Maryland native Donta Henson is no stranger to adapting to unexpected situations and making
the most of it. Back in the spring of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic left Henson and his family in
lockdown with a lot of time on their hands.
“My wife and brother are big tequila fans,” says Henson. “My brother would come to the house
and bring a bottle of tequila, always bringing a new brand that we had never heard of before.
We would drink and talk. During that spring season, we probably tried 10-15 brands. At that
point, we felt like we knew something about tequila.”
It was at this time that Donta saw a business opportunity: His brother William had a flair for
choosing unique small-brand tequilas, as well as a knack for sales. “He would recommend a
tequila to his friends that they had never heard of, and they would literally go out and buy it,”
says Henson. William’s friends were so pleased with his selections, “They would take pictures
and send it back to him.” Donta and William decided to work together and start their own brand,
and Los Hermanos Tequila was born.
The brothers quickly learned that in order to develop and scale their business, they would need
some financial help. William, an employee at the Maryland Board of Public Works, met an
employee at Baltimore Community Lending who told him about the organization and suggested
that BCL could be a great funding partner for them. Initially, Donta held back for a few months
before connecting with BCL, not knowing that the non-profit could do so much more for him than
funding his business. It was not until he developed his own business plan, acquired funding for
his first round of shipment, and quickly sold through that shipment, that Donta connected with
BCL for assistance.
“Once we sat down and talked with BCL, they came through right away with some additional
funding to help us order our second shipment and really got us up and running,” says Henson.
BCL quickly became a strong advocate for Los Hermanos Tequila in an abundance of other
ways: regular check-ins, networking support and invites to community events, booking referrals,
and invaluable financial advice. Most importantly for Donta, however, is that he found a local
and reliable resource that he can return to for assistance at every stage of his business.
Thanks to the diligence and perseverance of the Henson brothers, along with the assistance
they received from BCL, Los Hermanos Tequila has experienced great success in only a few
years. It is now an award-winning brand, earning the Gold Bartender Spirits Award in 2023, the
Gold Sip Award in 2022, and many others. Additionally, Los Hermanos is featured this month as
the official tequila of Artscape 2023, a highly anticipated and heavily attended annual arts and
culture event that will be held in the Baltimore arts district from September 22-24. “It’s exciting to
be a part of something like this”, says Donta. “I think for us it’s the recognition from an institution,
not just from friends and family. It gives us exposure to a lot of people in the city who might not
be aware of us. It’s also validation for people who do know the brand and want to see us
succeed.”
For more information about Los Hermanos Tequila, please visit
https://www.tequilaloshermanos.com
