Ocho Vintage Single-Estate Tequila {Luxist}

Oct 30th 2009 11:39AM Hey Dude7..

The idea of Tequila Ocho is not that they buy random agave and sell by the barrel. They only use their own naturally grown agave (no pesticides or open market plants) owned/managed by the Camerenas family throughout its entire growth at various individual rachos or estates throughout Arandas at different altitudes/ micro climates. They do not blend it with any other so that you are able to taste the natural flavor nuances of each individual ranch. The cost is not $500 (though worth it - I think) - it is about $79.99. It is the first time "terroir" is explored in agave. It is creating a new category of Single Estate and Vintage Year (same estate will not be re-released for nearly a decade due to the time it takes for an agave plant to mature) so that down the road you can taste various years against each other.

The method that is used is also done with hand care through a unique process: A few examples - they hand pick only the ripe agave and hand cut the core out of every pina to remove bitterness, agave is baked in in old stone ovens and do not use the juice from the first 8 hours of cooking to insure no bitterness, the fermentation process is natural and open air over several days....