This will be way too long, but I think a detailed explanation will help—well at least for all of us agave nerds….
As we see other brands using some of our techniques and ideas we began developing in 2020, it makes me proud and humble. Just small changes now but it’s growing, and I think in the coming years we will see a lot of what we began being used to make tequila better and more interesting.
What’s not always great is tequila marketing that claims innovation—when in many cases it’s either stretching the truth or outright lies.
Innovation is not just a word. It means questioning everything. It’s wondering why something has to be done a certain way and why it’s always been done that way. Innovation is about listening to expert after expert explaining your idea is impossible and then discovering how to do it anyway. It’s not just marketing (well, for some it is), it’s a wholesale examination of what has been done before and creating an entirely new way forward.
For any brand to truly claim innovation it needs to do more than just use unexpected barrels or get agave from an unusual place. Innovation is not copying what was done hundreds of years ago and giving it a new name. Making tequila (or an agave spirit) by using an ancestral idea pulled from an old story is awesome and truly interesting and flavorful, but it’s not new.
There are a lot of thoughtful, creative brands that certainly help tequila in general and show the breadth of flavor and how agave can be viewed differently.
But it’s not Cambio. No one else is Cambio—not the way we do it because no other brand or other groups of people has ever approached tequila like this before. Not a single one.
And no one can honestly lay a claim to Change like we can.
This is how.
1. Q: We looked at the harvest and asked why it takes 2-4 days for agave to be cut and transported before it’s cooked? Why so often do the plants sit in the sun drying out before cooking? We asked if this could be done better.
A: We worked with our farming partner Ruvalverde to have 2 special crews of Jimadores to harvest for us overnight so that we deliver agave to the distillery that afternoon and start the cooking process right then—literally hours after harvest. As far as I know no one has ever done this before, the logistics are difficult to say the least, especially when a farm is 4 hours from the distillery. This was impossible task #1.
2. Q: We looked at how agave is cooked and asked why the plants are cut in half? The agave dries out during the cooking process, and this is accelerated when cut into smaller pieces. What would happen if we retained all of that moisture and aroma inside the plant? We asked if this could be done better.
A: So we developed and invented the method for cooking 50–60-pound agave plants whole. It’s never been done and only Cambio knows how and what the result is. This was impossible task #2.
3. Q: We asked why is the tahona process so slow? We asked why hot water is always used for the extraction of the juices from the plants? We asked what if we had the wheel working for a few hours with the pits filled with water and pressed and mixed repeatedly.
A: We modified the use of our tahonas first to make them more efficient by adding a second wheel creating 2 pairs of double wheeled-tahona. Then we introduced a cold-water maceration of 3 hours where the stones, juice, sugar and acids all co-mingle with the fibers creating secondary flavors of mineral and earth. Not an impossible task but certainly new and better.
4. Q: We asked about fermentation. A lot. Why does everyone use bread and beer yeasts to ferment one of the most complex old growth plants on earth? Why use a simple yeast at a high temperature? Does this family of yeast truly express the aromas in the plant? Why is it fermented at such a high temperature? What happens if we use wood for tanks that no one has ever used before?
A: We use yeast strains that have never been in Mexico before and never used for anything. We ferment at about half the temperature of any other brand, and we use 5 different yeasts to do it. We custom built our own temperature controlled wooden tanks using American Oak from the Appalachian forests in Tennessee.
We have shown that there are flavors and aromas and depth to tequila that have not been found before. And it’s not empty marketing.
We test our tequila for complex phenols and have uncovered an entirely new array of flavors never tasted before. All from slowing down the process and changing to new yeast. None of this has ever been done before. Impossible task #3 and then some.
5. Q: What if we didn’t cut any heads or tails during distillation? What if we slowed down the actual distillation time? Could we get more complexity and flavor?
A. In the spirit of total honesty and transparency, the idea of not cutting the heads came from Felipe at G4. During our tour he discussed the idea and said that if the tequila is made well enough you don’t need to cut the heads. I then took that idea and applied it to the heads and the tails. Normal distillation runs until the blended average of alcohol is 55%. We push that to 51%. In a normal tequila both ideas would lead to levels of methanol and ethanol and other unwanted elements too high to bottle. We also take 12 hours for each distillation, about double the time a normal brand uses. Another couple of ideas no other brand can claim. Impossible task #4.
6. Q: What if we don’t chill filter our tequila and leave all of the fats in solution? What if we put our Blanco in barrel? What if we use French Oak for all our aging?
A: Our unique process produces a spirit that is more stable where we can leave the fats and oils in, creating a better natural texture. Then we age our Blanco in 8-year-old barrels from Bordeaux and Burgundy that we have specially prepared for our tequila. This softens the tequila and adds complexity.
On a side note—French Oak is the right wood treatment to use for tequila. It’s as simple as that. American Oak is a sledgehammer and meant for long term aging in heavily charred barrels for whiskey aromas—NOT for Tequila. Tequila is all about high tone aromatics and delicate flavors, and it deserves a supportive style of wood.
You can argue with me about that anytime. Bring an experienced palate to the argument though, preferably one that you have honed over decades of tasting every beverage (especially the vast complexity of wine) on earth and learning how to make most of them.
7. Q: What if we chose barrels to age our tequila that bring subtle and supportive complexity to Tequila? What would barrels from Cognac, Maderia, Jerez, the Dominican, France, and Japan add to our tequila? How can we balance those flavors to ensure we retain all our amazing tequila first and allow the barrels to add complexity and not dominate our spirit?
A: Tequila has to be about Tequila first and always. The barrels should never be the dominant flavor and aroma. When the barrel takes over, you fail. Maybe you should go make whiskey instead.
We use all these barrels in a new way by first understanding how each will impact our spirit and second using restraint in aging times. Tasting each version repeatedly as it ages to develop a timeline for every style of barrel type. We also recondition our barrels creating different levels of toast to achieve different flavor profiles. This level and variety of barrels have not been attempted before. Impossible task #6. (Ok this one is not impossible at all. It just required creativity and understanding.)
All of this is the foundation of our entire company, and we use this mindset to approach every possible task and problem.
We also used it to create Poral, our new coffee liqueur. We created an entirely new definition of the category and a completely new style using new techniques and methods combined with the best ingredients in Mexico.
We will continue to question and push boundaries with every possible spirit and category and task that presents itself. We will continue to work to be a beacon for thoughtfully curated innovation that’s for the better. Cambio for a new way forward.
—John des Rosiers
