Brand tequila “El Himador” belongs to the company “Herradura”, is made by hand and consists entirely of blue agave juice. Mexicans know a lot about their national drink, and therefore, in their homeland, this tequila is almost as popular as more famous brands. Today, El Jimador holds 12% of the Mexican tequila market. It is exported to 136 countries.
Since 2007, Herradura has been owned by the American company Brown-Forman. For more than 20 years, El Jimador tequila has been awarded numerous prizes at prestigious international competitions, in particular, the International Wine & Spirit Competition in 2010 and 2012, the Los Angeles Wine & Spirits Competition in 2013.
Historical reference. Herradura is one of the oldest Mexican tequila companies. It was founded by Don Felix Lopez in 1870. For 137 years, the estate, with its distillery and vast blue agave plantations, was run by members of the same family. Hacienda Herradura is located in the Amatitan Valley, in the state of Jalisco. The local red, iron-rich soils are considered among the best for growing blue agave.
In Spanish, “herradura” means “horseshoe”. The emblem of the company depicts a horseshoe, which once the son of Don Felix, Aurelio Lopez Rosales, found in the field. He announced that this find was good luck. Since then, the old hacienda, which was formerly called “San Jose del Refugio”, bears the name “Herradura”.
Luck indeed accompanied Herradura throughout the 1927th century. Production did not die out even when in XNUMX Don Aurelio, who helped the rebels, was declared a criminal, and he only miraculously escaped arrest.
In 1994, Herradura created a brand new premium tequila recipe. It was made from pure agave juice, and the Reposado and Añejo varieties were aged in American white oak barrels. They named the new drink El Jimador: in honor of the workers who, with sharp shovels, koa, cut off the ripened piña (“cones” of the agave).
In Mexico, they believe that a real himador must be born. A person of this profession must be physically strong and hardy: the weight of a ripe piña can reach 90 kilograms, and the crop is harvested only by hand. A good himador is characterized by a special inspiration, the ability to “hear the song of the piña”, which allows you to accurately determine the moment of ripening of the agave.
In skillful hands, a koa is a terrible weapon. At one time, it was the plantation workers who detained the government troops sent to arrest Don Aurelio. Naming the new tequila in honor of himadores, the owners of Herradura simply paid their debt to the people, thanks to whose hard work it is possible to produce a noble drink of excellent quality.
Types of tequila El Himador
Herradura produces three brands of El Jimador tequila with a strength of 38%:
- El Jimador Blanco – a young colorless tequila with a rich agave aroma and a fresh, piquant taste, the sharpness of which is slightly smoothed out by sweet citrus notes;
- El Jimador Reposado is a light golden tequila aged two months. It smells of roasted agave, vanilla and almonds. The taste of the drink is soft, oily, with vanilla-caramel sweetness, the aftertaste is warm, with a hint of smoke;
- El Jimador Añejo is a year-old dark amber tequila. It has a complex, gradually opening taste, in which the sweet tones of agave, vanilla and cinnamon are combined with a slightly astringent oak bitterness.
The company also produces two alcoholic drinks based on El Jimador Blanco tequila:
- El Jimador Mexican Lime – tequila with lime;
- El Jimador Mango – tequila with mango, citrus fruits and vanilla.