Decades after the dissolution of NSYNC, Justin Timberlake’s legacy has been defined by a handful of cultural touchstones; three Super Bowl performances, a successful acting stint, a DUI arrest and an oft-repeated promise to bring “sexy back.” Amid the headlines, it’s easy to forget that the “Cry Me a River” singer has his own tequila brand. Albeit not the most successful one. On Friday, an anonymous source identified as a “friend of Justin” chronicled the rise and fall of Sauza 901, the singer’s ill-fated agave spirits venture, during an interview with In Touch Weekly. For those unfamiliar with the premise, Timberlake joined forces with distiller Sauza Tequila in 2014 to unveil a triple-distilled, 100% agave tequila. Named in honor of his hometown area code in Memphis, Tennessee, Sauza 901 featured a stripped-down red and white label and was marketed as the perfect accompaniment for “nighttime and celebratory occasions.”

Justin Timberlake© Provided by BottleRaiders

Timberlake immediately got to work on the usual array of promo. Cardboard cutouts of the singer popped up at liquor stores while ad spots graced televisions across the country. In a video that can now be viewed as nothing less than laughably ironic, Timberlake donned green makeup to become Rick “Sour” Vane, a party-loving anthropomorphic lime who hits rock bottom after crashing his car (it’s left unclear whether Vane was drunk at the time of the incident). Despite the sizeable investment, Sauza 901 failed to make an impression on consumers. Though bottles can still be picked up online for around $30, you’ll rarely see them making the rounds alongside recognizable tequila imprints from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kendall Jenner or Michael Jordan.

 “Justin’s 901 Tequila brand has always been a niche player and never really took flight as a national, mass-market brand the way George Clooney and Rande Gerber‘s Casamigos did,” the source said. “Sure, miracles can happen and brands can have a resurgence, but right now Justin’s tequila is an also-ran and way down on the list of celebrity-backed liquor brands. It just never became the household name Justin envisioned it could be.”

The how and why of Sauza 901 is best understood within the context of the larger celebrity-owned tequila craze. Timberlake got into the game one year after George Clooney and Rande Gerber launched Casamigos, a brand that would eventually be acquired by spirits giant Diageo for $1 billion in 2017. That headline-worthy figure inspired the celebrity tequila wave as we know it today, leaving behind a trail of would-be contenders that debuted just a smidge too early to capitalize on the hype. Though Timberlake’s returns on Sauza 901 have never been disclosed, the anonymous source told In Touch Weekly that it “wasn’t close to a nine-figure deal like George and Rande got.” It’s also worth noting that the singer tied his venture to a distiller that has continually reported declining sales in the US. By naming his brand Sauza 901, rather than simply “901” or any variety of more ambiguous monikers, Timberlake went all-in on a distiller with little recognition among the average consumer. Brands like Kevin Hart’s Gran Coramino