Five of the best Tequilas
| 15th July 2021
Five of the best Tequilas: It’s National Tequila Day on Saturday (July 24) and we love a beverage celebration at VIVA so here’s our round up of some of the best shots around.
No-one apparently knows why or where National Tequila Day started, it seems to have just emerged in the nineties, but frankly who cares!
According to legends at Southside taco & tequila joint in Withington it was the Aztecs who invented Tequila made from the blue agave plant in Mexico, near the town of the same name.
Five of the best Tequilas. Image: Shutterstock.
The red volcanic soil of the Jalisco region, now a world heritage site, is perfect for growing the plant and some 300 million are harvested every year.
Like champagne, Tequila can only be produced in the area and is protected. Tequila must have between 35 and 55 percent alcohol content (70 and 110 U.S. proof). That’s a VIVA drink. Here’s our round up of some of the best tequila’s around. Enjoy as a shot or sip in style or make a fabulous cocktail or five!
Storywood Tequila
Five of the best Tequilas: Storywoord Tequila
It’s a premium sipping tequila that is redefining the category and is the first and only range of tequilas that are fully matured in whisky casks in the world.
The company is encouraging the adventurous to “Live Free, Sip Slow” and is perfect for cocktail creation, these two delicious cocktails are easy to create at home.
The tequila is produced and aged in Mexico using 10-year-old mature 100% blue weber agave grown slowly for between 10 and 12 years and harvested from the lowland region of Jalisco.
It’s then married with natural spring water from Volcan de Tequila that flows down from the mountains, before being twice distilled in copper pot stills. The spirits are then matured in handpicked ex-Speyside whisky casks shipped over from Dufftown, Scotland.
Storywood Spicy Margarita
Five of the best Tequilas: Spicy Margarita
Ingredients: 50ml Storywood Speyside 7 Reposado | 25ml Melonade | 25ml Lime Juice | Garnish – small slice of red chilli and chilli infused sea salt.
Method: Add all the ingredients to an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake hard. Double strain into a chilled coupetini glass and garnish the rim with chilli infused sea salt and a small slice of red chilli (optional).
Storywood Speyside 7 Reposado. RRP: £38.95 for a 700ml bottle. ABV: 40%. Storywood Speyside 14 Añejo Tequila: RRP £47.45 for 700ml. ABV: 40% Available from amazon.co.uk masterofmalt.com and thewhiskyexchange.com and storywoodtequila.com
Mijenta Tequila
Newly launched, artisanal small batch Tequila from the highlands of Jalisco, made with 100% agave and the best possible materials embracing traditional methods resulting in a complex tequila with a silky long finish. This unique, super premium spirit, distilled by Maestra Tequilera Ana Maria Romero, is carefully crafted with a commitment to environmental sustainability and support for the local community.
Sip on the rocks or mix up a Mijenta Tequila Daisy: 60ml Mijenta Tequila Blanco | 20ml Pineapple Syrup | 45ml Fresh Lime Juice | 20ml Yellow Chartreuse.
Shake all ingredients vigorously with plenty of ice. Strain into coupe glass and garnish with a pineapple leaf.
RRP: £54.99 for 70cl. ABV: 40%. Available from: Master of Malt and coming soon to shopmijenta.co.uk
Cazcabel Tequila
Cazcabel Tequila is a range of authentic, high quality tequilas made in Mexico using only natural ingredients and blue weber agave, grown for around seven years before harvesting. Available at an affordable price, there are five expressions in the range; Blanco, Reposado, Coffee, Coconut and the world’s first Honey tequila.
Celebrate with your friends this National Tequila day with a Cazcabel Tequila Margarita Kit, containing all the ingredients to make over 20 margaritas at home, complete with a Cointreau Mexican Elbow.
Each margarita kit is presented in a premium magnetic Cazcabel Box with a recipe card and includes:
1 x 70cl bottle of Cazcabel Blanco Tequila
1 x 50cl bottle of Cointreau
1 Mexican Elbow Lime Squeezer
1 x 250ml bottle of Groovy Food Co Agave Nectar
1 250g box of Maldon Sea Salt
Cazcabel Blanco Margarita: 50ml Cazcabel Blanco Tequila | 25ml Cointreau | 25ml Lime Juice | 5ml Agave Syrup | Garnish: Lime Wedge. Pour Cazcabel Blanco Tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and agave syrup into a cocktail shaker, shake and strain into a fresh glass with crushed ice.
Cazcabel Blanco RRP: £25.99 for 70cl. ABV: 38% | Cazcabel Honey, Cazcabel Coconut, Cazcabel Coffee RRP: £24.99 | Cazcabel Reposado RRP: £29.99 for 70cl. ABV: 38%. All available from: Amazon, Master of Malt and Cazcabel Web Shop
Cazcabel Margarita Kit RRP £74.99, which is also available on Cazacabel Web Shop.
FLUÈRE Smoked Agave
Five of the best Tequilas: Fluere
FLUÈRE Smoked Agave is a luxurious non-alcoholic spirit for everyone who wants to live a more mindful life without compromising on taste. Unique to the drinks brand is a pleasant after-bite that is typically associated with alcoholic drinks. The drink has smoke and honey on the nose with fresh notes of pear. On the palate there is the characteristic vegetal sweetness of agave with some bitter overtones and a hint of black pepper. The flavours develop into eucalyptus and mint, for a long, clean finish.
Why not try it in a non-alcoholic margarita: 60ml FLUÈRE Smoked Agave | 25ml Lime Juice | 20ml Agave Syrup. Garnish: Lime Wheel. Shake ingredients over ice. Double strain into a salt rimmed coupe. Garnish with a lime wheel.
FLUÈRE Smoked Agave RRP: £20 for 70cl (ABV 0%). Available from Amazon and shop.fluèredrinks.com.
The Lost Explorer Mezcal
Five of the best Tequilas: The Lost Explorer Mezcal
Did you know? All Tequilas are mezcals but not all mezcal is tequila. The Lost Explorer Mezcal is a deliciously different smoky agave spirit for the adventurous spirits wishing to try something new.
The Lost Explorer Mezcal is a handcrafted artisanal spirit made from 100% agave, cultivated in the sun-soaked Valles Centrales, Oaxaca in Mexico. It is a toast to empowering sustainable Mexican enterprise, whilst protecting the ancient artisanal craft, heritage and biodiversity of Mexico. Harvested in harmony with the elements and in tune with the rhythm of nature, the three uniquely profiled expressions, Espadín, Tobalá and Salmiana, seek to inspire people to celebrate the earth and live curiously, exploring the wonder and diversity of the sacred agave plant.
The Lost Explorer Mirror Margarita – This bottled cocktail can be bought exclusively from Hacha. RRP: £35 for 500ml. The Lost Explorer Espadín RRP: £62.50 for 70cl | The Lost Explorer Tobalá RRP: £109.99 for 70cl | The Lost Explorer Salmiana RRP: £140 for 70cl. All available from: The Lost Explorer Mezcal, Amazon, Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange and Casa Agave.