July 24 is National Tequila Day, and so it was only right that we highlighted the Black woman breaking barriers in the tequila industry. Tiffany Capri Hainesworth founded T Capri Tequila after the success of her gourmet treats business. However, at the time, she had no idea she was going to be making history.
Tiffany grew up in Washington D.C., and after her high school sweetheart was murdered, she decided to go into criminal justice and got her first job in the Secret Service. She continued working various federal government jobs, but a traumatic car accident that caused a brain injury changed her life forever. The accident caused her to reflect on her life, and she began focusing on things that make her happy, thus leading to her embarking on a journey in the spirits industry.
The mother of one would frequently have her girlfriends come over for girls’ night, and she would make liquor-infused desserts. But after the car accident, she decided to turn it into a business and called it Boozy Bears. Boozy Bears was a “handcrafted gummy bear made from wines and spirits.”
“I drank tequila. I love margaritas. Like, I love margaritas,” Tiffany told xoNecole in an exclusive interview. “So, I was like, okay, let me get my little first batch of tequila for my Boozy Bears. So, I researched where tequila was made, [and] found it was only made in the highlands and lowlands of Jalisco, Mexico, and I jumped on a plane and went by myself.”
“So, I was like, okay, let me get my little first batch of tequila for my Boozy Bears. So, I researched where tequila was made, [and] found it was only made in the highlands and lowlands of Jalisco, Mexico, and I jumped on a plane and went by myself.”
During her time in Jalisco, Tiffany visited the agave fields and the distillery and worked with the jimadors to soak up as much knowledge as she could about tequila so that she could make her own. Her original plan was to just have her own tequila for her Boozy Bears business, but once people got a taste of it, they convinced her to start selling bottles of it.
She began documenting the ins and outs and ups and downs of starting her own tequila business. While Tiffany described the agave fields as “one of the most majestic feelings I’ve ever experienced in my life,” flying back and forth to Jalisco by herself, the language barrier, and many other things were challenging.
That’s when it was brought to her attention that she was the first Black woman to own her own tequila. “Shawn Yancy from Channel 4 (NBC4 Washington) was like, you know, let me tell your story, and when she started doing the research, she said you know that you’re the first Black woman to do this all alone,” she revealed.
“Shawn Yancy from Channel 4 (NBC4 Washington) was like, you know, let me tell your story, and when she started doing the research, she said you know that you’re the first Black woman to do this all alone”
After launching in 2021, Tiffany shared that once Chanel 4 aired her segment, it went viral, and her first 1500 bottles sold out in two months. T Capri is 100% Blue Weber agave tequila and additive-free. Their hashtag is #youcansipwithus, which according to the D.C. native, it means you can drink it straight. “You don’t need to put any juices, any mixes, anything in my tequila. You can drink it on the rocks because it’s that smooth, that pure,” she said. “We pride ourselves on being certified additive-free by Tequila Match.”
Photo courtesy of Tiffany Capri Hainesworth
Tiffany calls her journey “tragedy to triumphant.” From the many seizures she faced following her car accident, even after starting her Boozy Bears business, to being heralded as an innovator in the spirits industry, she has overcome a lot and is just getting started.
“It has been an amazing journey. I appreciate, and I am so grateful for the true, genuine support I’ve gotten where people have purchased my product taste unknown. They’ve supported me sight unseen, they understand the dynamics of being a sole owner, making history being a sole owner in a male-dominated industry,” she said.
For more information about Tiffany and T Capri Tequila, you can follow her on Instagram @tcapritequila, Facebook T Capri Tequila, and her website is tcapritequila.com.
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Feature image courtesy of Tiffany Capri Hainesworth
