Agave Grows Up - Badger Liquor

Cantina Dos
Segundos in
Philadelphia
offers a selection
of 169 tequilas
and 20 mezcals.
AGAVE GROWS UP
Cesar Chavez
Cabrito reposado
tequila, Mandarine
Napolean and
orange juice
Macho Camacho
A blood orange
Margarita made with
ancho chili-infused
tequila and a splash
of cava
Enter the Dragon
A passion fruit
Margarita with
muddled Fresno
pepper and a
splash of cava
The Trinity
Cabrito blanco
tequila, Cointreau
and fresh-squeezed
lime juice
A LINEUP OF SPECIALTY MARGARITAS AT BARRIO IN MINNEAPOLIS.
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CONSUMERS ARE CULTIVATING A TASTE FOR
HIGH-END, AGED TEQUILAS, AND DEVELOPING AN
INTEREST IN MORE ESOTERIC ASPECTS OF AGAVE
By Thomas Henry Strenk
H
ow popular has tequila become in the past decade?
Adelitas Cocina Y Cantina in Denver, which has
grown its collection to more than 155 tequilas, has run
out of shelf space for all the new expressions, says coowner Brian Rossi.
Adelitas is now expanding those shelves to make more room
and satisfy the demand for tequila, a spirit that’s been gaining
respect in the past 10 years, Rossi says. “Now people are more
educated about agave distillates, and we are seeing a rise in
hand-crafted artisanal brands.” Adelitas prices its tequilas from
$5 to $125.
Indeed, artisanal spirits like high-end tequilas are cited as
the top trend in beverage alcohol by the National Restaurant
Association in its 2015 Culinary Forecast. The spirit has
benefited from crossover interest in barrel-aged spirits.
Tequila has become a growth driver of the spirits industry in
the U.S., not only as the base for America’s favorite cocktail, the
Margarita, but also achieving a reputation for sipping quality.
Tequila volumes were up a healthy 5.2% in 2014, according
to the Beverage Information & Insights Group, the research
unit of Cheers’ company. Most of that growth occurred in the
superpremium arena.
NEW AND NOTABLE
“I rely upon my distributors to keep me up to date on all new
tequilas coming onto the market,” says Greg Clements, bar
manager at Alegria Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Bar in
Nashville, TN. For example, he was recently sold on Patron’s
new ultrapremium Roca line after an extensive tasting.
Alegria currently carries more than 100 tequilas, but
Clements plans on cutting back the list by half to better focus
on the brands that move. Prices range from $5 a shot up to
$70 for top-shelf sippers such as Gran Patron Burdeos and Don
Julio 1942. “I sold three of those high-end tequilas to a table just
last night,” Clements says.
“We’re seeing more artisanal producers highlighting the
use of the tahona, the volcanic roca [rock] used to crush agave
pinas,” says Bill Fairbanks, vice president of operations for
the three-unit Barrio Restaurant Group in Minneapolis. The
restaurants offer a core list of 126 tequilas, priced from $5 up
to $96. Popular call brands are Maestro Dobel, which debuted
silver, reposado and añejo expressions, and Clase Azul, whose
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hand-painted bottles show off well on the restaurant’s mirrored
backbar, aka the “Tequila Library.”
“We are seeing more sipping of tequila,” says Fairbanks,
noting that the sweet spot for sampling is in the $14 to $26
per glass range. He makes a point to stock all three or four
expressions of every brand.
“When customers find a label they like, they are more willing
to step up, from the blanco to the reposado or from repo to
añejo or extra añejo,” Fairbanks explains. They are interested in
experiencing how additional aging affects the spirit.
MEZCAL MYSTIQUE
These days you can’t talk about tequila without mentioning
its fast-rising agave brother mezcal. Tequila itself is a type of
mezcal, but with delimited agave growing areas and strictly
regulated production methods. Mezcal has a smoky flavor
profile because the agave is fire-roasted rather than kilned as
Of Masa Azul’s 14
cocktails, several are
Margarita variations,
while others are
agave variants of
classic drinks.
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AGAVE GROWS UP
“WE NOT ONLY LOVE
OUR TEQUILA, BUT
WE ARE EXTREMELY
PASSIONATE ABOUT ALL
AGAVE DISTILLATES.”
—Brian Rossi, co-owner,
Adelitas Cocina Y Cantina, Denver
Mezcal Cantina, operated by Worcester MA-based Niche Hospitality Group, has upped its mezcals from a single brand to 40.
are extremely passionate about all agave
distillates,” says Rossi.
With a name like Mezcal Cantina,
it’s not surprising that the concept has a
vested interest in mescal. “Just over the
last six months to a year, we’ve been selling so much more
mezcal,” says Shayne Filo, director of spirits and cocktails for
Niche Hospitality Group, which operates Mezcal Cantina
restaurants in Leominister, MA, and Worcester, MA.
While the tequila selection has remained steady at 150,
mezcal has grown from a single brand to 40. “Our guests
are more educated about tequila and now curious about
mezcal,” Filo says.
tequila is. Growing infatuation with tequila has led to greater
interest in mezcal.
“Absolutely, mezcal is getting more popular and more
available,” says Leah Marino, beverage director for the
Philadephia-based parent company Cantina Dos Segundos
and Cantina Los Caballitos. The two Mexican concepts have
strong tequila selections, at 160 and 62, respectively.
Marino has been growing the mezcal offerings as well, with
COCKTAIL CONNECTION
20 at Dos Segundos and eight at Caballitos; prices range from
Despite a trend toward more sipping of tequila—and
$7 to $40 a glass. “Mezcal fits the flavor trends towards bolder
mezcal—the cocktail, especially the Margarita, is the big
and stronger,” says the beverage director.
“When we opened more than three
years ago, we were more tequila-focused,
with about 80 tequilas and just six
mezcals,” says Jason Lerner, owner/bar
director of Masa Azul, a Mexican streetfood restaurant and bar in Chicago.
“Since then I’ve upped the mezcal as it
became more available, and trimmed the
tequilas to small-batch producers.”
Masa Azul carries about 50
examples of each, with a small selection
of other Mexican spirits such as raicilla,
sotol and bacanora. (See sidebar
“Agave Spirits and Cousins,” page 16.)
Customer have warmed to mezcal,
Lerner says. “I couldn’t be this strong
in mezcal if I didn’t have an audience.”
Along with its backbar shelves,
Adelitas has expanded its selection of
mezcals, now totaling 49, along with
five sotols, a bacanora, and some raicilla. Adelitas Cocina Y Cantina in Denver, which has grown its collection to more than 155
“We not only love our tequila, but we tequilas, has run out of shelf space for all the new expressions.
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AGAVE GROWS UP
draw. Operators say that a well-made drink is the
best way to encourage exploration of the category.
“While we do sell a lot of neat pours and flights of
tequila and mezcal, our cocktails are the biggest avenue
by which we showcase these spirits and introduce people
to them,” says Lerner at Masa Azul. There is a comfort
zone in tasting a new spirit in a mixed drink, he explains.
And customers who enjoy a cocktail often go on to try
the liquor on its own.
Of Masa Azul’s 14 cocktails, priced $8 to $12, several
are Margarita variations, including the Primero, which
substitutes damiana herbal liqueur for triple sec, as called
for in the original recipe. Other drinks are agave variants
of classics, such as the Oaxacan Negroni and an Old
Fashioned with mezcal, which encourage trial, says Lerner.
Perhaps the most interesting drink is the Tour de
Mexico, which showcases five examples of the agave:
tequila, mezcal, sotol, pulque (a beer-like drink) and
agave nectar.
Mezcal Cantinas also recommend a Mezcal Old
Fashioned to guests. “You get a little bit of smoke, but
balanced, not overpowering,” says Filo. Often customers
will then try the mezcal on its own. “It helps us get the
conversation going with guests.”
At Alegria, a popular cocktail is a twist on a classic
called the Tijuana Mule, made with blanco tequila, lime
juice and ginger beer. But Clements admits that most
tequila sales are from Margaritas. The house standard
is $5 at Happy Hour, with the premium version ringing
in at $15.
“We are known for our Margaritas and sell a lot of
them,” says Marino at Dos Segundos and Caballitos,
explaining that the majority of tequila sales come from
cocktails. The popular El Burro Rosado is a Moscow
Mule variant, and an Old Fashioned substitutes Siembra
Azul anejo tequila for whiskey.
Top-selling drinks at Adelitas, Rossi says, include
the Mezcal-rita, made with Del Maguey Vida mezcal,
agave nectar and fresh lime juice. The classic Paloma is
a tequila-based cocktail made with fresh red grapefruit
juice topped with a splash of Squirt citrus soda.
“We’ve been selling more mezcal-based cocktails,”
says Fairbanks at Barrio, who notes that the spirit’s smoky
flavor often appeals to Scotch drinkers. An example is
Up In Smoke, a cocktail of Del Maguey Vida mezcal,
pineapple and lime juice and serrano pepper.
Another innovation is a cocktail that pairs whiskey
and aged tequila: The High Plains Drifter mixes Gran
Centenario Anejo with Bulleit rye and ancho chileinfused syrup.
FLIGHT PATTERNS
With so many new tequila brands and expressions now
available, flights have become key for on-premise operators.
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AGAVE SPIRITS
AND COUSINS
The agave is not a cactus but rather a member of the lily family,
and there are several hundred species of this perennial desert
plant. Mezcal is the fermented and distilled product of the agave
plant. All tequilas are mezcals, but tequila is made exclusively
from the Weber blue agave variety, grown only in five Mexican
states, chiefly Jalisco, but also Michoacán, Guanajuato, Nayarit
and Tamaulipas.
Mezcal can be and is made all over Mexico, but primarily in
Oaxaca. It can be produced from a number of different agave
types. The biggest difference between tequila and mezcal is
production processes.
For tequila, the heart of the agave, called the pina, is shredded
mechanically and then cooked in closed-kiln ovens. For mezcal,
the pina is crushed by a volcanic millstone towed by burros, then
baked in ember-lined pits that give the spirit its characteristic
smokiness. Whereas many tequilas are produced in quantity
at large distilleries, mezcal is still made primarily by small
independent artisans.
As agave geeks have latched onto mezcal as a new interest,
they are now being intrigued by related sister and cousin spirits,
bacanora, raicilla and sotol. Bacanora is produced from the
Agave Pacifico plant in the Mexican state of Sonora. Illegal until
1992, bacanora now has its own denomination of origin.
Raicilla is sort of a moonshine mezcal, also produced in
Jalisco—usually along the coastline—from wild agave. Legal
varieties of this liquor are now available in the U.S.
Sotol is not agave-based but distilled from a plant called
Desert Spoon and is made in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
All of these different spirits from Mexico are produced,
like tequila and mezcal, in various expressions according to
maturation: blanco (white or unaged), reposado (rested or slightly
aged) and añejo (old).—TS
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AGAVE GROWS UP
“We sell our share of cocktails, but we also encourage our staff to
sell flights,” says Rossi. Adelita’s flight holder is a miniature coa,
the tool used by jimadors to harvest the agave. Tequilas often
come with a side of spicy house-made sangrita. Tastes of mezcal
are served in copitas, traditional handmade clay cups.
Barrio restaurants offer 35 different set flights; eight of
which showcase mezcal. Prices range from $12 to $91 for a
sampling of extra anejos. Guests can opt for compadres, housemade chasers. Tasting sizes are served in small stemware such
as a sherry glass.
At Mesa Azul, Lerner creates bespoke flights for customers,
highlighting different aspects of tequila and mezcal, including
the effects of terroir. Tequilas are served in Riedel glasses
designed to show off the liquor; mezcal is offered in veladoras,
small votive-candle holders.
“We have a number of flights and sell a lot of them,” says
Marino at Dos Segundos and Caballitos. Guests will often
sample three tequilas and then order a shot of their favorite.
Tequila is poured in caballitos, a traditional tall shot-glass.
“Flights are huge business for us,” says Filo. The two Mezcal
Cantinas list three price tiers for tequilas and mezcals: the
lowest is for a flight tasting size, the mid-price is for a cocktail
or a full pour, and the highest is the pitcher price for drinks.
Mezcal flights are especially popular, and new additions to the
backbar are highlighted that way.
BARRELLING IN
Mezcal Cantina just purchased an entire barrel of Maestro
Dobel tequila. After tasting samples of six different barrel
treatments from the producer, the operator selected the best
for its clientele. Maestro Dobel bottled the barrel with a label
that reads hand-selected for Mezcal Cantina.
A Barrio bartender mixes
up a Black Diamond, with
Maestro Dobel tequila,
Cointreau, fresh-squeezed
lemon juice, pomegranate
and black sea salt.
Why buy a barrel? “It’s a great tequila, and this allows us to
sell it at a better price, passing the savings along to our guests,”
explains Filo.
“We are always searching for new ideas and events,” says
Rossi. He and some of his key staff are heading to Mexico,
first to Jalisco to check out tequila distilleries and then to
Oaxaca to visit a couple of mezcal distilleries.
Back home, the next project is to transform a back
section of the restaurant, now a bar called El Guapo, into a
traditional mezcaleria. “We will be focusing on mezcals and
central-Mexico foods,” says Rossi.
“My goal will be to find a good source for grasshoppers
and crickets,” he adds. “So if you know anyone selling
crickets, let me know.”
Thomas Henry Strenk is a freelance writer who has traveled
extensively in Mexico, tasted tequila right from the still and enjoyed
cricket-topped pizza in Oaxaca.
LEADING BRANDS OF TEQUILA, 2013-2014
12/13
Supplier
2013 2014 % Chg
Brand Jose Cuervo
Proximo Spirits
3,030 3,082 1.7%
Patron
The Patron Spirits Co.
2,075 2,150 3.6%
Sauza
Beam Suntory
2,041 2,089 2.4%
1800
Proximo Spirits
1,032 1,041 0.9%
Juarez
Luxco
820 900 9.8%
Familia Camarena
E & J Gallo Winery
571 725 27.0%
Montezuma Tequila
Sazerac Co.
555 585 5.4%
El Jimador Brown-Forman Corp.
336 379 12.8%
House of Cazadores
Bacardi USA
250 260 4.2%
Don Julio
Diageo
270 327 21.1%
Total Leading Brands
10,979 11,538 5.1%
Others
2,641
2,7875.5%
13,620
14,325
5.2%
Total Tequila
Source: The Beverage Information Group Handbooks & Directories, www.bevinfostore.com.
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