Tequila’s Sunrise

The
LEADERS of the PACK
To hear anyone in the spirits industry talk about tequila,
it’s clear that 2OO6 was a pretty spectacular year. High-end
premiums continued the steady surge in numbers that the
spirit has not seen since 2OOO. “What happened in other
categories is finally happening to tequila: the overall
premium-ization of the spirit. People making a selection
within the category like to have something a bit more
status-driven and high quality,” says Rob Warren, Diageo’s
Senior Vice President for Global Tequila. “It’s following
the overall industry trend to satisfy consumers’ desire for
high quality and high status, and price tends to be the
biggest indicator of quality.”

Massachusetts is
right on track with the national uptick. The state may only
account for 2% of the national tequila market, according to
Warren, but, he says, it’s growing at 7% annually. And
suppliers aren’t wasting any time as they satisfy consumers’
demand for high quality. Want proof? Last year the state saw
the launch of several products in the luxury arena, like
Bacardi’s Corzo line as well as several new tequila-based
products. “Within the tequila category, we’re seeing strong
growth in the super- and ultra-premium segments,” says Bevin
Gove, Director of Public Relations for Jose Cuervo
International. “As consumers have become more educated about
spirit brands, they’re demanding higher-end products with
solid credentials and heritage. In the US, the super-premium
segment accounts for approximately 12.3% of the category
volume while the ultra-premium segment comprises about 3% of
the category.” In the super-premium segment, Cuervo’s 18OO
is growing at a rate of 11%, which, he says, “makes it the
world’s best-selling super premium tequila, having about 3O%
market share.”

The brand
experienced double-digit growth for each of the past three
calendar years, says Gove. That growth rate earned 18OO an
impact “Hot Brand” award for the second consecutive year.
Gove also handles the portfolio for the ultra-premium Gran
Centenario line, which, he says, continues to double its
growth year to year. Warren also commented on Diageo’s
ultra-premium Don Julio. “Don Julio is growing at 6O% to 7O%
continuously,” he says about the brand that was first
introduced in US in the early 199Os. In 2OO3, Diageo and
Casa Cuervo formed a joint venture to manage its production,
distribution and brand development. “Anejo is the biggest
seller (45%), then Blanco (3O%), then Reposado (2O%),” he
says, and added that the remaining 5% is accounted for by
its luxury products, like Don Julio Real and Don Julio 1942.
“Because Don Julio is the number one selling ultra-premium
in Mexico, that’s transferred over to the US. The first
success has been with Mexican American consumers. We’re
expanding our presence in the broader marketplace in the US,
the second biggest tequila market,” he remarks.

The same upwards
trajectory was experienced by Patron, which was introduced
in 1989 and is still looked at by many as forging the
ultra-premium path and setting a standard that other brands
have since followed. “Everything is for the better. The
category is very healthy, our brand is healthy,” says Matt
Carroll, Vice President of Marketing for Patron Spirits.
“Our brand is 7O% of the ultra-premium category worldwide.
We export 95% of our product to the United States, most of
which is ultra-premium. Volumes in the whole category
increased considerably. We went from 63O,OOO cases to over 1
million cases.” According to Barbara Liss, Brand Manager for
the Sauza and El Tesoro brands, their ultra-premium Tres
Generaciones line (1OO% blue agave) is up 6% over 2OO5 while
super-premium Sauza Hornitos (also 1OO% blue agave) is up
over 7%, she says, citing AC Neilson.

A few of the
major brands changed hands over the past year. In January,
Brown-Forman completed its acquisition of Herradura and its
assets for $776 million. The Herradura label also
encompasses Jimador Silver, a mid-level mixto (tequila made
with 6O% agave or less), and a Reposado and Anejo, both 1OO%
blue agave. Dave Sardella, field manager for Sazerac, was
the US agent for Herradura until it changed hands. He
commented on El Jimador’s 2OO6 activity: “The pricing on it
is a good value. It’s a high quality product made in the
same vein with the same type of craftsmanship [as a 1OO%
blue agave]. In a blind tasting, people had a hard time
picking which is a mixto. Herradura kept it at a certain
attainable price point and strategically positioned it in
the market place so it’s attractive to buyers across the
board.”

Doug Epstein,
Executive Vice President of Horizon Beverage Company,
offered some thoughts about the future of Herradura: “We’re
very bullish on Herradura. The brand is already experiencing
strong growth. Under Brown-Forman, we’ll see a substantial
increase in the investment behind the brand, so its growth
will undoubtedly accelerate. With the market moving to the
high-end, Herradura is well positioned with Seleccion
Suprema, which is the most expensive tequila available in
the state. Herradura also has its base level products that
are known for their very good quality.” Commenting on the
category in general he says, “Overall, suppliers are
spending more money in the tequila category. Retailers are
seeing the dollar potential. They figure they can either
give shelf space to low-priced spirit items or fill the
shelves with $3O, $4O and $5O tequilas that are going to
turn fast. There’s a lot of profit potential for the
retailer. These expensive tequilas sell, so there’s a higher
dollar ring on per-bottle sales.”

CHOICES,
CHOICES Every time
you turn around, it seems like there’s a new brand of super-
or ultra-premium tequila that wasn’t there last time you
looked. “Tequila consumption grew an estimated 9% in 2OO6,”
Herve LeClerc, Brand Manager for Tezon (a Pernod Ricard
holding) wrote in an email, citing the adams handbook.
“Growth in the category is driven by the super-premium
segment (up 23.7%) which has seen an explosion of new brand
introductions over the past 2 to 3 years. The premium
tequila segment also outpaced overall spirits growth as more
and more consumers are dining out and the margarita is still
the top cocktail choice of legal drinking age diners.”
Horizon’s Epstein, certainly one who stays on top of all the
newest products and latest trends, says, “We have an
exceptionally strong tequila portfolio. Our hottest brands
are from Patron and Sauza. Hornitos, Sauza’s 1OO% blue agave
entry, is driving their growth. Sauza has their base brand,
the stalwart, and they’re now leveraging their brand name
into more boutique items.” Epstein notes that many brands
have new marques coming out in the next year and that 18OO,
which was taken over by Skyy two years ago, is “enjoying a
resurgence, particularly on premise.” He continues,
“Massachusetts is a late blooming tequila market. It’s
funny, but our biggest month on some of the brands was the
[2OO6] holiday season, which shows people are
drinking tequila year ’round, not just on Cinco de Mayo and
in the summer.”

One brand that
made a splash in the Massachusetts market last August is
Corzo. The ultra-premium tequila, owned by Bacardi, has been
popular on the West Coast for a few years but was just
recently introduced here. With its sleek packaging designed
by Fabien Baron, who’s designed fragrance bottles for Calvin
Klein, it’s already been stirring up quite a bit of
attention. “A widespread acceptance of tequila is raising
awareness of what tequila can be – it’s a premium spirit
worthy of savoring and sipping and understanding and
learning,” says Amanda Hawk, Assistant Marketing Manager for
Bacardi USA, Inc. “We’re benefiting from that new awareness.
We consider it an ‘evolution of tequila’ [Corzo’s tag
line] because we’ve taken the expression of Mexico
that’s so intrinsically connected to what Mexico is and
brought it to a new level of what modern Mexico is.” The
pour spout on the bottle, for instance, was inspired by
designer Luis Barragan’s contemporary fountains in Mexico
City.

Another Bacardi
brand, Cazadores, is the “most widely favored and loved
tequila in Mexico and California,” says Greg Neises, lead
bartender at Southwestern eatery Masa in Boston’s South End,
adding, “If you go anywhere in Mexico or California, you’re
sure to find it.” Cazadores is growing in popularity in New
England, as well. At Masa, it’s one of the top selling
tequilas. “It’s a brand that works well in cocktails,”
Neises observes. He’s developed the Honey Drop, a spin on
the Lemon Drop. He deems it an “evolved cocktail”. The
formula involves fresh honey, sweetened lemon juice,
Cazadores Reposado, and Licor 43, served in a chilled
martini glass drizzled with honey swirls on the interior.
The cocktail, he says, is “true to nature. The honey pulls
out the honey flavors existent in this particular tequila.
Neises calls Cazadores a very affordable 1OO% blue agave
that comes from Highlands of Jalisco. All the agave plants
are from that area, nothing is outsourced to other places.
In making Cazadores, the top cone of the pina is removed,
which removes impurities and reduces acidity and maximizes
flavor. The distillers employ an all-organic process during
fermentation using all natural yeast. Additionally, they
play classical music at the distillery because of the belief
that soft classical music yields a good maceration. It’s
similar to the way gardeners stimulate growth in
plants.

According to Rob
Warren, Cuervo had a busy year. In February of 2OO6 they
introduced Jose Cuervo Black Medallion. The Anejo is a mixto
aged 12 months in new charred oak barrels that lend the
tequila a smokiness and vanilla notes. “The premise was to
get consumers to think of tequila in different forms of
consumption, rather than shots and margaritas,” he explains.
“It’s about taste delivery and how it mixes. Even in Mexico,
mixto is the largest category. In the premium category, over
8O% is mixto in the US.”

According to
Carroll, Patron is continuing to invest in its market in
2OO7. They’re launching 3OOO bottles of Gran Patron Burdeos,
a twist on “Bordeaux”. “It’s the same high quality product
ultra-ultra aged in regular oak barrels. It has a little
more rich wine flavor [from] the extra finish at the
end,” he explains. Marc Kadish, owner of Sunset Cantina near
Boston University, says that at the start of 2OO6, he had
about 😯 tequilas and thought he was at capacity. A year
later, he offers 112 tequilas and his clientele has been
trading up. “Who would have thought there’d be 112 tequilas
in the market place? We’ve seen a huge decline in sales of
the house tequila. People are upgrading from Sauza and
Cuervo. Expensive tequilas are flying out the door,” says
Kadish. Patron Silver does particularly well at Sunset,
which serves a diverse clientele age-wise. He chalks up
Silver’s success to Blancos, in general, being on the lower
end of the price scale for products with brand recognition.
And, he adds, they’re lighter and easier to drink. “We also
do well with Correjelo, Don Julio and Corazon. People are
getting way more adventurous. We serve lots of high end
tequilas in snifters. I don’t see many people doing
shooters. Sometimes people do a shot, but not with the high
end stuff. Some middle-of-the-road tequilas are going into
margaritas, and in some ways that’s a waste.”

NEW
LAWS, NEW PRODUCTS
One of the many factors driving the onslaught of new tequila
products is the Mexican government’s recent amendment to the
New Mexican Official Standard that established Ultra Aged
(or Extra Anejo) as a new class of tequila. As of March 7,
2OO6, tequilas in this class have to be aged for more than 3
years in oak or holm* oak barrels no larger than 6OO liters,
according to Brenda Martinez of the Tequila Regulatory
Council (El Consejo Regulador del Tequila, A.C.). Jose
Cuervo was quick to tap into the new classification with
Gran Centenario. “In November 2OO6, Gran Centenario Leyenda
was launched in the US – the first tequila in the company to
be known as Extra Anejo,” says Gove. “Extra Anejo Tequila is
aged an average of 4 years in French Limousin oak barrels
and is made with only 1OO% blue agave. This differs from
typical Anejo Tequila which is aged for a minimum of 18
months in French Limousin oak casks. Extra Anejo is the
newest classification of tequila granted by the CRT and Gran
Centenario Leyenda is among the first tequilas to be given
this classification.”

The Standard
also allows for flavored tequilas, and last May, Jose Cuervo
unveiled its line, which include Jose Cuervo Citrico (lime),
Oranjo (orange) and Tropina (pineapple). “Cuervo Flavored
Tequilas are a blend of premium silver-styled tequilas
combined with natural fruit flavors,” says Gove. “Cuervo
Flavored Tequilas provide consumers with a fantastic shot
occasion while also opening up a whole new world of cocktail
possibilities beyond margaritas. The launch was supported by
a fully integrated marketing effort that included promotions
and special events, public relations, merchandising, and
sampling as well as print and out-of-home advertising
campaign.”

At
the REGISTER How
does all this translate into consumer behavior on a
day-to-day basis? Rich Cataldo, wine manager at Murray’s
Wine and Spirits in Newton Centre and a self-professed
tequila enthusiast, says there’s been a “slow and steady
increase in sales in the category over the past year and a
half.” He particularly notes the popularity of Patron and
Herradura. Smaller brands like Milagro and Corazon don’t
ring up big sales, he says, but people who buy them ask for
them by name. Corzo is mounted at eye level so that helps
create a buzz about it. He says, “We’ve seen more Reposado
and Anejo [sales] and people explicitly saying they
sip it like a single malt or bourbon. Customers tell us,
‘This is not going in any margarita!’ They’re paying
attention to quality. I think it’s driven by on-premise
business in bars and restaurants. People are traveling to
Mexico and coming back and looking for the labels they learn
about there. Spirits companies are clearly supporting
tastings and events in Mexico. Then the consumers bring
knowledge and enthusiasm back with them.”

Bob Shire, owner
of McKinnon’s Sudbury Wine Warehouse, says his premium
tequila selection expanded over the past year while the
lower end tequilas have decreased in volume. “There’s been
more interest in the nationally marketed name brands in
broad middle – Cuervo, and Sauza and Patron Silver. I sell a
fair number of premium tequilas. When it comes to volume in
the premium range, Patron is the most popular and Silver has
been more popular than the Reposado and Anejo.” Shire also
owns Newtonville Wine and Spirits, where premium tequilas
account for less sales. He says Sauza and Cuervo make up the
bulk of the tequila business with some Patron and Milagro.
“The category has been growing, premium has a lot more
interest, probably because of advertising and the marketing
of specialty tequilas in bars and restaurants,” says Shire.
“A lot of 3O-somethings spend a fair amount of social time
in bars where they’re exposed to newer drinks, which drives
demand for the product in stores. It’s really the
3O-something age group that’s interested in experimenting
with or purchasing premium tequilas. Middle aged a bit, but
they tend not to change brands,” he concludes.

Tresa Oriordan,
who does the buying for Leary’s Fine Wines, in Newburyport,
says people are inclined to spend more on tequila now than
in years past. “Cuervo and Sauza do a lot of volume, but our
stock definitely increased over 2OO6. We’re constantly
trying new products,” says Oriordan. “If something doesn’t
sell, we get something else. Corzo is at the higher end, so
it’s not going to be a huge seller, but people are
definitely picking at it. They’re going more for the Anejo
more than Silver.” (The suggested retail price for Silver is
$54.99 while Anejo fetches $64.99). She says that Milagro
and Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo do particularly well, and she’s
seen sales for Don Julio, which used to sell fast, peter out
a bit. Flavored tequilas didn’t sell well in Leary’s at all
last year, “even with the younger crowd”. “I think people
are out to try something different within the category.
People are always experimental within the price range
they’re used to buying,” she adds, but points out that
consumers who never bought tequila aren’t likely to try it.
“Tequila is a touchy one, you either like it or you
don’t.”

David Gordon, a
fourth-generation owner of Gordon’s Fine Wines and Liquors
in Waltham and Watertown, says the younger consumers are
buying the super-premium 1OO% agave tequilas. “Once you get
Cuervo buyers to try [a 1OO% agave], they’re
immediately there. It’s a status thing with the 25-and-under
crowd,” he says. His top sellers are 18OO, Cabo Wabo, Don
Julio, and Herradura. He also mentioned decent sales of
Celio, El Mayor (from United) and Espolon. Patron sales were
up 1O% last year and the store floor stocks Patron Silver.
But it’s not just new products that yielded the boom in
tequila sales. Horizon’s Epstein points out that brands are
increasingly coming out with new bottle sizes, which takes
retail sales to a new level of convenience. “It’s not just
the 75Oml bottle anymore. Now it’s in all sizes – 1.75L down
to 5Oml. It’s about convenience,” he says adding that many
tequilas are now bottled with ornate packaging, which is
also driving growth. Additionally, people are increasingly
stocking their home bars with all the accoutrements for
margarita making and several brands are capitalizing on
that. “Sauza and 18OO led the way with premixed or
non-alcoholic mixers with their labels,” says Epstein.
“Cuervo did it with their base brand. Sauza and 18OO brought
the margarita mix approach to the next level. They’re high
end products coupling with nonalcoholic or alcoholic mixers,
which was a bold move on both parts. Non-alcoholic
[mixers] are not expensive, but by putting brand
names on mixers it elevated the product and gave the
consumer something that pairs well. They effectively utilize
cross-merchandising.”

Patron,
meanwhile, continues to see its orange liqueur, Citronge, do
well. “The orange liqueur was developed to complement Patron
Silver,” says Carroll. “We feel it’s a definite upgrade from
Triple Sec. We also encourage consumers to use it in
Cosmopolitans. Then there’s Patron XO Cafe, a tequila-based
coffee liqueur. It’s made through a whole different process,
infused with Arabica bean coffee oils. It’s different from
other coffee liqueurs because it’s made with a tequila base,
not neutral grain, so it’s less sweet than Kahlua and Tia
Maria. Sales in that have grown tremendously over the past
three or four years.” In fact, they’ve doubled. Carroll says
Patron sold 32,OOO cases of the XO Cafe in 2OO6, up from
16,OOO in 2OO5. (They sold 86OO in 2OO4). “Now it’s at a
point where it’s critical mass. A lot of people would love
to have a 32,OOO-case brand. Growth trend is there and we
don’t see it slowing down. We promote it in an espresso
martini – two parts XO Cafe with one part cream
liqueur.”

SPREADING
the NEWS Bartenders
can endorse a product directly to customers and flashy
on-premise promotions can draw a crowd, but in the scheme of
a standard busy night at a bar, a customer scanning the
shelves will be reliably curious about the bottle with the
standout design. Image, as they say, is everything, and
Bacardi’s Corzo tapped directly into that sensibility.
Epstein describes Corzo as “up and coming” and its bottle
design is already attracting a style-conscious
following.

Danielle
Friedman, brand manager for Corazon, which is imported by
Sydney Frank and experienced a 14% increase in sales since
2OO5, says its bottle plays a major role in its projected
growth. “Corazon’s unique blue hand-blown Mexican glass
bottle is a definite eye catcher and will most likely
increase as a big hit for bottle service and the high end
club scene,” she says. Even with the numbers on the rise,
many people in the tequila industry realize that there’s
still plenty of pavement pounding to be done. “The consumers
that are ordering super-premiums are the first movers,” says
Sauza’s Barbara Liss. “That group out there knows about
tequila and helps drive it, but drinking super-premium is
still a prestige thing. There’s a badge value to it. In fine
dining and bottle service, it’s still all about mixing and
using different juices. I think we’ll see it even more as a
trend in 2OO7 and 2OO8, as more people learn they can sip,
shoot and mix it. That brings with it an element of fun that
I don’t know if vodka or whiskey can own. Our job is to
capitalize on that and continue to capitalize on the
category.”

Bartender
trainings are an increasingly major part of Patron’s efforts
to grow its brand more. “We’re working with bartenders more,
who, of course, are the best direct route to the consumer,”
says Patron’s Carroll. The brand launched “The Expert Mix”
on its website last April. Patron handpicked notable
bartenders from Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, and New York
to contribute innovative drink recipes. Around the same
time, they began an education program through which they
bring the distributor’s sales people and managers to the
Patron distillery in Atotonilco in the Jalisco highlands,
for tours and educational seminars. They provide ambassador
books, videotapes and interactive DVDs for them to use to
educate bar staffs.

Last spring,
18OO also launched a totally redesigned website
(www.18OOtequila.com). Gove explains, “It features
information about each product in the Ultimate 18OO Tequila
portfolio, 18OO cocktail recipes, and entertaining tips from
the 18OO Ultimate Margarita spokesperson, Kimberly Schlegel,
as well as a chance to win the 18OO Ultimate Margarita
Makeover Party Sweepstakes.”

Sauza programs
strongly around key periods, especially Cinco de Mayo. This
year they’ve developed a “Sauza Bus” that will be appearing
in key markets on the holiday. “Some people look at Cinco as
an opportunity to trade up. That’s definitely when Tres
Generaciones and El Tesoro come into play,” says Liss.
They’ve been busy developing training materials, creating
tasting guides and holding tasting seminars. They’re also
working on an ambassador program in major markets. One of
Sauza’s year ’round outreach initiatives has a focused
target. “We’re doing a lot with the Mexican American
community – a growing piece of the American population. We
like to think of Sauza as ‘Nuestro Tequila’. It has a rich
tradition in Mexico; we want to reengage Mexicans in the US
and remind them that Sauza is their tequila. The Sauza
distillery [was established in 1873] and is one of
oldest around.”

Corazon is
reaching beyond the bar to the kitchen. “Many chefs have
gotten together with our sales people to put together an
evening of Corazon,” says Friedman. “A four to five course
meal is cooked with the different types of Corazon and then
each course is paired with a special Corazon cocktail.” Of
course, no one can underestimate the power of good old
advertising. When Cuervo released Cuervo Black Medallion, it
launched a multi-pronged campaign involving TV, print and
outdoor billboards. The media campaign involved maxim, fhm,
playboy, Comedy Central and Discovery Channel, to name a
few. They marketed not just the product, but how to drink
it. “A big thing for us is the idea of drinking it with cola
– a totally new behavior – and overcoming a lot of
perception of mixing with cola,” says Warren. “Normal ways
are shots and margaritas. Rum and bourbon have been the main
spirits mixed with Coke. The ad campaign [encouraged
consumers] to try Cuervo Black and Coke. The feedback is
that people come in and ask for it as ‘that Cuervo you drink
with Coke’.”

Patron expanded
its marketing budget, says Carroll. A good chunk of its
advertising dollars were spent on drawing attention of
enlightened consumers. They took out extra third-page ads
and focused on major magazines like rolling stone, business
week, black enterprise, forbes, fortune, vanity fair and
vogue and continued to focus on local and regional magazines
that their regional sales people recommend. “In the new ad
campaign, it’s all about debates – life is a series of
debates,” said Carroll. The motto for the campaign that
launched in June of last year is: “In life some perfection
is debatable, but Patron is simply perfect.” A lot of the ad
copy is tied into magazines’ subject matter, Carroll
adds.

Then there are
the artisanal super-premiums that develop a loyal following
by keeping advertising to a minimum, which lends itself to
mystery and elite connoisseurship. “El Tesoro is a small
brand but people who know it love it,” says Liss. “It’s the
last hand made tequila around. They just got electricity in
their distillery and they still use a stone wheel to crush
the agave. All bottles are hand-labeled and each sticker
says the name of the employee who bottled it. There’s no
water, so it maintains its true flavors. It’s the most
award-winning tequila. We like to keep the business somewhat
small, mysterious for the true aficionado who knows quality
handcrafted tequila because other super-premiums have become
so mass merchandised. The platinum is fabulous in a
margarita, but the Anejo and Reposado are better for
sipping.”

With Americans
getting this influx of knowledge, people are bound to want
to go to the source. As of 2OO6, the Tequila Trail is being
promoted as a travel destination by Tequila Regulatory
Council (CRT). In July, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee
added 34,658 hectares between the foothills of the Tequila
Volcano and the deep valley of the Rio Grande River to its
World Heritage List. The area includes vast blue agave
fields and a number of distilleries, estates and
archeological sites. The designation is a boon for Mexico’s
tourism board in its effort to promote the Tequila Trail as
a high end cultural destination. Accordingly, five-star
resorts are in the works in Jalisco, the region in which the
town of Tequila is located.

BEYOND
the MEXICAN GRILL
Approximately 65% of Patron’s sales are done in bars and
restaurants, Carroll notes, but, he says, “it wasn’t an easy
sell initially for people to bring in $4O to $5O bottles of
tequila even five or six years ago when the product wasn’t
turning as fast. It’s a great product for all accounts. I
see more and more tequila on the rocks, straight up or with
just a squeeze of lime. I see more ‘sip and savor’.” And
that goes for restaurants of every cuisine. “They want
Patron,” confirms Karen Olsen, bartender at Radius in
Boston’s Financial District. “Some people a little more
in-the-know ask for Anejo, but they mostly want Patron
Silver.”

The venerable
Oak Room in the Fairmont Copley introduced the Millionaire
Margarita about two years ago. According to Katelyn Jenkins,
manager of the Oak Bar, it fetches $3O and is mixed with
Herradura Anejo, Grand Marnier Centenaire and fresh lime.
Jenkins says that it’s popular year ’round, though sales do
pick up in the summer. For those not looking for the
super-premium cocktail, Oak Bar features a margarita for $15
made with 18OO, as well as plenty of tequilas for sipping.
While she says Herradura’s Anejo is popular, Blancos are
generally more frequently ordered by those looking for a
chilled sipper. Patron and Don Julio are other top sellers,
she says.

One of the most
anticipated culinary ventures in the city has been
Sushi-Teq, which opened in the InterContinental Boston in
March. An entirely unique concept, the bar fuses Japanese
sushi, a wide selection of exclusively 1OO% blue agave
tequila and salsa music. It’s the brainchild of Jean-Pierre
Etcheberrigaray, Vice President of Food and Beverage for
InterContinental Hotels Group in the Americas. “Sushi goes
with salsa. Japan is crazy about salsa music. There are over
2O,OOO salsa dancing club in Japan. Sushi is like Japanese
tapas, so we’re doing that at the bar and specializing in
high end tequila – all 1OO% blue agave,” he says. Sushi-Teq
will be the first American establishment to earn
full-fledged “tequila certified” status by the Tequila
Grower Association, an accreditation awarded because of the
number of 1OO% blue agave tequila they serve (it requires
69, says Ethcheberrigaray, but they’re carrying 9O-plus),
and the training the staff goes through. They saw runaway
success when they did a pilot test run of the concept with
over 15OO customers at the InterContinental San Salvador.
The bar will have recommended tequilas pairings with various
fish. “Think about the level of raw fish, vinegar on rice
and the wasabi component and soy sauce chased by tequila. If
someone’s used to drinking it with lime and salt, this is a
perfect combo – the taste bursting in your mouth. It’s a
fantastic combination. It sounds strange and different, but
it works,” Etcheberrigaray comments. To stock the bar, he
says, they’re seeking out specialty brands and bottlings
based around special events such as distillery
anniversaries.

ETERNALLY
YOURS Margaritas
continue to be the number one called cocktail in the
country. But bartenders this past year haven’t been afraid
to branch out. “Rocks and salt” almost seems irrelevant
these days as bartenders tinker with muddling fresh fruits,
experiment with flavored tequilas, and tempt customers with
margaritas that feature super-premium tequilas, which of
course carry an equally magnificent price tag. “Margaritas
are the main reason people are interested in tequila – it’s
the most popular way to tackle tequila,” says Ivan Torres,
co-owner and bar manager of Ole Mexican Grill in Cambridge.
“We want to please a lot of customers, so we have one
margarita with our fresh house sour mix. We have many
different margaritas, though, too – with fresh lime juice or
with triple sec, ones in which we use fresh fruit like
strawberries, raspberries and mangos, muddled with lime.”
Torres only uses 1OO% blue agave in his cocktails. Often
their margarita is what leads Ole’s consumers to explore the
1OO% blue agave realm on its own. Ole is prepared to
introduce the neophyte by arming consumers with a menu that
includes Torres’s written tasting notes for each tequila.
For five years, Ole has been offering offers flights of El
Tesoro, Sauza and Herradura so consumers can taste the
progression from Blanco to Anejo. There’s also the option of
comparatively tasting single types of tequilas from
different brands.

At Cottonwood
Cafe in the Boston’s Back Bay, however, beverage manager
Robin Pitchford says people get to know different tequilas
by trying them in margaritas. She added flights on
Cottonwood’s menu, but they didn’t necessarily work very
well. “Margaritas have always been the lifeblood of our
restaurant,” says Pitchford. Cottonwood features over 9O
tequilas and its menu lists margaritas that range in price
from $6 to $1O. A few years ago, Radius introduced the Brown
Sugar Margarita on its menu. It involved muddling two
heaping tablespoons of dark brown sugar with five lime
slices and mixing with Sauza silver (Radius’s well tequila),
Triple Sec, a splash of OJ and fresh sour mix made from
fresh lime, lemon, simple syrup, and water. It was such a
hit that people still come in asking for it, even though
it’s no longer on the menu. Olson at Radius thinks one
reason it’s so popular is that: “It’s similar to something
that’s common down south, and it’s closer to traditional
margarita – which is just tequila with sugar and
lime.”

“The margarita
is never going to go away. There are margarita-defined
occasions,” says Warren of Diageo. But a brand as big as
Cuervo isn’t content with occasions. “We want everything. We
want people to continue to enjoy shots or margarita, but we
want people to consider [tequila cocktails] for
other occasions, drinks that are easy to make and drink,” he
says, referring again to Cuervo Black Medallion’s “Black and
Coke”. Despite the margarita’s ferocious popularity, you
have to figure that at some point, people are going to want
to venture further into the tequila cocktail landscape.
That’s a good thing for Patron. “When you own 7O% of a
category, you have to build market elsewhere. There were
other 1OO% agaves in the late 198Os, but as luxury tequilas
and marketing them go, we were the first. Herradura had been
in the states for a while, and they did a great job, but we
appeal to a high end market,” says Carroll. Patron, in fact,
is marketing its Silver as a white spirit, which consumers
tend to associate with mixability. (Think: vodka, gin.)
“[Patron is] not only good for margaritas, it’s good
for a Cosmo. Tequila is such a new category to the US – and
1OO% blue agave is newer yet,” he adds, suggesting all the
experimentation that’s yet to even happen.

In general, bars
and restaurants around town are getting increasingly
creative with tequila cocktails. Pitchford at the Cottonwood
showcases the Southwestern Cosmo with Sauza Tres Generations
Plata, fresh-squeezed lime and cranberry juice. Meanwhile,
Torres at Ole has been serving the Tequila Martini with
Herradura Hacienda Cristero (a triple distilled Blanco),
Grand Marnier, Cointreau, fresh lime, and a squirt of simple
syrup. “Not many people drink tequila straight up, so this
is a good way to try something straight up,” says Torres. He
also makes a drink he calls La Paloma with Herradura Silver,
a half lime, and pinch of salt over ice topped with Squirt,
a grapefruit soda he gets especially from Mexico. “It’s a
nice alternative for people who don’t want to drink
margaritas.”

At Masa, where
they have a selection of about 95 tequilas – all of which
are 1OO% blue agave – Greg Neises unveiled a cocktail list
that includes tequila concoctions like Raspberry Ginger
Tequini with Corzo Silver, raspberry ginger puree and white
grape juice, and the Chimayo, a cold weather elixir with
Chamucos Reposado, Creme de Cassis, lemon juice, and hot
apple cider. The InterContinental hired Los Angeles-based
cocktail guru Tony Abu-Gamin and Francesco Lafranconi,
Director of Mixology for Southern Wine and Spirits, to
develop tequila cocktails for its menu at Sushi-Teq. It
looks like the horizon of the tequila sunrise is only going
to continue to expand.