He took a shot.
An East Hampton native who skipped college to follow his professional dream is succeeding on Long Island’s luxe South Fork peddling his own tequila brand.
“Larger brands … they just drop some product on a table,” Montaukila owner Simon Cascante, 33, recently told The Post.
So Cascante said he instead sought a low-key, locally focused method to help remind people that there’s more to the East End than being an overflowing playground for viral influencers and A-listers.
“I think people started out skeptical. … But I hear all the time now, ‘Wow, this is a really cool brand,” the entrepreneur said. “Customers find out there are no outside investors, that I didn’t go to college and did this on my own. People have loved it.”
Cascante, now in his sixth year in the business, spends each summer personally driving a special van, a k a a “mobile cantina,” with a makeshift bar and special tequila tap to events and markets around the area.
“The sleepy town, the summer escape and getaway for people was really what Montauk once represented — and I wanted to maintain that,” he explained.
Outpouring of effort
Cascante has been inadvertently building a proof of concept since his teenage years, clearing tables and tending bar at nearby Amagansett’s staple eatery Lobster Roll, where he showed face in the community and put his work ethic on display.
The millennial entrepreneur said it was there — rather than a university classroom — that he learned how to branch out.
“I think the restaurant industry is probably one of the best examples of going to business school,” said Cascante, who still holds a managerial role at Lobster Roll, which serves his canned cocktails.
“I think if you can do it at a high level, you can run any business.”
Rising in the ranks of the service industry while also learning some graphic design along the way sparked an a-ha! moment for Cascante in 2019 — and sparked his crafty drink name.
“If you say Montauk and tequila three times fast, you get Montaukila,” he said.
“I told myself, ‘If I don’t do this, I’m going to kick myself in the ass. I have the concept. I have the name. I just have to figure out how.’ “
On the rocks
The liquor he chose was especially complicated as, by law, it must be produced in Jalisco, Mexico, said Cascante, whose family came to America from Costa Rica.
Things didn’t start smoothly for him, though.
He said his cold-calling of nearly a dozen distilleries south of the border resulted in rejection after rejection — until one finally wanted a taste for a surprising reason.
Casa Maestri agreed to do business ultimately because an executive there once vacationed in Montauk and knew the area would be thirsty for Cascante’s approach, according to the small-business operator.
“It was a miracle,” he said. “I think everything happens for a reason. I was about ready to give up and quit.”
Since that fateful day, Cascante has branched out Montaukila across Long Island, New York City and the Hudson Valley, which was no easy task.
“The biggest obstacle was penetrating the retail market; there’s a lot of pay to play in this area,” Cascante said.
“My hospitality background really helped … being able to set up events and do them a little bit differently than everybody else.”
This season, he’s also branched out into canned cocktails and, admittedly, obsessed over salinity levels to give them a proper salt on the rim aftertaste.
“Some of the competitors aren’t too happy already,” Cascante said. “So I’m excited about that.”
