equila terroir c a n y o u t e l l a t e q u i l a b y i t s r e g i o n ? By Jack Robertiello
T year at the very highest end, with volume up among super-premiums s Americans continue to get by 10.6%, the fastest growing part of the business. And while te- smart about tequila – what it quila is only the seventh leading spirits category in volume, with 10.6 is, where it comes from, how million 9-liter cases sold here last year, it accounted for nearly $1.6 A billion in gross revenues in 2008, making it the fifth largest revenue- it’s supposed to taste and how to drink it – producing category. more and more brands are being made and DISCUS revealed that value–priced tequilas last year were up marketed with U.S. consumers in mind. 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 Ever since blazed a path of success by focusing on high- Patrón premium, Sauza Hornitos a high-end premium and Don Julio Anejo end imagery, many other tequilas have been developed with high a super-premium. hopes for similar results. And some have succeeded. Super-premium tequilas were one of the high points for the entire According to the most recent statistics released by the Distilled spirit business in 2008, according to DISCUS. Those brands (mostly Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), tequila boomed last 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.
Product ing experiments) including Cuervo Reserva de la Familia, Gran Centenario Leyenda, Differentiation Partida Elegante, Bordeaux-barrel finished director of the Jose Cuervo portfolio for Dia- Meanwhile, new brands, like Lunazul (which Gran Patrón Burdeos and others, have im- geo, notes that 60% of growth has come from took a silver and a gold medal at last year’s pressed journalists and consumers alike. silver tequilas. “Having a silver version of San Francisco World Spirits Competition) Additionally, the quality halo emanating Cuervo is a massive growth opportunity,” and El Diamonte del Cielo (praised by both from these brands is just another way that he says. “This particular launch is the single Paul Pacult’s Spirit Journal and by the Bev- tequila is seen to be improving. Not bad for biggest opportunity that Cuervo has had in a erage Testing Institute) continue to arrive, a spirit that even a few years ago many con- very long time.” Very smooth with a slight, looking for an edge. The crowded market- sumers still thought of in terms of salt and sweet taste of agave, the Especial Silver tar- place is spurring brand owners and importers limes, worms and frat parties. gets males 21-29 (“the bullseye target is 21- to refine their marketing pitches. This summer, Patrón will implement 24, a consumer a year or two out of college Sapphire Brands' Cielo Tequila has de- a summer mixology program, highlight- finding his way in the world”) designed to be veloped an original flavor profile through its ing the versatility and mixability of Patrón consumed as a frozen shot, although it works tri-barrel aging process. Both its reposado Silver and Patrón Citronge, through three well in margaritas, too. Looking ahead to and añejo tequilas pass time in sherry, Port key drinks: “Patrón Pomegranate”, “Patrón the summer, Whitmoyer says that Cinco de and bourbon barrels which impart subtle fla- Grapefruit” and “Patrón Pineapple”. Sales Mayo through mid-September, is otherwise vors to the spirit. staff will promote these signature cocktails in known as “Cuervo Season”. They plan on One point of difference beyond the in- both the off- and on-premise. spending more than $30 million on ads and herent qualities of unaged silver, lightly aged Things have gotten so hot that more and more retailers, especially those doing 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 potlight Diego area wine and spirits shops, the expen- on mezcal sive tequilas he stocks in his Old Town Wine and Spirits shop fly out the door: “It used to While tequilaS has undergone a renaissance in recent years, Mezcal is still somewhat be that single malts were the big high-end shrouded in obscurity. While both are produced from the agave plant, the process for spirits, but for me now, unusual and very Mezcal differs. expensive items like the $2,500 Dos Lunas, or the $1,300 Asom Broso 11 year old, are • While tequila is made exclusively from • Mezcal is synonymous with the Oax- attracting the collectors.” Romaya stocks the Blue Agave plant, mezcal can be aca region, tracing its roots back to more around 500 tequilas in his store, many of made from many types of agave. than 400 years; tequila is associated with them in the $40-$70 range, but except for Mexico's Jalisco region. • Tequila only has to be made with old favorites like Cuervo Gold and Sauza, 51% agave, but all mezcals must contain • “Worms,” the larva of one of two moths few of his customers seem to be looking for 100% agave. that live on the agave plant, are found in mixto tequilas. His tequila customers are di- some bottles of mezcal, not tequila. vided fairly equally into two areas of growth: women looking to explore the smoother side One To Try: Scorpion, one of the leading Mezcals, known for its USFDA-approved scorpion of the spirit through reposado, and men who in the bottle. They've just brought in the Oro de Oaxaca Mezcal, one of the most popular are favoring both silver and anejo. Mezcals, that comes with a small bag of "sal de gusano" (worm salt) on each bottle as well as It was the ideal time for Cuervo’s sig- the Mijes Mezcal, the new Mijes Joven variety in a blue blown-glass bottle with a cork/wax nificant launch of Especial Silver in the stopper. premium price tier. Toby Whitmoyer, brand Category focus
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