Category — Tequila

Tequila Avion is a new brand formed by a group of entrepreneurs, including Ken Austin, a former Seagrams and E&J Gallo executive. Tequila Avion is distilled from Blue Weber Agave found in the highest regions of Jalisco, Mexico, where the agave is known for its distinct mineral character.  Once harvested, the Tequila Avion agave is slow roasted in brick ovens under low temperatures to produce a rich and robust flavor.

On the nose, the Avion Silver Tequila is fresh and vegetal with some floral notes.  It’s very mellow and hides its alcohol well.  Take a sip and the spirit is exceptionally smooth and buttery and is soft enough to hold on the palate – a solid feat for an unaged tequila.  The taste is agave and fruit—most notably, pineapple and citrus—plus some herby qualities and white pepper during the long finish.

Overall, Avion Silver Tequila is a very soft and approachable sipping spirit bursting with flavor.  While it might fare well in cocktails, I’d be remiss to mix it with anything.

Avion has also released a reposado and anejo tequila, which—if they’re anything like the silver—should be worth sampling.

Stats:
- 100% Agave
- 40% Alcohol by Volume
- $45

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It seems that not everyone leads the hedonistic, gluttonous lifestyle that I do.  So for the calorie counters among us, below are some low calorie cocktails from Rosangel Tequila, which is infused with hibiscus flowers, and HINT, a brand of flavored water.

If healthy cocktails are your thing, try these guilt-free options this summer before hitting the beach. I can’t vouch for their taste, but they’re guaranteed to have more flavor than Michelob Ultra, and to make you the prettiest gal (or guy) around.

Perfect Pink Lemonade

1 ½ oz Rosangel Tequila
1 oz Raspberry-Lime HINT
½ oz fresh Lemon Juice
½ oz Grenadine Syrup
Lemon Wedge for Garnish

Hibiscus Honeydew Heaven

1 ½ oz Rosangel Tequila
1 oz Honeydew-Hibiscus HINT
½ cup of Honeydew juice
Handful of fresh raspberries.

Pink Pomegranate Tangy Margarita

1 ½ Rosangel Tequila
1 oz Pomegranate-Tangerine HINT
1 tbsp Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp Cranberry juice
Splash of Ginger Ale
1 ½ cups of Ice

For millions, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla.  For others, it’s simply another excuse to drink during the day.  Whichever set you belong to, celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a traditional Mexican cocktail.

The below cocktail recipes were provided by Tequila Cazadores and Maestro Dobel Diamond Tequila:

Cazadores Paloma

2 ounces Cazadores Blanco Tequila
1 ounce grapefruit soda
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
Splash of club soda, optional

Pour all ingredients over ice in a salt-rimmed Collins glass.

Cazadores Margarita

1 1/2 ounces Cazadores Reposado Tequila
1/2 ounce triple sec
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce fresh orange juice
1 ounce simple syrup.

Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass over fresh cracked ice. Garnish with a lime wedge.  For a healthier alternative, cut the simple syrup to 1/2 ounce.

Ginger Dobel

1 1/2 ounces Maestro DOBEL Diamond Tequila
1/2 ounce ginger beer
1/2 ounce lime juice
Splash of soda

Build over ice in a rocks glass.

Dobel and Germain

1 1/2 oz Maestro DOBEL Diamond Tequila
1 1/2 oz St-Germain
1/2 oz Champagne
1/2 oz Lemon juice

Shake tequila, St-Germain and lemon juice with ice, and strain into a Champagne flute. Top with Champagne, and garnish with a lemon twist.

I recently received a bottle of Maestro Dobel Diamond Tequila, a spirit that, upon first glance, is a silver tequila.  But really it’s a blend of Reposado, Añejo and Extra Añejo tequilas; the clarity is due to its unique filtering process, which strips the tequila of all color garnered from aging in oak casks.  What’s left is a crystal clear tequila belied by its rich, smooth taste.

Marketing materials proclaim Maestro Dobel to be the “world’s first diamond tequila.”  Paired with its chic bottle, the tagline hints of lifestyle product, but adding some substance to the claim, Maestro Dobel channels the “four C’s” of selecting diamonds to describe its tequila:

Clarity – Maestro Dobel’s proprietary filtering technology produces diamond clarity by removing congeners and color without affecting flavor or aroma.

Crispness – The lowland ranches where the agave plants are grown, combined with the tequila’s double distillation, produce light and herbal aromas.

Complexity – The spirit’s complexity is achieved by blending Reposado (rested 12 months), Añejo (aged 24 months) and Extra Añejo (matured 36 months) tequilas.

Craftsmanship – Every step of the production process, from harvesting to bottling, is done by hand.

On the nose, the tequila is very mellow and understated.  Agave comes through, more so after a swirl to open it up, without the heat and harshness expected from a silver tequila.  Of course, not being a silver tequila, Maestro Dobel has flavors imparted from oak casks, including a buttery, vanilla sweetness.  It’s not as vegetal as many tequilas, and it goes down smoothly, finishing with a bit of spice.

It fared very well in cocktails like the traditional margarita and El Diablo, but at $75 per bottle, it’s worth keeping on your shelf as a sipping spirit.  Maestro Dobel Diamond Tequila is available in limited quantity, so try using the Proximo Spirits Locator to find a bottle near you.

Stats:
- 40% Alcohol by Volume
- $75

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Recently 30 booze experts tasted 1,024 premium spirits for the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.  Entries represented 58 countries and six continents.  Some winners are noted below.

Premium Awards

Distillery of the Year – Glenmorangie Distillery
Importer of the Year – Moët Hennessy USA
Best in Show, White – Trago Silver Tequila ($40)
Best in Show, Whisky – Isle of Jura Prophecy ($70)
Best in Show, Brandy – Père Magloire 20 Year Old Calvados ($100)
Best in Show, Liqueur – Grand Marnier 100th Anniversary ($135)

“Best of” Awards

Vodka – Chase ($40)
Flavored Vodka – Rain Organics Cucumber Lime ($21)
Gin – Beefeater 24 ($30)
Rum – Vizcaya VXOP Solera  ($38)
Extra-Aged Rum – Pusser’s 15 Year Old ($55)
Cachaça – Leblon ($30)
Reposado Tequila – Trago Reposado ($45)
Añejo Tequila – El Jimador Añejo ($30) and Mujer Bonita Añejo ($25) – TIE
Mescal – El Zacatecano Añejo Mescal ($42)
Bourbon – Elijah Craig Single Barrel ($40)
Canadian Whiskey – Seagrams VO ($23)
Irish Whiskey – Bushmills 1608 ($100)
Blended Scotch – The Grand Bark Equinoxe ($55)
Single Malt Scotch – Ardbed Single Malt ($85)
Armagnac – Comte de Lauvia 21 Year Old ($35)
Pisco – Pisco O Torontel ($35)
Cream Liqueur – Godiva White Chocolate ($30)

More info here – www.sfspiritscomp.com

Classic cocktails continue to resurface in speakeasy-style cocktail bars in select cities across the country. One such drink is the tequila cocktail, El Diablo, which appeared in Trader Vic’s Book of Food and Drink as early as 1946.

The cocktail combines the classic pairing of tequila and lime with Creme de Cassis—a sweet blackcurrant liqueur—and ginger ale, which back in the 1940s tasted more like the spicy ginger beer of today.

Here’s a recipe for the Diablo cocktail, as provided by Maestro DOBEL tequila:

El Diablo

1 ½ oz tequila
½ oz Creme de Cassis
1 lime wedge
Ginger beer

Combine tequila and crème de cassis with ice; shake and strain into a chilled rocks glass. Top with ginger beer, squeeze the lime wedge and garnish.

Canned cocktails from El Jimador Tequila are coming to stores this month.  Beginning in California, and then rolling out to the rest of the country by late spring, El Jimador’s “New Mix” cocktails will be available in three varieties: Paloma, which is a drink comprised of tequila, grapefruit soda and lime, Margarita and Spicy Mango Margarita.

El Jimador New Mix cocktails were introduced to the Mexican market in 1997, apparently with much success, so it will be interesting to see if U.S. consumers embrace the concept.  I would imagine the canned cocktails will be most popular with the younger set, more interested in price and convenience than fresh squeezed juices.  But at 5% ABV, they’re an alternative to canned beer, and the ready-to-drink nature will be attractive to the scores of drinkers not interested in making their own cocktails.

From El Jimador –

el Jimador Tequila is breaking new ground in the U.S. spirits industry by offering the first authentic tequila cocktail in a can. Beginning in December with California then rolling out to the remainder of the U.S. by late spring, the number one selling ready-to-drink tequila cocktail in Mexico, el Jimador “NEW MIX”, will be available where spirits are sold in a single serving or four-pack of cans.

“el Jimador NEW MIX was introduced in 1997 and quickly became the top selling RTD in Mexico,” said John Hayes, managing director for Casa Herradura, the maker of el Jimador NEW MIX. “Because of the popularity of NEW MIX in Mexico and the increasing call for tequila in the U.S., it was an easy decision to bring NEW MIX to the U.S.”

Made with el Jimador Tequila, NEW MIX will be available in three refreshing cocktails: the Paloma, the most popular tequila cocktail in Mexico, the Margarita, the #1 requested cocktail in the U.S., and the Spicy Mango Margarita, which blends a nice mix of sweet heat. Each cocktail comes in a 12-ounce can at 5% ABV, similar to most beers.

“NEW MIX delivers a premium alternative to beer in a true spirit-based, readymade cocktail that consumers have been looking for,” said Carrie Kleban, global marketing director for Casa Herradura.  “NEW MIX makes it easy to enjoy the perfect pour of your favorite tequila cocktail at barbeques, tailgating, or sitting by the pool.”

With the U.S. launch, NEW MIX will receive a new look and an advertising campaign to introduce the brand.

“NEW MIX in the U.S. will feature a slightly different can design than in Mexico, plus will receive an energetic advertising campaign that builds on the black and white iconography success of the el Jimador Tequila campaign,” she said. “The U.S. cans position the el Jimador brand name more prominently to reinforce the tequila in the cocktail as well as the 21+ responsibility message.”

With more people entertaining at home, NEW MIX offers a refreshing alternative to the norm and is a perfect addition to your cooler.

Many drinkers have one liquor they just cannot stomach.  The one spirit from their past in which they “had a bad experience.”  For me, and many others, that liquor is tequila.  It was not until a trip to Boston’s Drink, one of the country’s best cocktail bars, that my attitude toward tequila was fully changed.

Misty Kalkofan, a bartender at Drink, created the Maximilan Affair, a complex, tasty little treat wrapped in a tequila package.  Made with tequila, St. Germain—an elderflower liqueur—Punt e Mes vermouth and fresh lemon juice, the Maximilian Affair might just change your opinion about tequila too.

Ingredients:

1 ¼ ounces mescal or tequila
¾ ounce St. Germain
½ ounce Punt e Mes (or other sweet vermouth if you cannot find Punt e Mes)
¼ ounce fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Don’t worry, you won’t find any tea in this hard-hitting collection of booze.

Ingredients:

1 part each of vodka, tequila, gin, rum and triple sec
1 part lemon juice
Cola
Lemon slice

Directions:

Shake vodka, tequila, gin, rum, triple sec and lemon juice with ice. Pour into a highball glass. Top with cola, and garnish with a lemon slice.

Our country’s bird in cocktail form.

Ingredients:

2 ounces tequila
1 ounce pink grapefruit juice
½ ounce cranberry juice
½ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce lime juice

Directions:

Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain into a martini glass.