With the State of the Union fast approaching, I thought I would write about the State of Tequila. This one will be long– there are no eye looks from flight attendants today, just relaxing in my office…
The current state of tequila is shit. Well mostly shit– I’m talking like 87% of what is consumed. Whether it is the inexcusable use of additives, the lies that brands tell consumers, or the corruption of the CRT, there is war raging for the soul of tequila. This war is being fought between companies worth billions of dollars that have marketing budgets the size of small countries. Companies that have formed their brands ONLY to make money with no honor and respect for the product they sell. It would be like McDonald’s claiming they respect cows… Diageo’s budget for 2024 for their tequila brands is like $200 million. That is one side of the battle.
There are less than 200 brands (compared to the thousands of others) that make tequila the right way– using mostly ancient techniques and honoring the heritage and tradition that Tequila deserves. There are even fewer brands that make unadulterated tequila using all of the oldest techniques refined over 500 years.
Tequila is an integral part of Mexico’s national identity, having fermented agave for thousands of years and distilling it for over 500. We do not have anything in the US with such history and provenance in our beliefs. As it often happens, large international companies use their money and power to acquire the brands and then bastardize it, re-package it, combine it with a celebrity or 2, add slick marketing, and then push it through to retailers and customers. This effect has made tequila into the most consumed spirit in the world, but mostly every drop of the history and heritage is being ignored.
Now, this is Mexico, and corruption is also part of the national identity in some areas. Brands lie. A lot of them do, even the good ones. Making and bottling tequila is a smaller industry than its volumes belie. We use similar printers for labels, there are just a few glass factories in MX for bottles, there is a small handful of capsule providers, and generally a small number of distilleries that make dozens of other brands inside them.
We all see and visit their distilleries and witness their production as well as their packaging. We see that some brands’ “handmade” capsules only cover 10% of the volume they sell. So, they use a large producer to make more– even creating varying silicone molds to give the illusion of handmade authenticity. But when it comes to their tours, everything is explained as handmade. The same is true with their glass.
We see some brands that claim to have the highest quality production methods but secretly use 2 different distilleries. One is natural and the other one is made with diffusers. They blend these 2 together later and market themselves as a clean, additive-free tequila that’s made in an artisan process.
We see statements about how labels are made from agave fibers, and then we see their labels being printed at the same printers we use with the same paper stocks imported from the US. I know, we tried to buy agave fiber labels and the printers told us they have never used them. Most of you have had these tequilas and sell these brands in your stores, bars, and restaurants now.
Despite all of this, there is positive news and a possible brighter future. It begins with people like you and me. We are asking the right questions, telling the right stories, and explaining to our friends and families what tequila is really supposed to be. We are driving where the market is going– in the same way we did back in the 2000s when consumers demanded tequila be made from only 100% agave and not from a mix of sugars and young agave plants.
We are the path forward and have been the driving force for change these last 5-6 years. Properly made tequila with no additives has grown exponentially, and that growth has increased over and over– growing at 5-8 times the pace of the larger brands using additives. It is working, and the proof is in the actions of the CRT and their scramble to protect the big brands that fund and control their cartel.
Additives in tequila are the single greatest threat to Tequila’s continued growth and acceptance in Europe and Japan as a truly world-class spirit. Additives have been used for over 100 years, and they are only really used for one reason– and that is to cover up poorly made tequila. These poor choices are made by using plants that are not ready to harvest, or from using low quality production methods such as diffusers, autoclaves, and/or roller mills. The problem is always the same– bad tequila needs additives to make it passable to the average consumer.
But as we sit here now, there is no way for any brand these days to get a certification of clean tequila. Our own certification had to be stripped from our labels and website because of the corruption of the CRT. They threatened us with legal action and more importantly, in Mexico, told my team we would never be allowed to export our tequila again unless we stopped using words like “additive-free” and “tequila matchmaker".
Brands that use additives are simply and directly lying to their customers. None of them are open about what they include in their tequila, and they continue to use their money, power, and influence to ensure the use and inclusion of hundreds of additives is kept from the public.
They influence the governing body by forcing them to constantly change labeling rules (even after labels have been approved), demanding that any mention of “additive-free” or even the listing of ingredients is removed. This forces small brands to throw away their labels and create new ones. This occurs almost monthly and has happened to our brand over and over. Here is a timeline of how our labels have changed under these guidelines:
All of these choices made by the CRT are designed to slow the growth of small, high-quality brands. This helps them protect large brands, their budgets and growth, and to ensure their stock price stays at a comfortable level. All of us, having conversations like this, can be the agents of change– just like what happened with 100% agave 2 decades ago.
We have been experimenting for 4 years now on new ways to enhance flavors, complexity, and texture. We can adjust how the agave is cooked to create more high-tone aromas like flowers and fruits, or to produce earthy tones that showcase minerality notes. We can change the temperature of fermentation to give the yeast different times to work– from 40-75 degrees Fahrenheit, with each step of degrees creating different flavor profiles.
We can then layer in new and unique barrels from all around the world to create complexity, introduce new flavors to consumers, and even add heavy vanilla and caramel flavors instead of using additives.
One of the special versions I am working on is an additive-free version of Casamigos– just to prove that additives are not needed (even when creating tequila that tastes more like dessert and not tequila.)
We have learned that the modified tahona method of mechanically squeezing the fibers while not chopping them up increases our yield.
We have learned that yield can be further increased through a slower fermentation process– especially when combined with new yeasts that consume virtually all of the sugars in the mosto.
We have learned that it’s possible to create a spirit in which the heads and tails do not have to be trimmed– even when distilling to a final blend of 50% ABV. By using a lot of the tails which increases both flavor and yield, this also increases complexity and brings a softer texture by using the distillate and avoiding the need of water for dilution.
We have learned methods to lower our loss from the angel’s share in Añejo to just 2-3% instead of the 8-10% which is normal.
We have learned how to separate natural mutations of the agave and grow entire farms of these special natural genetic diversions– thereby creating genetic diversity and also discovering new flavors from plants that grow in different ways.
All of these new ideas are possible if we are open to them, if we approach the problem creatively, and if consumers continue to support small brands to help us grow.
Give us the time and resources to redefine what tequila can be.
We are on the cusp of a final (and hopefully) permanent change towards a cleaner spirit. One that includes more openness and transparency from brands, as well as clear honesty in production and bottling. I believe in the next decade, we can reduce the additives in tequila to less than 35%. I believe in the next 10 years we can increase the use of traditional methods to 70%. And I believe we can increase the number of countries around the world that consume tequila by 200%, including making deep inroads into Europe and Asia.
It is crucial to ask simple and direct questions when choosing tequila.
It is also crucial to ask about the brand history, ownership, philosophy, and their long term plans. What do they have to say about tequila? What motivates them?
If these questions cannot be easily, quickly, and directly answered, then turn them down. A lot of brands should die– we do not need them and they bring literally nothing to the market. They inspire nothing, they have nothing to say, and we are better served without them. Does anyone really believe we need another celebrity tequila? Does anyone believe we need another mediocre brand with the same flavor made the same way from the same distillery as 800 other brands?
We don’t need more tequila, we need BETTER tequila.
