We are releasing our very first flagship line Añejo in the coming weeks and months, although it will be a small amount at first—just 375 cases from the first batches. It’s such a small amount because it’s mostly 22–24-month aged Tequila, which is about double what the requirement is for Añejo Tequila by existing standards. Most (as in at least 98%) of brands age their Añejo just long enough to call it as such and bottle it quickly to get it on shelves, after all Añejo sells for 50% more than Blanco. They’re happy to leave it in a cask for 1 year. That’s all.
And that’s the problem. We don’t expect much for paying that 50% extra, we have become accustomed to usually mediocre tequila sitting in a 15–20-year-old super-duper used, honest to God, boring as hell, American White oak whiskey barrel. Virtually no one spends time and effort creating something complex and beautiful with their barreling process, and the result is called “tradition.”
I can hear some of you screaming in my ears already that there are some who give a shit, I know I know. It’s almost no one. Better now?
I think every fan deserves better tequila at any age and we all deserve it at a reasonable price. So, this is how we do it:
We age our tequila in 3 different barrels that were used for different things before, treated and reconditioned in different ways and we age the tequila for different times in each barrel. What we do is honestly absurd, we even had to create a formula that would make a rocket engineer proud to forecast which barrels and tequila we need at what point in the future to meet our growth projections for the next 10 years.
We use these 3 casks and age our tequila in them for 22-24, 15, and 13 months
respectively, and then blend a certain percentage of each to create the final version. I understand a number of brands are trying to be different and they will tell you something along the lines of, “We do things in a totally new way for Tequila.” In fact we hear this so much our marketing team won’t even let Cambio say the same thing because this phrase IS overused. Even though it honestly applies to everything we make.
Here is my way to get it in. No One, Ever, Has made Añejo like this before. Ever. And no one would be insane enough to make their normal everyday flagship version iN this manner and then sell it for 69.99 a bottle. That’s it. 70 bucks gets you one of the best, most complex, and carefully crafted Añejos ever produced. An Añejo to redefine the category. That is what we have created.
Thanks for reading, I know this is longer than most of us read anything anymore. Maybe we need to put this in an audio book format (honestly, I would love that, Jen can we get to work on that? Who should read it, me or my voice a little too nasally?)
This all brings up the second point which is the Tradition of aging tequila in ONLY old American whiskey barrels. How and when was this decreed tequila must be done this way? That only this single style could and should work for tequila. I run into traditionalists espousing their protective rights of tequila as if they have any real skin in the game. They question our path and usually politely give me the side eye that says, “what the hell is wrong with you?”. Somehow, they are the guardians of the spirit and how dare anyone stray from ages old technique.
But Tequila is not one thing. It is much more complex, and it has a much broader palate than anyone gives it credit for, even the experts. By changing cooking, fermentation and distilling techniques there are a host of aromas and flavors hidden in the agave. Barreling is a largely unexplored area for Tequila—which whiskey fully embraces. Scotch, Bourbon, Japanese Whiskey all are frequently aged and finished in dozens of various casks from all over the world. Why shouldn’t tequila embrace some of these ideas? Why shouldn’t we grow beyond what we have done before? The same traditionalists decry additives of all sorts in tequila (we do too of course) but they also won’t allow diversity through barreling?
Barreling is one way we create diversity—the way we create flavors and textures and how we can avoid additives to create flavor and texture.
Barreling is our way forward and away from tequila made with additives. Want more vanilla? Use heavier toasted French Oak and avoid needing to add 3 different fake flavors. That single change can naturally give fans their preferred flavor. Just change, a little bit of creativity and a lot
of time. Get used to change everyone, we will not be in the same place when we release our 10th anniversary in 2034. It’s just better to embrace positive change.
Help influence change in a positive way. Join us.
Embrace the Cambio….
