Jose Cuervo Releases Two New Cristalino Tequila Expressions

Cristalino Tequila is a sort of Tequila that has been filtered by way of activated charcoal to get rid of the colour imparted by wooden getting old. It’s the fastest-growing class of Tequila immediately. After taking the Mexican market by storm, the place it has confirmed to be significantly fashionable with millennials, particularly millennial girls, it’s now making regular inroads into the US – Tequila’s largest market.

Lately, I sat down with Alex Coronado (AC), Grasp Distiller and Head of Manufacturing at Cuervo, to debate two current releases of Cristalino Tequila, Cuervo Tradicional Cristalino and Gran Coramino. The latter model was based by Kevin Hart, an American comic and actor, and Juan Domingo Beckman, an Eleventh-generation Tequila marker and grasp distiller. Beckman is a part of the household that controls Tequila Cuervo and serves as CEO of Becle S.A.B., the father or mother firm.

JM: Cristalino Tequila shouldn’t be but a class formally acknowledged by the CRT, so for now, there are not any guidelines relating to how it’s made and what could be referred to as a Cristalino. At what level will the CRT settle for Cristalino because the fifth class of Tequila? What guidelines might be imposed relating to how Cristalino is produced, particularly using oak chips and components and the minimal age of the Tequila from which the Cristalino is made?

AC: Because the founders of Cristalino Tequila over ten years in the past – with Maestro Dobel Diamante – we’re diligently working with different Tequila corporations, the Mexican Authorities, and the CRT to legitimize the class and set standards to manage high quality and course of.

Each few years, the Mexican Norm revises what could be thought-about a Tequila, and for that to occur, there have to be an settlement between personal and public entities. Because the fastest-growing class in Mexico, we see Cristalinos as an vital innovation that broadens the attraction of Tequilas and provides drinkers a brand new and totally different solution to style and experiment with aged liquids.

Whereas we work with the CRT and the Norm on formalizing the Cristalino class, we proceed to innovate with our manufacturers, most not too long ago launching Jose Cuervo Tradicional Cristalino and Gran Coramino Tequila with Kevin Hart. These two manufacturers will introduce a complete new US viewers to what Cristalinos can provide, gaining extra credibility and consciousness for the class.

JM: Historically, Tequila has a pronounced vegetative be aware on each the nostril and the palate. This vegetative be aware ranges from inexperienced/contemporary aromas like inexperienced bean, uncooked agave, asparagus or reduce grass to extra dryer, natural notes like straw and underbrush.

The American palate, Tequila’s major export market, typically does not like vegetative notes, preferring sweetness, fruitiness, and smoothness. Many producers have emphasised these aromas and style profiles in producing their Tequilas and have been fairly profitable within the American market.

Different Tequila manufacturers with a extra conventional aroma and style profile, which emphasize Tequila’s vegetative notes, like Tapatio, have struggled to realize traction within the US. Because the aroma and style profile strikes additional away from the historic template, at what level does Tequila cease being Tequila?

AC: Tequila, because it tastes immediately, isn’t the way it tasted over 100 years in the past, when it was produced in the identical method as mezcal, so such “conventional” notes are newer than most individuals know. Maestro Dobel Humito, one in all our improvements, was created to deliver again the style of Tequila from the previous when agave pinas had been roasted with wooden.

Tequila has developed with altering manufacturing strategies over time and the evolution of client choice and their palate. The fantastic thing about Tequila is its versatility. You possibly can reside in each worlds by tasting extra conventional flavors that you simply describe with Blanco variants.

In our case, Reserva de la Familia Platino and Gran Centenario 40 are some examples of what’s thought-about a basic Blanco, with robust natural notes. On the opposite aspect of the spectrum, now we have Tradicional Plata or Maestro Dobel Blanco, which have very totally different tasting notes, whereas nonetheless being thought-about Blancos.

We’ve additionally been pioneers with barrel getting old, the place customers can experiment with Tequila’s rather more advanced aspect. We use a number of varieties of casks to provide totally different sensory experiences, just like the whiskey class, corresponding to toffee, espresso, cacao, dried fruits, candy wine and extra.

Whereas flavors could change relying on numerous components, from terroir, fermentation, cooking, distillation, getting old and cask ending, the liquid nonetheless maintains its integrity – it’s nonetheless Tequila. Its essence stays the identical pure, uncooked supplies of the agave plant that make it so distinctive a spirit.

JM: Alongside the identical strains, cask ending is changing into fairly fashionable with Tequila producers. This observe is especially true of ending Tequila in casks that beforehand held candy wines like Port, Sherry or Madeira.

These cask finishes introduce a far broader palette of aromas and taste to Tequila than was beforehand the case. Does cask ending dilute the character and legacy of Tequila, or is it merely a mirrored image of the trade adapting to ever-changing market situations?

AC: The Tequila class is evolving. It’s rising up, and the agave and liquid have rather more to supply customers. Previously, Tequila had much less high quality management. Immediately, there are requirements of high quality and far tighter rules, so high quality has improved considerably.

Particular to maturation, Tequila behaves very otherwise when it touches wooden than how a whiskey or cognac does – it’s extra dynamic. This comparatively new course of opens a complete world of flavors to the class. Experimenting with totally different cask finishes is a part of the enjoyable and permits us to introduce expressions with shocking and distinctive taste profiles.

Gran Coramino Cristalino is matured in new Jap European oak barrels after which completed in Californian Cabernet wine casks, delivering a fancy, deeply easy taste distinctive to the class. We don’t see these distinctive cask finishes as a departure from Tequila’s legacy however fairly as a device that provides an extra layer of complexity to the spirit.

Inside Tequila, everybody’s choice is totally different, and it’s why we provide a broad vary of Tequilas that make use of totally different ending strategies to fulfill any Tequila lover – from basic unaged Blancos to advanced Reposados, Añejos and Additional Añejos.

JM: The Tequila market is anticipated to proceed to develop quickly. Some estimates envision a five-to-ten-fold improve within the manufacturing of Tequila over the subsequent 10 to twenty years. Can the trade produce sufficient agave to fulfill this potential demand, or will agave shortages develop into a recurring problem within the trade? Is there a big danger in counting on such an in depth agricultural monoculture that ailments just like the fusarium blight from the Nineteen Nineties might emerge and devastate the agave crop?

AC: Because the chief within the Tequila class, it’s vital that we’re good stewards of the land of Tequila to make sure the longevity and fruitful harvest of the agave plant for generations to come back. We make use of numerous strategies in our agave fields to keep up the well being of the land, together with rotating the crops planted in our agave fields in order to not exhaust the soil and repurposing agave fiber as compost in our fields. We’ll proceed to guage strategies to make sure the longevity and well being of the agave crop.

One of many predominant causes we’ve seen agave go from scarcity to surplus throughout a number of cycles is the shortage of planning and integration from most corporations. There have been few agave shortages previously as a result of distilleries planted and owned their very own agave and had been liable for their very own provide. Over time, we’ve seen an avalanche of latest Tequila manufacturers and firms storm the market irresponsibly, taking a look at short-term good points and utilizing up a considerable amount of agave that they didn’t personal or plan for.

Typically, while you purchase on the open market, these agaves haven’t reached full maturity, and the sugar yield is low. It’s comprehensible since costs are excessive, and most farmers reside from everyday. As the corporate with the most important owned agave provide, we encourage all Tequila manufacturers and distilleries to have a way more accountable method, to put money into the land and the those who present us with this valuable uncooked materials as we do. We’re proud to have performed this for over 260 years.

JM: Using third-party distilleries to provide Tequila for unbiased model house owners has resulted in an explosion of latest Tequila manufacturers and a proliferation of style and aroma profiles. Whereas not new, this phenomenon is extra widespread than it has ever been earlier than. Is the huge improve in Tequila expressions good for the trade? Does it drive demand and an enlargement of {the marketplace}, or does it confuse customers who’ve little foundation for differentiating one model from one other?

AC: The extra folks and firms that put money into the Tequila class, the extra it permits for experimentation and offers customers a wide range of choices to suit their preferences. Sadly, most of these manufacturers are manufactured by the identical two or three distilleries, so customers are principally tasting the identical liquid inside lots of of bottles that vary from below $30 to over $200.

It’s simple to see which manufacturers are hiding their origin distillery. We encourage customers and bartenders to search for the deal with on the again label – in case you don’t see one, you’re more than likely ingesting third-party Tequila and possibly considering it’s “craft” and “small batch.”

Whereas innovation and progress are good for the class, now we have to make sure that everyone seems to be clear, respects the custom, the craft and the rules that uphold the standard now we have all labored so onerous to instill.

Just like the whiskey trade’s trajectory within the US, there’s a function for third-party distilleries and unbiased household corporations like ours. The primary goal is to provide high-quality liquids and differentiated merchandise so customers know what they’re ingesting.

We solely create our manufacturers at our two distilleries – and have over 260 years of expertise and data handed down by way of generations. Our present CEO and Eleventh-generation Tequila maker Juan Domingo Beckmann is a number one steward of the trade and works onerous to make sure all of us keep the respect and high quality of Mexico’s nationwide spirit for generations to come back.

That dedication begins with educating customers and bartenders on what’s contained in the bottle, methods to perceive the totally different crafts and processes behind every model, and the way to not be swayed by packaging alone.

Kevin Hart, our founding companion in Gran Coramino, is constantly educating his group of followers on what a reposado Cristalino is and the way it tastes totally different. It’s vital for him to make use of his platform to make high quality Tequila as accessible as potential to his fanbase and have them perceive the distinction between his product and others.

JM: Conventional Mezcal manufacturing strategies are exerting some affect on Tequila producers. These practices embrace pechuga (exposing the distillate vapors to numerous meats, fruit and veggies throughout distillation), including extra pronounced smoky parts into the aroma and taste profile, and even using “ancestral” distillation gear. Are these anomalies, or do you see a pattern, admittedly amongst only a handful of small producers, to craft a extra conventional/historic model of Tequila?

AC: Do not forget that Tequila was once a mezcal, and earlier than the appellation of origin for Tequila, the manufacturing course of for mezcal and Tequila was very comparable.

Shoppers are on the lookout for distinctive, genuine, and craft Tequilas and by us reviving these conventional strategies, we’re returning to how Tequila tasted over 100 years in the past. We see using numerous manufacturing strategies as one other innovation device – it permits manufacturers to distinguish themselves within the market, experiment with distinctive taste profiles, and finally create a distinguished product.

For instance, Maestro Dobel Pavito was impressed by and created utilizing historical Mexican agave distillation strategies. That includes not solely conventional, seasonal Mexican fruits and spices, Maestro Dobel Pavito makes use of a turkey breast positioned on the prime of the nonetheless, a distillation model most seen in ancestral mezcal – leading to a easy but advanced Tequila with delicate savory notes. It’s fairly distinctive!

JM: As client demand shifts more and more to 100% agave Tequila, do you envision that (mixto) Tequila, these expressions crafted from a mixture of agave sugars and different sugars, will proceed to play a big function within the trade or will they finally fade away?

AC: We see a coexisting relationship between Tequilas and 100% agave Tequilas. There’s a function for each model of Tequila inside the class, and customers are those that finally determine which kind they prefer to drink. We see the identical state of affairs in whiskey, the place blended expressions are broadly accepted and retain a good portion of the market.

JM: Thanks.