T
A
equila terroir
can you tell a tequila by its region ?
s Americans continue to get
smart about tequila – what it
is, where it comes from, how
By Jack Robertiello
it’s supposed to taste and how to drink it –
more and more brands are being made and
marketed with U.S. consumers in mind.
Ever since Patrón blazed a path of success by focusing on high-
end imagery, many other tequilas have been developed with high
hopes for similar results. And some have succeeded.
According to the most recent statistics released by the Distilled
Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), tequila boomed last
year at the very highest end, with volume up among super-premiums
by 10.6%, the fastest growing part of the business. And while te-
quila is only the seventh leading spirits category in volume, with 10.6
million 9-liter cases sold here last year, it accounted for nearly $1.6
billion in gross revenues in 2008, making it the fifth largest revenue-
producing category.
DISCUS revealed that value–priced tequilas last year were up
6.4% in volume; premium, the largest category by far, was down
1.3%; while high-end premium was down 9.2%. For comparison pur-
poses, Juarez is a typical value brand, while Cuervo Especial is a
premium, Sauza Hornitos a high-end premium and Don Julio Anejo
a super-premium.
Super-premium tequilas were one of the high points for the entire
spirit business in 2008, according to DISCUS. Those brands (mostly
extra anejos aged a minimum of three years, but also aging and finish-
 promotions focusing on launch support, the
new ad campaign of “Living Notoriously
Well” and on-and off-premise activities re-
volving around the margarita.

ing experiments) including Cuervo Reserva
de la Familia, Gran Centenario Leyenda,
Partida Elegante, Bordeaux-barrel finished
Gran Patrón Burdeos and others, have im-
pressed journalists and consumers alike.
Additionally, the quality halo emanating
from these brands is just another way that
tequila is seen to be improving. Not bad for
a spirit that even a few years ago many con-
sumers still thought of in terms of salt and
limes, worms and frat parties.
This summer, Patrón will implement
a summer mixology program, highlight-
ing the versatility and mixability of Patrón
Silver and Patrón Citronge, through three
key drinks: “Patrón Pomegranate”, “Patrón
Grapefruit” and “Patrón Pineapple”. Sales
staff will promote these signature cocktails in
both the off- and on-premise.
Things have gotten so hot that more
and more retailers, especially those doing
director of the Jose Cuervo portfolio for Dia-
geo, notes that 60% of growth has come from
silver tequilas. “Having a silver version of
Cuervo is a massive growth opportunity,”
he says. “This particular launch is the single
biggest opportunity that Cuervo has had in a
very long time.” Very smooth with a slight,
sweet taste of agave, the Especial Silver tar-
gets males 21-29 (“the bullseye target is 21-
24, a consumer a year or two out of college
finding his way in the world”) designed to be
consumed as a frozen shot, although it works
well in margaritas, too. Looking ahead to
the summer, Whitmoyer says that Cinco de
Mayo through mid-September, is otherwise
known as “Cuervo Season”. They plan on
spending more than $30 million on ads and
Product
Differentiation
Meanwhile, new brands, like Lunazul (which
took a silver and a gold medal at last year’s
San Francisco World Spirits Competition)
and El Diamonte del Cielo (praised by both
Paul Pacult’s Spirit Journal and by the Bev-
erage Testing Institute) continue to arrive,
looking for an edge. The crowded market-
place is spurring brand owners and importers
to refine their marketing pitches.
Sapphire Brands' Cielo Tequila has de-
veloped an original flavor profile through its
tri-barrel aging process. Both its reposado
and añejo tequilas pass time in sherry, Port
and bourbon barrels which impart subtle fla-
vors to the spirit.
One point of difference beyond the in-
herent qualities of unaged silver, lightly aged

S
business in California and the southwestern

states, are having a hard time keeping those
super-premiums on the shelf.
Says Zack Romaya, owner of two San
Diego area wine and spirits shops, the expen-
sive tequilas he stocks in his Old Town Wine
and Spirits shop fly out the door: “It used to
be that single malts were the big high-end
spirits, but for me now, unusual and very
expensive items like the $2,500 Dos Lunas,
or the $1,300 Asom Broso 11 year old, are
attracting the collectors.” Romaya stocks
around 500 tequilas in his store, many of
them in the $40-$70 range, but except for
old favorites like Cuervo Gold and Sauza,
few of his customers seem to be looking for
mixto tequilas. His tequila customers are di-
vided fairly equally into two areas of growth:
women looking to explore the smoother side
of the spirit through reposado, and men who
are favoring both silver and anejo.
It was the ideal time for Cuervo’s sig-
nificant launch of Especial Silver in the
premium price tier. Toby Whitmoyer, brand
potlight
on mezcal
While tequila has undergone a renaissance in recent years, Mezcal is still somewhat
shrouded in obscurity. While both are produced from the agave plant, the process for
Mezcal differs.
• While tequila is made exclusively from • Mezcal is synonymous with the Oax-
the Blue Agave plant, mezcal can be aca region, tracing its roots back to more
made from many types of agave. than 400 years; tequila is associated with
Mexico's Jalisco region.
• Tequila only has to be made with
51% agave, but all mezcals must contain • “Worms,” the larva of one of two moths
100% agave. that live on the agave plant, are found in
some bottles of mezcal, not tequila.
One To Try: Scorpion, one of the leading Mezcals, known for its USFDA-approved scorpion
in the bottle. They've just brought in the Oro de Oaxaca Mezcal, one of the most popular
Mezcals, that comes with a small bag of "sal de gusano" (worm salt) on each bottle as well as
the Mijes Mezcal, the new Mijes Joven variety in a blue blown-glass bottle with a cork/wax
stopper.
 Category focus

3#/20)/.
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reposado, aged anejo and longer aged ex-
tra anejo, has often been argued among
$/-).!4)/.
tequila connoisseurs: whether tequilas /&/2)').
made in the Los Altos highlands (Aran-
das, Jesus Maria, Atotonilco el Alto) dif- last year, discus 0%2#%.4
fer significantly from those from the Jalisco reported that the !'!6%-%:#!,
valley (Tequila, Amatitan, El Arenal).
Highland tequilas are said to be more
volume of
fruity and sweet, while lowland brands are super-premiums was up
said to be more spicy, herbal and earthier.
These qualities are mostly evident in silver
and sometimes reposado tequilas, which of-
10.6%,
fer more natural agave flavors and aromas the fastest growing
before the impact of new or used barrels part of the business.
takes hold.
“Some of my customers know about
the areas around Jalisco and the towns and in 2008, tequila
highlands,” says Mario Alejandro Marquez,
accounted for nearly
$1.6 billion
Tequila ambassador at San Diego’s Café
Coyote. “And I do see more of an interest
in those differences. I always say that if they
want a tequila with more sweetness, they in gross revenues,
may want to try one from the highlands,
making it the fifth
because the agaves there seem to get riper
quicker. When I’m there and compare the largest revenue-
piñas of the highlands, they are huge while producing category.
those in Jalisco might be smaller.”
The highlands are somewhat cooler,
which may affect the growth of the agave, 100% from Los Altos, they will tend to be
as may the higher iron content visible in
the rich red soil there. The result, Marquez
says, can mean that lowland tequilas are
dryer and more peppery while the high-
lands more sweet and crisp.
“Some people from Los Altos like to
advertise that there’s a huge difference be-
tween the agave from the highlands and
those from the valley,” says Ruben Aceves,
international brand development director
for Casa Herradura, producer of Herradura,
El Jimador and Don Eduardo. “We have
proved that if you produce tequila that is
)-0/24%$"9#!"!,,%2/3).#/!+4/.6!0%2#%.4!,#6/,0%2#%.4!'!6%
30)2)430,%!3%$2).+2%30/.3)",97773#/20)/.-%:#!,#/-
sweeter, fruitier with a more floral flavor
profile. If you produce one that is 100%
from the valley, the tequilas will be spicier,
with pepper, mint and a little bit of cinna- #!"!,,%2/3).#
mon and citrus.”
3#/20)/.-%:#!,#/-
But the company’s research indicates
that sugar content rarely differs between 
comparable agaves from the two areas,
though the sensory notes that come from
compounds called terpenes are somewhat
different.
More importantly, many lowland pro-
ducers, including Herradura, use pinas from

■ Tequila is made from the blue agave plant,
which resembles a cactus, but is actually
a member of the lily family. Believe it or
not, bats pollinate the plants. Agave plant
can take 6-12 years to mature.
■ At the heart of the Blue Agave is the ‘pina’
(similar in appearance to a pineapple)
which produces the ‘aguamiel’ or ‘honey
water’ that is the source of tequila.
■ Long before the Spanish arrived with
sophisticated methods of distilling, the
Aztecs were using the agave plant to
produce a sacred beverage. By cutting
away the spiky leaves to expose the
agave’s core, they were able to extract
its juice and create a milky, mildly
alcoholic beverage.
■ Tequila must be produced within certain
designated areas of Mexico, most notably,
the State of Jalisco. The spirit takes its
name from the colonial town of Tequila.
■ NOM is the Norma Official Mexicana,
which is the official number assigned by
the government to each tequila distillery,
identifying which company made or
bottled the tequila. Sauza is NOM 1102.
■ There are two classifications for tequila:
100% Blue Agave, which must be
100% from Blue Agave and bottled in
designated regions in Mexico; and Mixto,
which 51% must come from Blue Agave
and can be shipped in bulk and bottled in
other countries.
■ The five different classifications of
tequila are based on the aging technique:
Blanco, Joven (or Gold), Reposado, Añejo
and Extra Añejo.
■ The Sauza® Family Distillery, La
Persevencia, Mexico was established in
1873 and the Sauza family was the first
to call the golden drink “tequila” and the
first to export it to the United States.
s³4RES
Generaciones
Plata Tequila
s1 part premium
triple sec
s1 part Premium
orange liqueur
s1 part fresh
lime juice
Category focus
both regions. Aceves also points out that te-
quila is about more than agave location. Are
the agaves fully mature? Are they cooked
whole or shredded? Are they baked in clay
ovens or steamed in auto-claves? Is the cook-
ing slow or fast? Is fermentation natural or
does yeast come from a lab? Does distillation
occur at low or high proof? Distilled twice or
three times? In a column still or pot still or a
combination?
Some producers continue to fiddle with
their processes. For instance, Tequila Ley-
enda del Milagro offers a second line called
Barrel Select made from older agaves and
longer aging times. El Jimador, one of the
leading brands in Mexico, has returned to
a 100% agave formula after a few years as a
mixto. Corzo, a super-premium from Bacardi’s
House of Cazadores, is made through a pro-
cess that ages a double distilled spirit for two
months before distilling a third time. Corzo is
also aggressive in the way they distill, using
24 pounds of agave for each liter of finished
F
l av o r
orward
Quality tequila may be going through a
boom but not so much in an area where
other white spirits – vodka and rum, spe-
cifically – have expanded their markets:
flavors.
It’s not for want of trying. Cuervo
introduced three mixto flavors – Tropina,
Oranjo and Citrico a few years ago, and
Tarantula offers orange, lime, strawberry
and banana colada flavors. On the super-
premium level, Tanteo is available in
tropical, jalapeño and even chocolate. But
other companies don’t seem to have much
interest at the mixto level.
Milagro also ventured into the fla-
vored category with its Limon and Manda- cocoa and java. All have expanded the
rina brand extensions.
Now comes Gran Centenario Rosan-
gel, a 100% agave reposado tequila finished
in port pipes and infused with flavors from
tequila; the industry average is more like 10 or
12, says Takashi Nakamura, global r&d direc-
tor, Bacardi Martini.
Other brands have been expanding their
offerings. 1800 last year introduced 1800
Silver Select, purported to be the only 100
proof silver tequila in the market. Sauza also
relaunched its Tres Generaciones family of
tequilas with new packaging in January 2009.
One company, though, is making the ar-
gument that where agaves originate matters
dramatically. Ocho is offering limited vintage
release, estate grown agave tequilas, all pro-
duced in the highlands, according to Samira
Seiller, director of communications. Last year
the company introduced a silver and a repos-
ado coming from one estate (El Carrizal) and
an anejo from another (El Vergel). With 10
or so estates available right now, it will take
about 12 years for each of these tequilas to re-
turn to market and so comparing them will be
a lifetime experience. It may take longer than
that to settle the tequila terroir question. n
hibiscus flowers. The 80 proof brand, just
introduced in 2009, is meant for both sip-
ping or cocktail making, according to Mi-
chelle Sanders, senior marketing manager
for importer Proximo.
Rosangel isn’t the first flavored te-
quila-based spirit: the 64 proof Agavero
is made from reposado and anejo tequilas
blended with essence of the damiana
flower. Meanwhile, one of the success sto-
ries in the flavor/cordial arena is Tequila
Rose, a cream liqueur made with “a splash
of tequila,” according to brand owner Mc-
Cormick Distilling company's website. It is
now available in three flavors – strawberry,
range of agave based flavors up and down
the spectrum, and it’s a safe bet that if the
agave supply cooperates, other innovations
will soon be coming down the pipeline.