Ken Austin doesn’t sleep much and he’ll admit that his ideas sometimes race ahead beyond what is physically possible.

But earlier this month, something that numerous people told the entrepreneur wasn't possible—his dream of creating a premium tequila brand that would be widely available—happened. Avión launched distribution in 47 U.S. states (holdouts include Idaho, Wyoming and Utah) through its new partnership with global spirits company Pernod Ricard, which has a limited stake in the company.

If you’ve heard of Avión, it might be because you’re a fan of the HBO series Entourage. You couldn’t watch the seventh season of the series and not pick up on it. The tequila brand did not just appear in one scene, it was written into the story line for the character Turtle, played by actor Jerry Ferrara.

Turtle traveled to Mexico to see how the tequila is made and a love interest convinced him to get his buddy, A-list actor Vince (played by Adrian Grenier), to promote the booze. The tequila flowed throughout season 7, with one episode featuring Vince nearly losing a movie role after drinking too many shots one morning with porn star Sasha Grey, who appeared in the series. Real-life investor Mark Cuban played one of the investors in the brand on the show.

Austin, a former accountant who shifted to the spirits business and became a senior vice president for Seagram, is also a founding member of Marquis Jet, before it was sold to NetJets in 2010. He recently sat down with Portfolio.com to talk about the adventures that transpired in the year since Avión ended up on Entourage—for free, by the way. He also talked about branding, how Avión had to convince fans that it was real, and what it’s like to make tequila in Mexico.

Portfolio.com: So you started this brand with your partner Kenny Dichter, another Marquis Jet cofounders, partly because of your love of aviation (Avión means airplane in Spanish), but also because you saw an opportunity in a market where there was the only key player.

Ken Austin: I looked at the space and I said there’s only one player (Patrón) in premium tequila. Given the people that we know, the network that we have, the insanity that I have in my head that says 'I’m going to do it,' I said we’re going to create the next brand in ultra-premium spirits in tequila. That was the goal. It’s about three and a half years ago that we started working on it. We wanted to crack the code of how do you make something that is so good in the bottle, but also create a brand that is lifestyle, that people want to consume and want. Then I went to Mexico and figured it out. I didn’t know how to make a bottle, didn’t know how to make a cork, didn’t know any of this. I was a front-end guy, I knew how to sell. I went and spoke to every guy who ran each of the major spirit companies and they all said to me “you’re crazy” but I was determined to do it.

How did you end up getting the product on Entourage? Was it product placement and did money change hands?

First of all, it cost zero. HBO does not allow product placements.Doug Ellen is the creator of Entourage. He and my business partner (Kenny) grew up together and were friends since they were 7 years old. We were all away on Labor Day, two summers ago in Nantucket at a guy named Jake Steinfeld’s house (founder of Body by Jake.) We're in the hot tub, talk about the usual stuff, and Doug starts talking about the story line for the character Turtle, and he was saying, “I really hate his storyline and it’s not going anywhere,” I said “Doug, you hate the story line for Turtle, why don’t you do something with our tequila?” He said ‘That’s interesting…Will you give me the brand? I need all creative license. You can’t tell me what to say, what to do, will you give me the brand?” I said “Yeah, why wouldn’t I. We’re friends.” He said just come to California and spend two days with me and his co-writer and teach me about Avión. I went out and told him everything. How does it work. I told him, how bartenders hands would slip on the bottles because they’re wet. He looked at me for the second day, and he said "Now go away. Don’t bother me. I have to control, I have to make good TV." And that's how it happened.