Like many others, Thomas Rhett has had a “rough experience” with tequila.

But he was determined to stick it out.

Rhett shared that his wife of nearly 10 years, Lauren Akins, has always been a fan of tequila. The award-winning singer-songwriter recalled his first sip of it at 22 years old, and, without calling out any specific brands, he said it was “rough.” But Rhett said, unlike people whose rough experiences prompt the decision to avoid the alcohol in the future, he was determined to learn more about the product and appreciate it when it’s made correctly. He said in a statement shared by his record label:

“My wife, you know when we started dating at 21 and got married at 22, my wife has always been a tequila lover. And I remember I had my very first sip of tequila when I was 22 years old. And I won’t say any brands, but it was just a rough experience. And I think a lot of people have those memories of college or, you know, early adulthood where you’re like, I will never touch tequila again because of XYZ. And I think once I started gettin’ into the craft of tequila and the process of it and the history of it, and how much time goes into making it, I just got really inspired to learn more about the product itself. And when I started tasting tequilas that were considered sipping tequilas, I was like, ‘Dang, this is not what I tasted when I was 21 years old.’ And I think it’s just all about kinda gettin’ that bad memory out of your head.”

Now, Rhett — who has been on tour with Conner Smith and Parker McCollum, sharing photos along the way — has his own tequila company, Dos Primos. He and his cousin, Jeff Worn, launched the company a few years ago, knowing that “we wanted to continue to expand our tequila family,” Rhett said in a statement earlier this year. That’s when he and Worn announced Dos Primos Tequila Reposado, the brand’s newest “family member.”

John E. Kage