Tony Bash El Hempe is the story of a beverage executive who spent years running food and drink operations and a cannabis co-packer, then asked whether a tequila drink could borrow the aroma of cannabis without any of its cannabinoids. Bash is the founder and CEO of El Hempe Spirits, an Oregon-based company that makes terpene-infused tequila seltzers, sold in California, Oregon, Nevada, Wisconsin and Hawaii. In March 2026, the company signed a strategic investment and integration agreement with SETO Holdings, an OTC-listed beverage platform. Here is how Bash got there, how the product works, how small the funding has been and what a looming federal rule could change.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal, financial or health advice. Alcohol is for adults 21 and over, and laws on hemp-derived products vary by state and are changing.
Tony Bash El Hempe: Who Is the Founder?
Tony Bash is the founder and chief executive officer of El Hempe Spirits, Inc. According to Crunchbase, the company is a tequila and mezcal brand headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, while other databases list Portland. His professional profile shows him as CEO since April 2019, and CB Insights dates the company’s founding to 2019.
Press coverage consistently describes him by his earlier jobs. BevNET identifies him as the former CEO of the cannabis co-packer Form Factory and a longtime vice president at LiDestri Food & Drink, a large contract manufacturer of food and beverages. A 2026 SETO Holdings announcement adds that he is a general partner at The MacArthur Fund, an investment platform focused on emerging consumer brands.
That combination of operations, cannabis manufacturing and investing is unusual among spirits founders. It explains why El Hempe reads as both a brand and a business exercise. That mix is the core of the Tony Bash El Hempe story.
From LiDestri to Form Factory
Bash’s career was built inside the production side of consumer goods. According to a SETO Holdings announcement, at LiDestri Foods and Beverages he served as vice president of food and beverage, overseeing domestic and international expansion and helping scale both legacy products and new beverage innovations. LiDestri is a large manufacturer that produces food and drink for other brands, so the job meant working on many launches at once.
He then led Form Factory, a cannabis co-packer, which put him inside the practical details of making infused products for a regulated market. A co-packer deals with formulation, compliance, packaging and scale for other companies’ products, the same skills a new beverage brand needs.
A third-party profile adds that Bash has marketing and brand-development experience, and one interview describes decades of work for large beverage and sportswear companies. Because these background claims come from different sources and are not fully consistent, readers should check them against his LinkedIn page. The manufacturing and co-packing years are the operating foundation of Tony Bash El Hempe.
The Idea: Cannabis Aroma Without Cannabinoids
The concept sits at the border of two industries. According to the company’s StartEngine crowdfunding page, El Hempe was born after two years of research and development and was developed to be the bridge between cannabis and spirits. The pitch was that the brand is one of the first to use botanical aromatic terpenes as an ingredient in cocktails while keeping calories and carbs low.
The product idea is specific. BevNET reports that the brand uses botanical terpenes to replicate the nose of cannabis without THC in its tequila beverages. The company’s website says the drinks contain zero THC or CBD, and that terpenes still give the cocktail a complex mix of fragrant herbal notes. PitchBook’s description adds that the terpenes come from non-cannabis plants.
The thinking is that a consumer can get the aromatic experience associated with cannabis culture inside a familiar format, a tequila-based sparkling cocktail. It is a narrow idea, but narrow ideas make clear brands. The concept is the creative seed of Tony Bash El Hempe.
What Are Terpenes?
Terpenes are central to the product, so the definition matters. The El Hempe website explains that terpenes are aromatic compounds present in many plants, but especially strong in cannabis, and that they are the green, grassy aroma associated with the plant. The company says it infuses those aromas into its seltzer and that, even with zero THC or CBD, terpenes give the cocktail a complex mix of fragrant herbal notes.
In a Daily Pour interview, Bash described terpenes in simple terms: the easiest way to think of them is as the essential oils that come out of any plant. Terpenes also appear in many everyday foods, from citrus peel to herbs, which is why the technology is not exclusive to cannabis.
The brand openly references cannabis culture in its marketing, which is part of its identity, though the drinks are marketed as terpene-infused rather than cannabis-infused. Readers should note that the company’s website describes the original line as containing no THC, and that its newer plans include separate hemp-derived products, covered below. The terpene positioning is the technical backbone of Tony Bash El Hempe.
Building El Hempe: Tequila, Seltzer and Flavors
The original line was a set of canned tequila seltzers. According to BevNET’s distribution announcements, the brand offered three alcoholic seltzers, all made with tequila from Familia Orendain in Jalisco, Mexico. Lemon & Lime OG Kush is a tequila seltzer listed at 5% ABV and 100 calories, with what the company calls a noticeably stony aroma. Mixed Berry Kush and Hibiscus Durban Poison round out the lineup, and the latter is listed at a higher ABV.
The Daily Pour reported that the cans are named after well-known cannabis strains, which is the brand’s way of signaling the aroma profile to adults familiar with those names. In another interview, the publication noted that the company planned to release full-size bottles of an OG Kush blanco tequila, an extension from cans to bottles that does not appear to have been confirmed in later coverage.
Crunchbase describes the Mixed Berry flavor as a sparkling tequila cocktail flavored with mixed berries and infused with OG Kush terpenes. Using real tequila as the base is a deliberate choice, since many RTD brands use malt or neutral spirits. The product design is the creative backbone of Tony Bash El Hempe.
Launching in California and Oregon
The first markets were on the West Coast. Bash told BevNET that after establishing a stronghold in California and Oregon, which he called two of the nation’s most cannabis-loving states, it seemed natural to expand elsewhere. The brand’s first retail footprint therefore came in states with mature cannabis cultures and sophisticated craft-beverage retail.
The choice makes sense for a brand built on a cultural wink. Shoppers in those states are more likely to recognize the strain names, understand the terpene concept and be open to a crossover drink. Starting with a receptive audience also lets a small company learn what works before spending on markets that may be harder.
It is also a practical decision. Distribution of alcohol in the United States runs through a three-tier system, so each state requires a distributor partner. Starting in two states kept the early logistics manageable. The West Coast launch is where Tony Bash El Hempe found its first customers.
Expanding to Nevada, Wisconsin and Hawaii
In 2022, the company expanded into Nevada through Las Vegas-based Pemberton Distribution. Bash said Pemberton’s focus on boutique, artisan brands made it a good fit for El Hempe’s “unapologetically rebellious nature,” and Pemberton’s CEO described the brand as strong in the RTD category because it pairs sparkling tequila with a little something extra reminiscent of cannabis.
In 2023, the company signed with Badger Liquor, which describes itself as the largest beverage network in Wisconsin and a family business since 1935. Bash praised its distribution power and its broad specialty portfolio. Later that year, El Hempe signed Honolulu-based Cherry Co. to distribute across the Hawaiian Islands, with Bash saying younger drinkers there would love the seltzers.
That gave the brand five states: California, Oregon, Nevada, Wisconsin and Hawaii. It is a patchwork rather than a national footprint, but each distributor was a regional specialist. The expansion shows how Tony Bash El Hempe grew one distributor at a time.
Building the Leadership Team
Bash did not build the company alone. BevNET’s announcements list two senior hires. Joe Ragazzo, a former senior executive at Brown-Forman and LiDestri, serves as chief revenue officer. Efrain Romo, a Los Angeles-based marketer who, according to the company, was instrumental in launching Cazadores Tequila, serves as chief marketing officer.
The team reflects the brand’s strategy. Ragazzo brings large-company spirits sales experience, which matters for convincing distributors and retailers. Romo brings tequila marketing experience, especially with Latino and West Coast audiences. A CB Insights profile lists Romo’s earlier work in advertising and public transportation marketing.
Both are experienced operators, but the leadership team is small. That suits a bootstrapped company, though it also limits how quickly the brand can scale. A veteran team gives Tony Bash El Hempe credibility with distributors even though the company itself is small.
Funding: Angels, Crowdfunding and a Small Seed
The funding story is modest, and the sources are not consistent. PitchBook lists an angel investment of $50,000 in February 2021, a seed round of $50,000 in April 2022, an equity crowdfunding round on StartEngine and an early-stage venture investment of $23,000 in July 2023. Tracxn totals $323,000 across three rounds from one institutional investor, Blue Rhino Capital of Atlanta, while CB Insights lists $500,000 in total funding and names SETO Holdings and StartEngine as investors.
The crowdfunding round is notable. The StartEngine page invited retail investors to buy a stake, which lets a small brand raise money from its own fans. Different trackers count that money differently, so the totals vary.
The takeaway is that El Hempe has raised well under a million dollars in disclosed funding. That is tiny compared with the venture-backed beverage brands that dominate headlines, such as the ones covered in our story on Nopalera’s Series A. For more on how funding rounds shape young brands, see our Funding News section. Lean funding is a defining feature of Tony Bash El Hempe.
The SETO Holdings Agreement
The biggest recent development came on March 25, 2026. SETO Holdings, a Nevada corporation traded over the counter and based in Maryland, announced a strategic investment and integration agreement with El Hempe Spirits.
According to the announcement, El Hempe’s portfolio includes hemp-derived Delta-9 THC ready-to-drink beverages, where permitted by applicable law, and functional terpene-enhanced tequila RTDs, both under the El Hempe name. The companies said they plan to expand into control states, which are states where the government runs alcohol sales, and into Canada’s LCBO market. The brand is also developing a hemp-inspired, low-ABV agave-based spirit targeted for late 2027.
The agreement includes manufacturing. SETO said its infrastructure can support RTD production for multiple brands, improving speed to market and margins. The companies are also exploring additional growth capital with strategic partners, including MacArthur CPG Fund, to support acquisitions, inventory, manufacturing expansion and national rollout.
Bash said the partnership gives El Hempe access to scale “without compromising our identity.” Days later, SETO appointed him to its advisory board. Because SETO is a small OTC-listed company and these are forward-looking statements in a press release, treat the plans as intentions, not results. The agreement is the biggest strategic move in the Tony Bash El Hempe story so far.
The Regulatory Cliff: The Federal Hemp Redefinition
Any story about hemp-derived THC drinks in 2026 has to address the law. In November 2025, Congress passed a spending bill that rewrote the federal definition of hemp. Law firm analyses explain that, beginning November 12, 2026, finished hemp-derived cannabinoid products may not exceed 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, which would reclassify most intoxicating hemp beverages as marijuana under federal law.
The timeline is moving. One law firm reports that a later continuing-resolution bill pushed the effective date to December 11, 2026, giving Congress extra time to consider a regulatory framework. Industry groups have lobbied for a framework that would preserve a market for certain hemp beverages, and bills have been introduced to regulate rather than ban them, though none had cleared Congress in the sources reviewed. States are acting separately: one trade blog notes that California restricted most hemp THC drinks to the licensed cannabis dispensary system from January 2026, and New Jersey set per-serving caps.
For El Hempe, the exposure is specific. Its terpene-only seltzers, which the company says contain no THC, sit outside the THC rule, though alcohol and marketing rules still apply. The hemp-derived Delta-9 products described in the SETO announcement are the ones that depend on how the law evolves, and the announcement itself includes the phrase “where permitted by applicable law.” Readers should check current federal and state rules before relying on any of this. The regulatory timeline is the biggest outside risk for Tony Bash El Hempe.
Branding: Rebels and Luchadores
The brand’s voice is loud. In its own words, quoted by The Daily Pour, the company calls itself “bubbly rebels,” a band of misfits fighting a sea of sameness with punchy flavors and a tequila that is as real and authentic as its people. The imagery draws on lucha libre wrestling masks, hence the “luchadores” language.
That tone is deliberate. In a crowded RTD aisle, a brand with a loud personality stands out, especially to younger adults who respond to irreverence. It also gives retailers and bartenders a story to tell.
The risk is that irreverence can limit shelf access. Large chains, retail buyers and platforms may hesitate over cannabis imagery, and advertising rules for alcohol and cannabis-adjacent products are strict. Marketing must be careful to stay adult-oriented. The attitude is the personality of Tony Bash El Hempe, and also its biggest brand risk.
Where El Hempe Stands in the RTD Market
The ready-to-drink tequila category has been one of the fastest-growing parts of beverage alcohol. Tequila seltzers and canned cocktails now fill shelves in many states, with large and small brands competing on flavor, ABV and branding.
El Hempe’s differentiator is the terpene angle. Few brands combine real tequila, a low-calorie seltzer format and a cannabis-inspired aroma without any cannabinoids. The company also has a veteran team and a partner in SETO that offers manufacturing capacity. The Daily Pour described it as a “funky hybrid concept” within a growing market.
The risks are substantial. The brand is small and thinly funded. It competes against well-capitalized RTD giants. Its distribution is regional. Its identity depends on a cultural niche that can shift quickly. And the hemp-THC side of its plan sits under legal uncertainty. In a crowded field, Tony Bash El Hempe competes on novelty and attitude.
Leadership Style and What’s Next
Bash comes across as an operator with a brand-builder’s instinct. His public statements are practical, praising distributors for their fit with a category disruptor and framing partnerships in terms of scale without losing identity. He has also taken on a wider role, as a general partner at The MacArthur Fund and an advisor to SETO.
The roadmap in the SETO announcement points to several steps: control-state and Canadian expansion, manufacturing integration, new products including hemp-derived RTDs where legal and a low-ABV agave spirit planned for late 2027. The test will be execution with limited capital, and how quickly the company can adapt as federal hemp rules settle. That discipline will define the next chapter of Tony Bash El Hempe.
Lessons From the Tony Bash El Hempe Journey
The Tony Bash El Hempe journey offers five practical lessons for founders.
First, use your operating experience. Years in co-packing and beverage manufacturing gave Bash the practical knowledge to launch with lean resources.
Second, build a clear niche. Terpene-infused tequila is a narrow idea that is easy to explain and easy to remember.
Third, grow through regional specialists. Choosing distributors that fit the brand worked better than chasing national scale too early.
Fourth, raise capital in small, varied pieces. Angels, crowdfunding and small venture checks kept a thinly funded company alive.
Fifth, plan for regulation. A business that touches both alcohol and hemp must watch law changes as closely as sales.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Tony Bash?
Tony Bash is the founder and CEO of El Hempe Spirits. He is a former vice president at LiDestri Food & Drink and former CEO of the cannabis co-packer Form Factory.
What is the Tony Bash El Hempe story?
It is the story of a beverage executive who built a terpene-infused tequila seltzer brand that replicates the aroma of cannabis without THC, expanded across five states and in 2026 signed a strategic agreement with SETO Holdings.
What is El Hempe Spirits?
El Hempe Spirits is an Oregon-based brand of tequila seltzers and cocktails infused with botanical terpenes. The company says the original drinks contain zero THC or CBD.
What are terpenes?
Terpenes are aromatic compounds found in many plants, including citrus and herbs, and especially strong in cannabis. They give plants their characteristic smell.
Where is El Hempe sold?
Distribution announcements cover California, Oregon, Nevada, Wisconsin and Hawaii. Availability can change, so check with the company.
Who makes the tequila in El Hempe?
BevNET reports that the tequila supplier is Familia Orendain of Jalisco, Mexico.
How much funding has El Hempe raised?
Disclosed funding is small. Tracxn lists $323,000 across three rounds, and CB Insights lists $500,000, with investors including Blue Rhino Capital, StartEngine crowdfunding backers and SETO Holdings.
What is the SETO Holdings agreement?
In March 2026, SETO Holdings announced a strategic investment and integration agreement with El Hempe covering RTD manufacturing, expansion into control states and new product categories.
Are hemp THC drinks legal?
It depends on the state and the date. A federal law redefining hemp is scheduled to take effect in late 2026, and several states have their own rules. Check current law before buying or selling.
Who are El Hempe’s executives?
Bash is CEO, Joe Ragazzo is chief revenue officer and Efrain Romo is chief marketing officer, according to company announcements.
Conclusion
Tony Bash El Hempe shows how an operator can turn a niche idea into a real, if small, beverage brand. By pairing real tequila with botanical terpenes, launching in cannabis-friendly states, adding veteran executives and raising money in small pieces, Bash built a brand that now has a strategic partner with manufacturing capacity. The open question is whether the brand can scale on limited funding, and how federal and state hemp rules will reshape its product plans. If it can navigate both, El Hempe may become one of the clearer examples of a crossover brand in alcohol.
For more founder journeys in consumer brands, see Freddie Martignetti’s Rosaluna, Marcos del Pilar’s Pro Padel League and Dorsia’s Series A on Denote Press, or browse all Founder Stories.
