It is the eye-watering clear liquor drank with lime and salt that is synonymous with the highlands of Mexico.
But now an unlikely producer is entering the Tequila market, and created in its own distinctive style.
An Aberdeen firm has founded its own brand of ‘craft Tequila’ infused with the aromas of Speyside whisky.
Above: agave
At £55 (aprox. 60 USD) a bottle, it is available on order and also due to be sold in high-end eateries and stores such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
The company exports Speyside whisky casks from Scotland to Tequila, Mexico, where the product is aged and bottled.
UWA Tequila claims is the first in the industry to put a Scottish twist on the traditional Mexican spirit by releasing the world’s first solely aged Speyside whisky cask Tequila.
It is claimed it is the first time a Tequila has been created by ageing it in Scotch whisky casks without combining different blends, in a venture set up with a six-figure investment from owners Michael Ballantyne and Ross Davidson, below.
Ross Davidson and Michael Ballantyne
The 100 per cent blue weber agave plant spirit is aged and rested in premium pre-filled Speyside whisky casks which are exported for the next stage of the production process.
Just like Scotch, Champagne and Cognac, only drinks from or matured in Mexico, mainly in the state of Jalisco, can bear the moniker.
Taking a step back as executives in the oil and gas industry, the two businessmen hope to present a “completely niche product to the drinks market, combining different cultures to create the ultimate luxury spirit”.
Mr Ballantyne, co-founder of UWA Tequila, said the result is “like nothing else on the drinks market at the moment”.
“It’s been a long time developing everything for the brand, but we’ve put a lot of effort into producing the very best tequila with our own Scottish twist.
“Being native Scots and knowing our whisky’s rather well, we simply took inspiration from the whisky industry and applied it to our Tequila.”
anted to be the first people to do something really different in the Tequila industry.
“Our aim is to provide artisanal Tequilas aged in barrels from Single Malt casks, to casks that are used by some of the finest wineries in the Napa Valley.
“The brand really is all about thinking outside the box and doing something different.
“Being very new to the drinks industry we’ve had to learn a lot quickly, but for us, educating people on the right ways to enjoy tequila whilst promoting responsible drinking is a key part of our business.”
Mr Davidson, fellow co-founder, said: “We make the Tequila in the same way as anyone else does, but the fact we started out with an industry first using Single Malt Scotch whisky casks really does make our Tequila stand out.
“Traditionally companies use American bourbon casks for ageing Tequila so we’ve taken a really innovative approach in doing something completely different to the norm.
“Our core range has three 40 per cent ABV products in it, but we’re already looking into ageing tequila in numerous other types of casks to create really high quality, super premium small batch tequilas.
“We’ll also have some extremely rare ones to follow, but we’re not revealing too much at the moment.”
The company is working alongside a leading Mexican Tequila distiller in the town of Tequila to produce the new spirit.
Whisky giants Gordon and MacPhail, and independent company Bootstrap Liquor, will take the lead on UWA’s distribution across the UK.
