agave

Tequila Avion, New for the Private Jet Set

Filed under: Spirits

Ken Austin, Executive Vice Chairman of Marquis Jet, is launching a new ultra premium spirit called Tequila Avion for the private jet set. Austin attracted several million dollars in funding from investors including notables from the worlds of art and culture, business, technology, sports, lifestyle and luxury goods to get the new venture off the ground. Produced by fifth generation agave growers from among the finest Blue Weber agave found in the highest regions of Jalisco, Mexico, the tequila's distinct flavors are achieved through a combination of slow-roasting at lower temperatures to protect the natural flavors of the agave and an ultra-slow filtration process which creates an ultra-smooth taste profile. It's available in Silver, Reposado and Anejo varietals.

"I've always experimented and searched for a tequila that is smooth and has great character, whether I drink it neat or in a cocktail," Austin notes. "Over the years, close friends and business associates who were also passionate about tequila have joined me in this pursuit. We came to realize that if we wanted the ideal tequila – balancing exceptional taste, character and smoothness - we would have to create it ourselves. With the help of experts that understood our quest, that is exactly what we have achieved in Tequila Avion, a distinctive and defining new standard of quality and taste in tequila, or 'Taste Elevated' as we refer to it." Tequila Avion is now available at select locations including New York's Park Avenue Liquor Shop.

Tags: agave, Marquis Jet, Mexico, Park Avenue Liquor Shop, private aviation, private jet, spirits, tequila, Tequila Avion

Don Valente Distillery Tour

by Ariston Anderson (RSS feed) —

The Ruta del Tequila in Jalisco, MX is an established UNESCO Cultural Site. With gorgeous blue agave as far as the eye can see, the tequila trail is a must-see for aficionados of the spirit. A hot air ballon trip covers the agave trails, the areas of el Arenal, Amatitán, Tequila, Magdalena y Teuchitlán. To really experience the Paisaje Agavero, or agave trail though, I recommend renting a car and grabbing a map to really experience the distilleries up close.

Just as important as the larger world-class distilleries in Jalisco are to the story of tequila, are the smaller, family-owned ones. I visited one such distillery, Don Valente, which is run completely by nine family members that each hold a different position in the company from designer to lawyer to sales.

The 15-year-old distillery does everything in-house, from cooking agave to hand-printing labels on aluminum, a process called repujado. When piñas, or hearts of the agave plant, are taken to Don Valente, they are placed face down in the brick oven in the shape of a pyramid to cook for 48 hours. In this formation, steam is more evenly distributed throughout the piñas. The family kindly passed around cooked piña to taste, part of which was tough like sugarcane and part of which was soft and insanely sweet like a sugar-saturated melon.

Click through the photo gallery to discover the Don Valente tequila process from piña roasting to pressing to distillation.

Gallery: Tequila Don Valente Distillery

My visit to Jalisco was sponsored by Tequila Cazadores, but the opinions expressed in the article are 100% my own.

Tags: agave, agave trail, jalisco, paisaje agavero, tequila

Tasting the Tequila Cazadores Trio

by Ariston Anderson (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Tequila, the favored spirit of spring breakers far and wide, is often given a bad rap for being an amateur's liquor. A longtime fan of agave, I was thrilled to be a part of a trip to the tequila trail of Mexico in Jalisco, to learn more about this mysterious spirit. Although you'll find tequila aficionados experimenting with ultra-aged blends, for the masses there are three well-known types of tequila: silver, reposado and añejo. Extra añejo (for the ultra-aged) is gaining popularity among those who like their spirits saturated in oak,tequila purists would argue that too much aging overwhelms the delicate agave taste. And while I'm the first to say keep it in the barrel for most spirits, tequila is one of those rare liquids that has such an intense flavor and body all to its own (all credit due to the agave plant) that I'm the first to admit that anything aged over a year might negatively detract from the flavor of the tequila.

And beyond the tequila trinity, what about all this gold tequila we see everyone? As a devote to all things gold, these blends were most likely the bottles I was most drawn toward purchasing before being properly educated. But after learning the basics, say it ain't so, gold tequila is in most cases a lesser quality than silver tequila. Gold tequilas are more often than not silver tequilas with coloring or sugar additives. Fortunately for us, there wasn't a gold tequila in sight at the Cazadores distillery, except for the naturally aged reposados and añejos that naturally gain a slight coloring from oak barrel aging.

The story of Cazadores starts with Jose Maria Bañuelos, who created the recipe in 1922 and kept it in the family for three generations like all famly secrets deserve. It wasn't until his grandson Don Felix perfected the recipe and opened up a factory in 1973 that the special recipe was released to the public. He named the blend Cazadores, "hunters," in honor of his grandfather to signify a man hunting down his dream, and marked it with the symbol of a deer, the favorite animal of his grandfather, which he often watched at night mingling with the gorgeous blue agave plants in the field.

Gallery: Cazadores Distillery Bar

Tags: agave, anejo, cazadores, jalisco, tequila, tequila review, tequila tasting

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Tequila el Jimador Añejo's New Look

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Starting in October, the Añejo expression of Tequila el Jimador, the #1 selling tequila in Mexico, will be available here in a new package that aligns its look with its Blanco and Reposado offerings. The new Añejo package will initially be available in California and Texas, and will roll out to the remainder of the U.S. by year's end. The new look features the same classic tall, angular bottle as the other expressions (above) and identical iconography of the Jimador on the label to pay tribute to the proud men that harvest the agave plants used to make the 12-month aged 100% agave tequila. Tequila el Jimador is produced by Casa Herradura, which was named "2007 Best Distiller of the Year" by Wine Enthusiast magazine. Since 2000, Tequila el Jimador has received numerous accolades from industry insiders, including the Adams Beverage Media Growth Brand Award in the Fast Track Category for 2005 and 2006.

Tags: agave, Mexico, tequila, Tequila el Jimador, TequilaElJimador

Ltd. Edition Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario Tequila

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

This fall Jose Cuervo will release a limited edition 250 Aniversario Tequila retailing for $2,250. The special bottling commemorates the historic birth of tequila production and the establishment of 10 generations of Cuervo family tradition: on November 2, 1758 King Carlos of Spain granted Don Jose Antonio de Cuervo the first plot of land on which to cultivate agave. In anticipation of the 250th anniversary, expert Jose Cuervo jimadores planted blue agave on the same land granted in 1758 and used these estate-grown plants exclusively in the production of Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario. This precision was utilized to ensure every decanter maintains a direct link to this historic event and pays tribute to the centuries of labor and family passion that led to the creation of an industry.

Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario is a 100 percent blue agave Extra Añejo Tequila blended from the most select tequilas in the family's reserve and aged in a unique double-cask method. The best of these Extra Añejos, aged in toasted new American Oak barrels for a minimum of three years, were selected by the master distiller and blended together to achieve a superior tequila. The distinctive blend was then finished for 10 months in Sherry casks originating from Spain. The decanter was inspired by the original glass bottle first used by Jose Cuervo to ship Tequila to towns throughout Mexico. Each comes packaged in elegant oak gift box and will have its sequential number etched into the glass, certifying the product's rarity and authenticity.

Tags: agave, Jose Cuervo, JoseCuervo, Mexico, Tequila

Casa Noble Tequila Receives USDA Organic Certification

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Hello Luxist community! I'm new to the team and looking forward to joining the conversation. There's probably more than you'd ever want to know about me here, but in short, I travel the world about a third of the time in search of what's cool, fascinating and fabulous. And the rest of the time ... well I do the same thing at home, either in New York City or in Litchfield County, CT.

So I will be toasting tonight with Casa Noble tequila, which just received USDA organic certification. It still doesn't quite qualify as health food, but Casa Noble's triple-distilled tequilas are made from the organically-grown slow roasted hearts of blue agave cactus, fermented without additives, and aged in French White Oak barrels. The Añejo rests two years in the barrels and it's smooth, woody and just a touch fruity. It retails for $59.95, and the beautifully designed purple decanter is an added bonus. In a nod to fine whiskey, Casa Noble also has started to offer a limited edition single barrel line. For this version, the Añejo rests for five years, and costs $129.95.

Note: Post corrected, see comments.

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Tags: agave, limited edition, LimitedEdition, organic, organic spirits, OrganicSpirits, spirits, tequila, whiskey, whisky

Ocho Vintage Single-Estate Tequila

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Tequila Ocho, which just arrived here from Arandas in Jalisco, Mexico, bills itself as "the first ultra premium single estate tequila to be introduced into the U.S. market in vintages." Rather than the usual method of blending crops, the agave plants from which Ocho is made are sourced from single estates, i.e. individual plots of land with their own microclimates.

Because of the time it takes the agave to mature, each estate's fields cannot be replenished for almost ten years after a harvest, making each one unique and, according to Ocho, highly collectible. The agave is slowed cooked in stone ovens and undergoes open-air fermentation in wooden casks. Each bottle is numbered by hand and stamped with the estate name of each vintage. Ocho is available in Plata, Reposado, and Anejo (above) bottlings.

Tags: Agave, Mexico, Tequila, Tequila Ocho, TequilaOcho

Siembra Azul's New Anejo Tequila

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Siembra Azul, the small-batch, boutique tequila brand, is unveiling its highly anticipated aged Anejo.

This first batch of Siembra's Anejo has been aged for 18 months in barrels of virgin "medium toast" American white oak to give it richness and character.

Each subsequent bottling will vary in its maturing period depending on weather conditions impacting the quality of the year's agave crop.

Siembra Azul literally means "Blue Harvest." The super-premium spirit is double-distilled.

The company, which also makes a crisp, young Blanco and an elegant, gently aged Reposado all in similarly-designed modern bottles, grows its 100% blue agave during the winter months in the town of Arandas, in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico.

See the gallery for more.

Gallery: Siembra Azul Tequila

Tags: Agave, Mexico, Siembra Azul, SiembraAzul, Tequila

Pasion Azteca: Most Expensive Tequila in History

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Ultra-premium may be a popular buzz word for marketers, but there is a difference between the truly high-end spirits and the ones that are simply "ok". Pasion Azteca is the real deal. Made by Ley .925, only 66 bottles of the 100% blue agave tequila, aged for six years, will be produced. The tequila will be packaged in handmade gold and platinum bottles with original art (pictured) from Alejandro Gómez Oropeza on the labels. It is being marketed as the most unique and expensive tequila in history - and they're not kidding. Each bottle is $150,000.

Interested? You'll have to contact the company directly to get your hands on a bottle before they're released on July 21.

[Thanks, Jake]

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Tags: agave, expensive, luxury, most expensive tequila, spirits, tequila

La Certeza Tequila

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Another ultra-premium tequila will be crowding the shelves this summer. La Certeza is an estate-crafted, blue agave tequila which will pop in select markets next month. The tequila is created from agaves grown on the Beckmann estate near the town of Tequila. The new tequila is a collaboration between the Beckmanns, the former co-owners of Jose Cuervo, the Boissets and the La Certeza family, a group of tequila artisans. There are three versions a Blanco which sells for $40, a Reposado for $45 and the Añejo for $60. Anyone had the chance to taste this one yet?

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Tags: agave, alcohol, la certeza, LaCerteza, liquor, spirits, tequila

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