcohol adjusted with water; the standard allows an oak rest of less than two months without leaving blanco.

Those clocks are legal thresholds. They do not grade flavor, and they do not authorize the phrase "top shelf."

| Class | Legal floor (NOM-006 / CRT) | DeLeón 750 mL listing | Brand serve | |---|---|---|---| | Blanco | Unaged, or oak rest under two months | 40% ABV at Total Wine and Caskers | Shaker with lime, syrup, and ice | | Reposado | At least two months in oak or holm oak | 40% Alc/Vol on The Bar | Chilled shot glass | | Añejo | At least one year in oak or holm oak, max 600 L | 40% ABV on Total Wine | Own SKU |

DeLeón Reposado copy on The Bar says the highland tequila is aged in American oak and finished in French oak wine casks. That is brand process language. The two-month CRT floor is what makes the word "reposado" legal. Two kitchen stations can share a schedule name and pay two rates; Blanco and Añejo share a brand and do not share a clock.

What belongs on the DeLeón label besides the brand name?

The CRT tells buyers that a certified tequila label carries authenticity elements, and that an unlabeled bottle is not tequila. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 requires the authorized producer's registration number, printed as NOM plus digits. That number identifies the distillery that certified the batch.

Agave Matchmaker, which compiles CRT producer numbers by brand, currently lists DeLeón Reposado as NOM 1535 at Destilería Morales S.A. de C.V. in southern Los Altos, Jalisco, at 40% ABV, previously NOM 1519. Other current DeLeón entries in that database carry 1535; older bottles still show 1519. Read the bottle in your hand.

Work the label in this order:

1. Read the expression: Blanco, Reposado, or Añejo.
2. Confirm bottle volume and alcohol by volume. The Bar lists 750 mL for Blanco and Reposado; the Reposado technical line is 40% Alc/Vol. Total Wine's Blanco and Añejo 750 mL pages also print 40%. Some shops stock 375 mL and 1.75 L.
3. Find the NOM on the back label and the 100% agave wording. The CRT distinguishes 100% agave tequila, bottled at origin, from mixto tequila that may use other sugars up to 49%.
4. Match any price to that exact SKU, store, and tax. A Blanco 750 mL tag is not an Añejo 375 mL tag.
5. Buy only from a licensed retailer if you are of legal age. In the United States that age is 21.

The Bar's Reposado page prints 40% Alc/Vol, imported by The Deleon Spirits Company, New York, NY. Turn the bottle around for the NOM.

How should you serve DeLeón without treating marketing as a fact?

The Bar tells you to shake DeLeón Blanco with simple syrup, lime juice, and ice, then strain over fresh ice with a lime wedge. The same site tells you DeLeón Reposado is "best served in a chilled shot glass." Those are brand serving notes, not CRT classes.

"Top shelf" is bar placement and marketing language. It is not an agave category and it is not in NOM-006-SCFI-2012. The CRT's classes are blanco, joven (a blend of blanco with aged tequila), reposado, añejo, and extra añejo. Diageo's 2014 release used Nielsen's "ultra-premium and above ($40+)" segment language. That is a price band in a corporate announcement, not a sensory grade on the label.

A generic tequila cocktail and a named DeLeón Blanco 750 mL bottle are different objects. The cocktail is a serving: one pour, mixers, tax, and tip. The bottle is inventory at 40% ABV. Mixing Blanco into a margarita does not convert it into Reposado. Ask for the expression.

What does a 750 mL bottle of DeLeón actually cost?

There is no single DeLeón price. Expression, volume, retailer, and tax jurisdiction all move the tag. The January 8, 2014 Diageo release listed suggested retail from $120 to more than $1,000 across five variants then on the market. Total Wine has listed DeLeón Leóna 750 mL at $899.99. That number is not a Blanco 750 mL price.

Posted 750 mL tags, checked on retailer pages in September 2026:

| Expression, 750 mL | Retailer and place | Posted price | |---|---|---| | Blanco | Total Wine, Oak Lawn, Texas | $27.99 | | Reposado | Total Wine, Oak Lawn, Texas | $32.99 | | Reposado | Total Wine, Friendship Heights, D.C. | $38.99 | | Reposado | Wine-Searcher US average, ex-tax | $42 | | Añejo | Liquorama | $53.99 on sale ($56.99 MSRP) | | Añejo | Total Wine, Friendship Heights, D.C. | $85.99 |

Same brand, same 750 mL, and an Añejo spread from $53.99 to $85.99 before you change states. I will not average those into a "typical DeLeón drink" figure.

If a search result quotes a price without naming Blanco or Reposado, without 750 mL, and without a store, treat it as an advertisement. I will not invent a price for a county I have not looked up.

Where can DeLeón be bought nearby?

From a licensed retailer, if you are 21 or older in the United States. "Nearby" is a store-locator problem.

Search the expression plus 750 mL. Total Wine's brand page has listed Blanco and Reposado 750 mL, plus smaller Añejo formats depending on the store. Independent shops, some control-state catalogs, and Diageo's The Bar, which ships through a retailer network where law allows, also carry the line. The Wichita Total Wine Blanco page, when checked, showed the 750 mL bottle as not found within 60 miles, while Oak Lawn, Texas, had it on the shelf.

A song, a social post, or a cocktail menu is not a bottle. The CRT warns that without a label it is not tequila. Ask for a receipt.

Drink only if you are of legal purchase age. Diageo points consumers to DrinkIQ.

FAQ

Does P. Diddy still own DeLeón Tequila?

No. Diageo's January 16, 2024 statement says Diageo and Sean Combs have no ongoing business relationship on DeLeón, which Diageo now solely owns. Its 2024 financial statements record buying the remaining 50% of DeLeon Holdco LLC from Combs Wine and Spirits LLC that day for $223 million including transaction costs. The 50/50 joint venture is the 2014 story.

What kind of alcohol is DeLeón?

DeLeón is tequila, a Mexican agave spirit. Brand pages describe 100% Highland Blue Weber agave from Los Altos, Jalisco. NOM-006-SCFI-2012, certified by the CRT, requires Agave tequilana Weber azul and 35% to 55% alcohol by volume. Diageo's The Bar prints DeLeón Reposado at 40% Alc/Vol in a 750 mL bottle. That is a spirit, not a mixed cocktail.

Is DeLeón regarded as a top-shelf tequila?

"Top shelf" is bar placement and marketing language, not a class in NOM-006-SCFI-2012. The CRT recognizes 100% agave versus mixto tequila, then blanco, joven, reposado, añejo, and extra añejo by maturation. Diageo's 2014 release used Nielsen's ultra-premium-and-above ($40+) segment language. A high bottle on a back bar does not certify aging time or agave content.

What does a 750 mL bottle of DeLeón cost?

It depends on expression, store, and tax. Total Wine in Oak Lawn, Texas, listed Blanco 750 mL at $27.99 and Reposado at $32.99. Friendship Heights, D.C., listed Reposado at $38.99 and Añejo at $85.99. Wine-Searcher showed a US average near $42 ex-tax for Reposado 750 mL. Match volume and class before you compare two numbers.

Where can DeLeón be bought nearby?

Only from a licensed retailer if you are 21 or older in the United States. Search the exact expression and 750 mL, not the brand name alone. Total Wine, independent shops, some control-state stores, and Diageo's The Bar network stock it where law allows. A social caption or a bar cocktail is not a bottle for sale.

How do Blanco, Reposado and Añejo differ?

They are legal maturation classes. Under NOM-006-SCFI-2012, as the CRT restates, blanco may be unaged or rest under two months in oak. Reposado needs at least two months in oak or holm oak. Añejo needs at least one year in oak or holm oak vessels of 600 liters or less. DeLeón bottles each class separately.