The Breaking Bad guys Walt and Jesse are cooking up something new… and it has nothing to do with boiling beakers of blue-tinged crystal meth in their underwear. Former co-stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul recently launched their own mezcal brand, Dos Hombres, and jetted into Miami’s Big Game weekend to host a posh fundraiser at a glitzy mansion on Star Island along with celebs Michael Bay and Jamie Foxx. But moments earlier Saturday afternoon, MiMi got a totally thrilling, “If you tell anyone about this, I’ll fill a bathtub with hydrofluoric acid and melt you in it” text message revealing a super hush-hush tasting the incredible thespians were secretly hosting at Miami Beach wunderbar Sweet Liberty.
So after MiMi Uber’d through hellish Super Bowl traffic but before anyone else got there (read: the bar was completely empty), we caught up with the boys one-on-one before they slipped behind the bar to pour Dos Hombres drinks for a cheering crowd who’d eventually caught wind of their God-like presence by Paul faux-casually posting about it on social media. (It should be noted they had no security detail and couldn’t have possibly been more down to earth, nicer people. They walked in just like regular fellas and walked out the same way.)
“It’s the perfect combination of strength and smoothness of any spirit I’ve had,” explained Cranston of Dos Hombres, looking casual but dapper in a crisp white button down. “He likes a strong scotch,” he said, referring to Paul, “I … like to be seduced. I like it to be smooth and inviting. I don’t want it to smack you in the face.”
The two seemed eager to share their enthusiasm and passion for mezcal, chatting about how they delved into the history and process of mezcal production to discover what they believe to be their superior product.
“I don’t mind a bit of a bite,” explained Paul. “But this gives you that but not in an aggressive way. I like the smokiness of mezcal, and when you mix it in a cocktail it heightens it in such a big way. It feels like it’s the older, more mature relative of tequila.”
“Dos Hombres is a sipping spirit,” said Cranston, “And this is an experiment, to try it in a slush right now,” Cranston gestured to the mezcal-infused pineapple slush topped with tagine spice we were tasting at the bar. “We figured it’s Miami, it’s sunny, let’s give a try.”
“I have this policy that the audience is always right,” said Cranston. “Whether it’s a play or a movie, whatever they felt is right. So the same with this – it’s still an art form, so however you like to drink it, or if it’s not your taste, you’re right.”
Soon after Paul posted the smoky booze shindig to his 4.2 million rabid ‘Gram followers, the bar filled up with a mostly-male fan base between the ages of 25-40 (also probably the ideal demographic for Dos Hombres). It was then that Cranston and Paul put on a show, scurrying behind the bar, doing shots (oh yes, they did many, many shots!), pouring drinks for the crowd, opening credit card tabs and genuinely having fun. No hype and dash, they partied at Sweet Liberty for a full hour and a half.
Starstruck, the raucous fanboys couldn’t help to shout “Heisenberg is my bartender!” and “Jesse Pinkman just carded me!”, while gallons of mezcal flew into agape mouths. Ever the cool cats, Walt & Jesse took plenty of selfies with everyone who asked, before stealing away through Sweet Liberty’s secret back alleyway to head to the Star Island soirée. Did they attend the Super Bowl itself? Oh yes! Cranston was even in the broadcast.