No, you can’t make it that way.
No, it will not work like that.
No, even with our experience and knowledge we cannot do it that way.
No, you can’t cook agave whole.
No, you can’t ferment at temperature that low.
No, you can’t control the temperature of wooden tanks.
No, we have never tried it that way.
No, we have only ever used 1 yeast to ferment the mosto.
No, No, No.

This is what I heard from everyone we met with at every turn of our entire 3-year process to get Cambio made into what it has become.
It isn’t just the current tequila makers (a small number of whom I love dearly and honor their family’s heritage and experience), but it’s the buyers sometimes too. There are incredibly knowledgeable people that handle and buy for the best restaurants and bars in the country. But not everyone is ready for Cambio.

I still run into eye rolls, lots of mmm-hmmms, an account explaining that “It doesn’t fit what we do,” and so on. By the way, what the hell does it mean when a buyer for a Mexican restaurant says “It doesn’t fit?” Do they mean they would rather keep serving honestly mediocre or low-quality tequila and charging guests $18 for a cocktail? Does it mean that they don’t care about what they choose to present to guests? Or are they too lazy to remove a lesser brand that costs more than Cambio

This sort of closed-minded thinking does a disservice not just to our industry but also to customers at large. More restaurants, bars and retailers should have the conversation about tequila and the additives that run rampant, because it’s a crucial one if tequila is ever going to be taken seriously on the world stage. If you own a bar and a customer asks what additive-free tequilas you sell, in this day and age of information, you should be able to explain them and why they were chosen. It’s your job, and it shouldn’t be difficult.

In every industry, especially one as long-lived and steeped in tradition as tequila, there will be innumerable people and organizations that think everything should stay the way it is. That tradition should not be questioned or changed, that the best of what exists is good enough.
I have made a career out of challenging this sort of thinking, and Cambio is the biggest bet yet that people want something they haven’t seen before.

Better Tequila.

We envisioned it and made it. For the first time in decades or longer—we sat down and looked at the process as the issue, what weaknesses exist, and if there were ways to improve the baseline quality of a 400-year-old tradition. And we found them.

Cambio has accomplished that first phase of its mission. We know it works, we know we can introduce more complexity, aromatics, lower levels of methanol and ethanol, a stable enough spirit that requires no cold filtration, and other benefits more closely held.

The next phase is getting everyone to notice and embrace the Cambio—to begin to understand the breadth and complexity that tequila has to offer. I often tell buyers and customers that tequila is not 1 thing, that even at its best versions, it is not just fermented agave. There are worlds of flavors and complexity and expressions that we have just begun to scratch the surface on.

We need more innovation, more experimentation and maybe this time around we won’t end up with soulless versions filled with artificial and chemically derived concoctions. Maybe this time we will see how many tequila varieties and complexities can be produced naturally while turning out a safer and better spirit.

Cambio will be better for all, and the Change will redefine an entire history.