While the COVID-19 pandemic in many ways has us feeling like we’re living in the Middle Ages (Black Death vibes abound), there are bits of happiness and hope to be found. For drinkers, there are many. We’re learning how to make our own drinks! We can order cocktails to go! We don’t have to worry about getting home safely because we’re already home!
For appreciators of agave spirits and “support local” devotees such as moi, there’s a huge burst of happiness: We are at the beginning of a Golden Age for locally owned Mexican spirits in the Valley.
I was tipped off to this splendid new development the same way I’ve been tipped off to many good things I’ve learned about quality booze: my professional acquaintance turned pal and personal tequila/mezcal/wine guru Jason Morris, co-owner of CRUjiente Tacos and former owner of Quench Fine Wines, a premier alcohol distributing company. Morris chatted with me about three new-ish, locally owned Mexican spirits we should have on our radar, how their makers are struggling with the pandemic and some innovative ways we can support them.
Let’s talk about the locally owned Mexican spirits you offer.
Leah, I reached out to you about these suppliers/producers for a few reasons. This is not intended to be a story about CRU, but [about] three groups of people all living in Phoenix who have a passion for agave spirits. Each have their own stories, I know them all well, they are dear friends doing the right thing and they are all struggling right now with the closures of restaurants.
Tell me about Mezcal Carreño.
Abel Arriaga and Ivan Carreño are best friends from their days at ASU. Abel is more of business and marketing specialist. His main source of income comes from his successful ticketing agency. With the cancelation of all sporting and music events, his income not only ceased, but he also lost out on thousands of dollars of tickets he already had. To make matters worse, his partner, Ivan, just quit his tech job of 14 years one week before the virus broke out to focus entirely on Mezcal Carreño.
As I have spent most of my professional career working for and owning a distributor, I am beyond impressed that in one year they were able to get over 200 placements of their own in the Valley’s top restaurants and resorts without any previous distribution experience. This is a testament to their passion and dedication. I have never seen that done before in my 24 years here in Phoenix. In addition, Ivan’s family is creating some of the best mezcal I have tasted. All five of their mezcals just won medals at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition, with their Ensemble 7 winning Best Mezcal in the World. They have been the pioneers and voices of mezcal here in the Valley this past year, relentlessly educating the top bartenders and staff around the Valley.
What about Tequila Corrido?
Tequila Corrido has a very special story. Ten years ago, when I owned Quench, a man named Brad Hoover came into my office to give me a presentation on his tequila. My expectations were low. I’d sat in hundreds of tastings with suppliers wanting us to represent them, and only a handful would make the cut. Several minutes in, Brad had made a profound impact on me with his infectious personality. His passion for his tequila was unequivocal. His Blanco, Reposado and Añejo were special. We decided to bring them on and sell them throughout the state of Arizona. A year in, Brad suddenly passed, and the brand went into bankruptcy. Everything was sold off at auction, including the two vintage VW vans, Selina and Eduardo.
A decade later his niece, Sarah Foote, who was working her dream job at The French Laundry, decided it was time to relaunch Tequila Corrido in honor of her late Uncle Brad and carry on the tradition as he would have. She started by tracking down the vintage vans. She wasn’t able to find Eduardo, but 10 years later, she was able to locate Selina and buy it back. That is the van you see them driving around making deliveries for us right now. They are also self–distributing, making all the sales calls, all the tastings and deliveries themselves.
Finally, there’s Tequila Corcel, which we wrote about briefly in the magazine because we profiled its founder in our annual Top Doctors issue last year.
Tequila Corcel is owned by a local doctor, Dr. Esteban Magana. Esteban has been an inspiration to me. Not only is he a dear friend, he is like a brother to me. We golf together, he has taken my son out fishing and he is a friend to talk to when in need. He is one of the Valley’s top anesthesiologists, an avid golfer and competes in fishing tournaments. His tequilas have won several medals as well.
How can people support these spirit makers and CRUjiente? Are you offering these bottles for pickup? Are any available mixed into drinks to go?
All of these producers, referred to as The 3 C’s around town, are available at CRU for purchase by the bottle or can be used to make our margaritas with. We are offering all of their selections from each producer for pickup, but we have also partnered with Tequila Corrido to do deliveries on Tuesdays and Fridays. Corrido will deliver our Chips & Salsa Trio along with your choice of Corrido shots, margs or full bottles to your house in their Corrido VW while playing the song “Tequila” over their loudspeakers. Orders can be placed 12-4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays for same–day delivery between 5-7 p.m. Limited deliveries per day, call 602-687-7777 to arrange a delivery to your house.
Once at home, do you recommend people enjoy these spirits on their own, or can they be mixed into cocktails? What are some drinks you’d recommend they make with them?
We highly recommend sipping on them all neat or with some ice. They can all be made into a margarita by adding fresh–squeezed lime juice and some agave simple syrup. Muddle an orange wheel, shake vigorously and dump into a salted glass.
One of our favorite cocktails right now is a Oaxacan Negroni: 2 oz. Carreño Mezcal Espadín, 1 oz. Tuvé Bitter Liqueur, ½ oz sweet vermouth – stirred, strained and served over a King Cube with an expressed orange peel.
