Consider yourself one of the lucky ones if you managed to buy a bottle of Aguamiel Tequila in Toronto lately. Flying off shelves after its June 25 launch in LCBO liquor stores, supplies of Aguamiel quickly sold out.
Aguamiel was chosen among more than 200 applicants to be the LCBO’s tequila choice in 2018 for new store supply.
Craig Shaw, Co-founder of Aguamiel Tequila exclaimed that selling out “was confirmation that we are working toward something big,” and that he “couldn’t be happier with the public’s response, and are excited to see what will come of Aguamiel going forward.” (But not to worry, shelves of nearly 100 LCBOs are officially re-stocked.)
Currently available in Ontario and British Columbia, Aguamiel is produced with 100 per cent Blue Agave Tequilana Weber, handpicked from the highlands and lowlands of Jalisco, Mexico. Clear in color with a complex yet delicate nose, the bright agave flavour introduces a light to medium-bodied palate with a clean finish.
“From a passion and interest in the hospitality industry and a core belief that family is most important, I decided to create a brand/product that had similar views,” Shaw told Pursuit.
“I ended up choosing tequila, not only because it was my drink of choice, but (also because of) the amount of work and planning needed to create it, the people involved from the start to the finish, and family members that have passed ancient techniques of making tequila down from generation to generation.”
Tequila, he explained, is integrated and sought after widely in Mexican culture, and now throughout the world.
“To the hard work and of the planning the jimadors, who plant/harvest the agave, to the Master Tequileros who have been taught over generations the mastery art of distillation,” he said everything comes to together “representing hard work, culture, family, and fun times.”
“I personally love tequila on ice, and with club soda. The traditional drinks are often made with citrus fruit flavours, but many mixologists are now creating standard cocktails with tequila, including Caesars, Old Fashions, Negronis.”
