p.i.n.k. tequila

Today our quest brings us to a new tequila that is scheduled to hit the market in the next 6 to 12 months. The p.i.n.k. Spirits Company out of New York, NY already sells a premium Vodka and they have plans to sell Rum, Tequila, Gin, White Whiskey, and Sake. The unique feature of p.i.n.k.'s premium spirits is that they are all infused with flavorless caffeine and guarana, two of the worlds most potent energy enhancing substances.
According to a press release posted online by The Earth Times, p.i.n.k. tequila is the world’s first 80 proof, ultra-premium, imported tequila made from 100%, all estate grown, Blue Weber Agave that is infused with caffeine and guarana. p.i.n.k. tequila is produced and bottled in Guadalajara, Mexico by La Cofradia, apparently one of the most prestigious tequila manufacturers.
The p.i.n.k. Spirits Company was founded in 2006 and is the world’s first producer of ultra-premium caffeine and guarana infused spirits. With no added sugar, color, or carbohydrates, p.i.n.k. spirits can be enjoyed straight or used to create any cocktail.
We look foward to trying this Tequila as soon as it hits the market so we can decide for ourselves if it is really a good combination. Anyone who knows anything about Tequila knows that distilled agave has its own energetic properties. The addition of guarana and cafine will likely take the tequila experience to a different level. Keep your eye out for p.i.n.k. Tequila and when you find it we would recommend fastening your seatbelt. It may take you for a ride!

happy valentine's day! try agavero tequila

There are two things that Mexico is most famous for. The world's finest tequila and a culture that is known for its love of passion. Today our quest brings us to an amazing bottle of tequila liqueur that we must share as a Valentine's Day treat for all of you. Agavero. This unique blend was created as long ago as the 17th century by Lazaro Gallardo, a well known figure in the history of tequila. He created a distillery in Jalisco called Los Camichines that to this day still produces this unique blend and is also well known for its Gran Centenario brand.
Agavero is a simple blend of either Repasado or Anejo tequila with the essence of Damiana flower. Damiana is a plant that has long been known and sought after for its aphrodesiac qualities. Apparently this liqueur has a neon-green hue and is quite thick and sweet. It is said to taste very good. We recomend that it be consumed during social occcasions and most importantly with intimate friends.
It may be hard to find in the US and abroad but can be ordered directly from Mexico. It is not very expensive, so get a bottle and keep it on the shelf for Valentine's Day or any other occasion when you may want to induce more passion.
We hope you love it!

jose cuervo launches new marketing campaign

Jose Cuervo has partnered with three-time World Cup participant Alberto Garcia Aspe to launch a groundbreaking campaign boasting Mexican pride. The campaign underscores the Cuervo Tradicional brand's long-standing commitment as an official sponsor of the Mexican National Soccer Team here in the United States, and will concentrate on soccer to deliver a social responsibility message to the multi-generational Mexican consumer.
With the slogan "Mexico, You Always Have It On," Jose Cuervo Tradicional positions its brand at the forefront of Mexican national identity and at the center of its passion for soccer. This landmark campaign is a completely new approach for the brand. The innate pride of the Mexican culture is the driving concept behind this innovative campaign.To communicate its message, Jose Cuervo Tradicional has engaged Alberto Garcia Aspe, one of the best players in the history of Mexican soccer, to act as the official spokesperson. Alberto is quoted saying "I am proud to join an effort that centers on the values of our culture". "Wearing the jersey means representing your culture with dignity and honor. As a soccer player and team captain I always tried to be a role model on and off the field. Now my goal is to motivate the fans and remind them that, to us, living life responsibly is not an option, it is a tradition."
The first phase of the launch is scheduled to begin this month and coincides with the USA-Mexico match taking place in Houston, Texas. Cuervo Tradicional will present its new television spots which will be broadcast by Fox Sports en Espanol, Galavision, Azteca America, ESPN Deportes and the Discovery Network. Recently, these same Jose Cuervo Tradicional social responsibility spots were the first spirits advertising permitted by the Spanish language cable channel Galavision and national cable giant ESPN, breaking new ground for the spirits industry.

*Photo of Alberto Garcia Aspe credited to George Herringshaw

la certeza & lunazul tequila brands part of joint venture

Tierra de Agaves, the Mexican spirits company founded by Francisco Beckmann and sons, former co-owner of Jose Cuervo is now involved in joint ownership of the Lunazul and La Certeza Tequila brands with Heaven Hills, a US family owned distillery. This venture combines Heaven Hill's global distribution network and marketing expertise with Tierra de Agaves' multi-generational focus on growing premium agave plants and producing the best 100% estate-grown Tequilas.
Heaven Hill is adding Lunazul and La Certeza to their leading spirits brands such as Christian Brothers Brandy, Evan Williams Bourbon, Hpnotiq and Pama Pomegranate Liqueur. Lunazul will be offered in both Blanco and Reposado varieties. La Certeza is an award-winning 100% Blue Weber Agave Tequila available in Blanco, Reposado and Anejo varieties.
Both Lunazul and La Certeza are estate-grown on the 3,500 acres of Blue Weber Agave that the Beckmann family and their past generations have controlled since 1758. They are then produced at state-of-the-art distillery completed in 2002 in Tequila, Mexico.

distiller of the year:2007

According to a November issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Casa Herradura is the 2007 distiller of the year. It is one of the oldest and most respected Tequila distilleries in all of Mexico. Herradura was founded by Ambrosio Rosales and Aurelio Lopez 138 years ago in Jalisco, the heart of Mexico’s Tequila region.
As featured in Wine Enthusiast, Tequila Herradura is 100-percent blue agave Tequila, carefully crafted using traditional methods, such as using clay ovens and fermenting the cooked agave hearts naturally with wild yeast. Tequila Herradura is all natural, estate grown and estate bottled. The distillery introduced the first Reposado Tequila in 1974, and later launched the first Extra Añejo, Seleccion Suprema.
In 1994, Casa Herradura released El Jimador Tequila to honor the men who harvest agave plants. Today, El Jimador is the No. 1 Tequila in Mexico.
Purchased in January 2007 by Brown-Forman of Louisville, Kentucky, a company that has the highest respect for quality and tradition, expect Casa Herradura to prosper despite the change in ownership

tequila.net adds spirits of mexico map

We are huge fans of TEQUILA.net! They seem to be bringing in the new year with a new web savvy feature. You can now visit their site and use a mapping feature that is powered by Google to locate your favorite Tequila, Mezcal, and Sotol distillery or to find a new one that you never even knew existed. Many distilleries shown link to their own photo gallery, showing pictures of their production process, exact address, and current brands produced.
According to our friends at TEQUILA.net additional maps will be added soon showing locations for both liquor stores and recommended restaurants / bars worldwide that are "Agave Friendly". These tools are provided to TEQUILA.net members and browsers that are interested in the Spirits of Mexico, making it simple to find locations worldwide where they can enjoy Agave products when traveling. They have even set it up so we can all contribute to their map's data base.
What are you waiting for?
Visit their site today and explore!

sotol hacienda de chihuahua

We recently tried a bottle of Sotol Hacienda de Chihuahua Plata. During the process of getting it open we couldnt avoid noticing that the cap was help in place by a leather string which was fastened to the bottle with a wax stamp. Beyond that we were amazed how it tasted exactly like premium tequila. Sotol comes from a wild Agavacea variety called Dasylirion. This is different than the 100%Blue Weber Agave that tequila is made from. The Sotol plants grow mainly in the Chihuahua region of mexico. The plata was quite smooth. We drank it with fresh lime juice as well as in margarita's. We were very impressed with the price once we tasted how good it was. Next time you are looking for a good value, look for Sotol Hacienda de Chihuahua.

Tres Jimadores rating: tres caballitos

vintage jose cuervo

The year 2008 is now 18 days away. Forty years ago, distilleries like Jose Cuervo were already setting the pace for many others to follow. This ad from the late 1960's was found on a blog written by Paula Zaegaj-Reynolds called "Advertising is good for you". The colorful background and the sophistication portrayed in this image was enough to make us want to run right out and buy a bottle of Jose's timeless tequila. We hope you enjoy this ad as much as we do.

tequila el mayor

El Mayor means "the greatest". Our quest has once again revealed another great bottle of Tequila. We recently had the opportunity to taste Tequila El Mayor Blanco. The bottle has a very nice natural shape that brought visions of the agave plant and rain droplets to mind. As is customary with tequila that is 100% Blue Weber Agave made in Mexico, each bottle of El Mayor comes with a label that tells you the batch number and bottle number. The Gonzales family has been distilling tequila for many years and has done an excellent job keeping their process balanced between traditions of yesterday and technology of today. We drank blanco from batch #246. It was in bottle #347. El Mayor has done an excellent job of integrating the batch label with the overall look of their brand. The anejo and the reposado bottles also have this signatue label. El Mayor's Blanco is unaged. It was quite smooth and crisp with flavor of the blue agave and hints of floral & pepper. Although it did not make it to the top of our list, we would recommend this bottle of blanco to anyone who is looking for a reasonably priced bottle of tequila that tastes good alone or in your favorite mixed drink.If you are interested in learning more about this brand or the Gonzales family distillery, go check out their nice website.

Tres Jimadores rating: tres caballitos.

fake tequila - mexico says NO!

This image, courtesy of the Mexican Tequila Regulatory Council, is "Pseudo Tequila" on display before it got destroyed in 2005. The Mexican Tequila Regulatory Council and Mexican Tequila makers continue their battle against knockoff tequilas.
The Council says the imitators range from sugarcane moonshine made in Mexican garages to quality spirits made from agave plants in South Africa. The group says it is mobilizing lawyers to defend tequila's good name.
While some consumers may not realize they're getting an impostor, Mexican producers & the Mexcian government are concerned that the drink's image could eventually be damaged by subpar products. There is a valid concern that if new consumers experience these pseudo products and have a bad first experience, it may impact the tequila market as a whole. The tequila council said there are no documented cases of anyone being poisoned by fake tequila, but apparently, some of the knockoffs are made in garages or basements and could be contaminated with oil or cleansers. Members of the regulatory commision claim that liquors contaminated with wood alcohol can cause blindness or brain damage. Scary!
The Mexican government seized 23,000 gallons of fake Tequila in September alone and has now banned 41 brands that were determined to be imposters or not up to par with the guidelines set forth. According to a recent USA Today article, fake brands included Salvaje (Savage) and El Valiente (The Brave One), which the Tequila Regulatory Council ruled to be types of rum. Others, like El Trailero (The Trucker), were mainly spiny agave liquor, also known as mescal. One brand of "tequila," Monte Alban, even included a worm in the bottle — something that only mescal bottlers do. Also according to the article, the council has begun certifying bars and restaurants with the "T Seal," a plaque saying that they serve only real tequila. About 50 businesses have gotten the seal. Good to know!

tequila factory tour

Informative video about Jose Cuervo tequila--who makes 100% as well as Mixto tequilas. Good video for the history of tequila--Jose Cuervo does make high quality tequilas such as the Reserva. Each bottle is handmade, numbered, dated and sealed in wax. Every year the Cuervo family commissions a different Mexican artist to design the new collectible box.

$$ world's most expensive tequila: hacienda la capilla distillery $$

A private collector has hit the most expensive charts with the purchase of a bottle of ‘ultra-premium’ Tequila for an astounding price of $225,000 at an auction in Mexico City in 2006!! The world’s most expensive tequila comes in a gold and platinum bottle of Tequila Ley. The bottle is filled with Pasion Azteca tequila, made from pure sap of the blue agave plant that has been fermented, distilled, and aged for six years. The spirit that fills it is a triple-distilled mix of 8-, 10- and 12-year-old agave plants and is produced by Hacienda La Capilla Distillery in Los Altos, Jalisco. Ley .925 CEO Fernando Altamirano says the liquor is aged in barrels whose provenance is “top secret"!

4 copas - certified organic tequila?

4 Copas and La Quemada Distillery based in El Arenal, Jalisco has released the first certified organic Tequila ever. In 1996, the vision of four men, united by the love and the appreciation for the land of Jalisco, gave life to the Compañía Tequilera La Quemada. The story dates back three generations, decades before the formal creation of La Quemada, when they began to grow Blue Agave—the essence of genuine, authentic tequila. Jalisco is a land renowned for its traditions, including the production of handicrafts. The beautiful crafts produced from hand-blown glass, typical of Zapopan, is the pride of all Mexicans. At La Quemada, they work in unison with the glass-blowing workshops that craft the special bottles for their tequila. La Quemada strives to support the craftspeople of Jalisco contributing to the preservation of an old and beautiful tradition. In may of this year 4 Copas Tequila was honored at an event celebrating it's endorsement as the first Certified Organic tequila in history. 4 Copas was named the Tequila of the year in 2006 by 'Wine & Spirits Magazine' and won consecutive gold medals at the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco, California. They offer Blanco, Reposado and Anejo varieties along with a limited edition bottle that is a magnificent work of art. If you are interested in organic beverages and you like Tequila visit their site here. 4 Copas is your only choice. It is not widely distributed in the US & Canada yet, but we have heard that it can be found in parts of California, Arizona, Hawaii, Alberta, Nova Scotia & Ontario. We have found that it is available from many online liquor stores though. We ordered 1 bottle of each variety and are eagerly awaiting for them to arrive so we can taste it first hand.