Tequila comes from the agave plant.

If your knowledge of tequila has been limited to the words ‘Jose,’ ‘Cuervo’ and ‘hangover,’ it’s time for a refresher course. From its origins to the local companies making it, here’s a primer on our favorite south-of-the-border spirit.


Tequila may be the hombrecito – the little guy – in terms of overall spirit sales (whiskey dominates), but you’d never know it based on the number of new tequila brands arriving on the market each year.
In fact, during the past year or so, several tequila brands developed by Valley entrepreneurs have made their debut, including CRUZ and Señor Rio. Two others are new brands in the Valley, Sol de Mexico (2008) and 3 Amigos (2007), but have long histories in Mexico, the birthplace of tequila. In January, a fifth “local” tequila, Tequila Corrido, introduced a rare style, extra añejo, a tequila aged more than three years.

Tequila isn’t new, but it is experiencing a resurgence in popularity spurred by a category called “premium.” What constitutes a premium designation? Price, to be sure, but the reason premium tequilas command a higher price has to do with how they are made, which ultimately affects how they taste. Premium tequilas range in price from $25 to $90 per bottle, with extra añejos fetching as much as $300, some topping $1,000.

Patrón Tequila might be the most recognized national premium tequila brand. John James, owner of Juan Jaime’s Tacos and Tequila in Chandler and north Scottsdale says, “Patrón’s tequila just pulls itself off the shelf. [Patrón] put so much promotion behind it.”

Yet James and other Valley restaurateurs are championing the “local” tequilas, making room for them on their already crowded tequila shelves. Marketing, including promotion and packaging, plays a huge role in the success of a particular brand, but ultimately it’s what’s in the bottle that counts.  

To understand the appeal, you have to know something about tequila in general. Just how did tequila – let alone “premium” tequila – get its start?

A Short History
The ancient Aztecs ceremoniously took the sap of agave plants and made a mildly fermented drink called pulque. Along came the Spanish conquistadors who discovered that pulque transformed into a much more potent drink when distilled.

This knowledge came in handy when the King of Spain decided to ban the planting of grapevines in the New World in order to protect the homeland wine business, thus reducing the supply of wine to the thirsty conquistadors.

Little did the king know that he helped spawn a multi-million dollar spirit business called “tequila.” The process of distilling the pulque not only dramatically increased the alcohol content, but more importantly, it significantly improved the taste.

Fast forward a few hundred years and tequila is one of the top-selling spirits in the U.S. Clearly, tequila’s growth is showing no signs of slowing despite tougher Mexican regulations on what, exactly, constitutes “tequila.”


The Law
Part of the name wrangling of tequila involves mescal, or mezcal. Not all mescals are tequila, but all tequila is mescal. Why? Mescal is the name for the spirit made from agave (literally, the sugar sap is harvested from the heart of an agave plant, cooked, fermented and finally distilled into a clear, colorless alcohol).

Tequila is mescal because it’s made from agave, but here’s why tequila is different: The Mexican government says so.

Tequila, by Mexican law, can only be produced in five specific areas, including the entire state of Jalisco, home to the town of Tequila. The people of Tequila recognized the value of protecting their beloved spirit – the place, the process and the name – and successfully lobbied their government to institute regulations.

Sound familiar? Champagne is regulated by the French government in a similar fashion. If sparkling wine is produced in any area besides the Champagne region of France, then it is just sparkling wine and not Champagne.  
Not only is the geographical location of tequila regulated, so is the type of agave. Tequila can only be labeled as such when it’s made from the blue agave (botanically called Agave tequilana Weber). How it is produced and bottled is also governed by these rules and regulations, known as Norma Oficiale Mexicana or NOM, which the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT) oversees.

In reality, there are two types of tequila: tequila made with 100 percent agave (all premium tequilas fall into this category) and tequila mixto, which by law must contain at least 51 percent blue agave, with the balance made from other types of sugars.

Margaritas at Barrio Café in central Phoenix made with local label Señor Rio tequila.

If the tequila label doesn’t say 100 percent agave, it’s likely a mixto – something tequila aficionados consider inferior. Jose Cuervo Gold – from the world’s oldest tequila producer – is a mixto. Even premium tequilas labeled 100 percent agave don’t have to use 100 percent blue agave, just 51 percent or more. The balance can include other agave species.

Why is blue agave so special? It’s not, according to David M. Johnson, a Valley wine and spirits expert, and organizer of Arizona’s first tequila festival, TequilaAZ, held last May. “Agave tequilana Weber is one of the fastest-growing agaves, maturing in as little as seven or eight years, compared to other agaves that can take much longer to mature, even up to 20 years,” he says. Johnson thinks all agaves are special, but he understands why the blue agave was designated as the tequila agave – it can be produced in less time from plant to shelf.

Within the tequila designation, there are four styles, based on whether or not the tequila is aged. Like wine, aging imparts flavor characteristics, so it’s not surprising that premium tequila makers either tout or guard the specific type of receptacle used for aging – French oak, American oak, old whiskey or Bourbon barrels – you get the idea.

Blanco or plata (white or silver) is generally not aged at all. Reposado (rested) is aged for a minimum of two months or up to one year, and añejo (old) is aged more than one year but less than three. The fourth style, extra añejo, is aged for three years or more. Of the five local tequila importers, only Tequila Corrido makes an extra añejo style.

The Local Players
We could spend hours talking about how agaves are hand-harvested by skilled jimadores, cooked for hours in traditional stone ovens, double distilled (traditionally in copper pots) and either bottled immediately or aged in casks or barrels for future bottling. But we’d rather tell you a little about the locally developed premium tequila brands and where to find them.

Most Valley restaurants, especially those serving Mexican and Southwestern cuisine and alcohol, carry at least one local tequila brand. If you want to take a bottle home, locally owned AJ’s Fine Foods, Tops Liquor in Tempe and Sun Devil Liquor in Mesa carry some or all of the brands, although not always all of the styles.

; a CRUZ tequila shot served neat with an accompanying shot of sangrita

3 Amigos
First on the local scene was 3 Amigos Tequila, based in El Mirage. In May 2007, 3 Amigos launched three styles – blanco, reposado and añejo – and last June, they introduced a certified USDA organic 100 percent blue agave blanco, which just snagged a “Best in Class” award from the New York Spirits Awards. Unlike most tequila producers, the Gonzalez family owns their agave farm as well as the distillery where their tequilas are made in the highlands (Los Altos) region of Jalisco.

While all of 3 Amigos’ agaves are grown without the use of herbicides or pesticides, they decided to seek certification for just their new blanco, as securing organic oak barrels for aging the reposado and añejo proved too challenging. Valley restaurants serving 3 Amigos tequila include Los Dos Molinos and Barrio Café in Phoenix, Juan Jamie’s Tacos and Tequila in Chandler, and Rio Mirage Café in Surprise, among others.

CRUZ
CRUZ launched their tequila early in 2008 with just one style, a 100 percent agave reposado. The story begins with three college buddies reuniting after 20 years and deciding, while sipping tequila, that they could make a better one. Apparently the world agrees, as the CRUZ reposado recently won a gold medal at the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits competition. Last year, the tequila won a silver medal and a bronze medal for the package design.

CRUZ also has family ties to Mexico. Two of the principles, brothers Pep and Saulo Katcher, were born in Guadalajara, Mexico. Their cousin, Ramon Ramirez, continues to oversee the CRUZ production in Arandas, Jalisco. Along with business partner Todd Nelson, the Katcher brothers set out to create an ultra-premium reposado tequila using eco-friendly, recycled packaging. The company also instituted a generous corporate giving program, donating 7 percent of its profits to national and local charities.

Based on the success of the reposado, and after repeated requests from bars, restaurants and liquor stores, the company launched CRUZ silver last October. Find CRUZ tequilas at Los Sombreros and The Mission in Scottsdale and Barrio Café, among others.

Sol de Mexico tequila

Sol de Mexico
Local businessman Ralph Hughes runs a successful edible cactus business called Ora Verde, importing fresh nopalitos (prickly pear pads) for grocery stores and food service businesses. On one trip to Mexico, Hughes met the Gonzalez family (no relation to the 3 Amigos Gonzalez family), who had been farming the same land since the 1950s. Impressed with the tequila they produced from agaves grown on their farm that they distilled themselves and sold exclusively in Mexico, he convinced them to let him bring the tequila to Arizona.

Sol de Mexico makes three styles of 100 percent blue agave – blanco, reposado and añejo – and was awarded a silver medal for both the blanco and reposado, and a double gold medal for the añejo (unanimous vote by the judges) at the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits competition. Find Sol de Mexico at The Mission, Juan Jamie’s, Vincent’s in Phoenix and Barrio Café.

Señor Rio
One of the newest entries to the local tequila scene is Señor Rio, imported by Debbie Medina and Jonathan Gach. While the two were visiting Medina’s father in Mexico several years ago, he described the family’s 200-year-old tequila making process, which was handed down from his great-grandfather. Medina and Gach decided they would enhance the family process to create a premium tequila, including opening the fermentation tanks to capture “the natural fragrance from the tropical citrus trees that surround the distillery,” Medina says.

Named in honor of her father, whose nickname is “Señor Rio,” the 2009 Los Angeles Wine & Spirits competition awarded Señor Rio a bronze medal for its unique bottle, designed by Gach, which resembles a crystal decanter. Señor Rio’s blanco picked up a bronze medal at the Polished Palate’s Spirits of Mexico agave competition in San Diego last September.

Señor Rio is poured at Barrio Café, Juan Jaime’s and Rio Mirage Café, just to name a few. In fact, Chef Joshua Hebert of Scottsdale’s Posh restaurant crafted a special “Tequila Daisy” cocktail featuring Señor Rio’s añejo.

A classic margarita at Los Sombreros in Scottsdale made with CRUZ tequila

When to Drink What
Crafting different styles of premium tequila is not unlike crafting fine wines. It’s part science, part skill and part artistic expression. Tequila makers have a variety of tools at their disposal, starting with the ripeness and quality of the harvested agave hearts (piñas) and ending with how long, if at all, to age the tequila.

Blanco taste characteristics inspire words like “herbal,” “steely” and even “floral.” Blanco tequila is most often used to make margaritas and other cocktails, such as the tequila sunrise (tequila, orange juice and grenadine). Reposado and añejo are generally reserved for sipping, although some prefer the deeper flavors of these aged tequilas in their cocktails.

Reposado, because it is aged somewhere between two to 11 months, can vary dramatically between brands. The longer it’s aged in a barrel, the more the reposado takes on the characteristics of the barrel itself. Makers use either charred or un-charred oak barrels, and some use barrels that were first used to age whiskey, which subtly impart those flavors.

Añejos, aged at least a year, but more often between two and three years, exhibit even more barrel characteristics. Both reposado and añejo are served either “neat” – just the glass and the tequila – or poured over ice. You might detect hints of caramel, vanilla or even smoke.

No wonder enterprising Valley entrepreneurs are bringing fine tequilas to our market. We’ve discovered that tequila is much more than a mixto shot chased with salt and lime. Premium tequila is all about flavor and style, and if there is a small buzz generated from indulging in top-shelf tequila, so be it. Tequila lovers owe a debt of gratitude to a certain King of Spain who decided that tequila wasn’t a threat and allowed the New World to keep it as its own. And thanks to these five local entrepreneurs, Arizona has its “own” tequila to enjoy, too. ¡Salud!