In the old days, life was rougher, and tequila was stronger. And if in order to experience all the charms of life without the blessings of civilization, you need to go somewhere in the wilderness, then it will not be difficult to try exactly the same tequila that you drank a century and a half ago. And we are not talking about aged collectible alcohol of fabulous value.
For the excellent quality of tequila, Pepe Lopez was awarded the General Directorate of Standards under the Government of Mexico. The Chicago Beverage Testing Institute awarded Pepe Lopez Gold the second place in the competition for the best tequila for beginners (Olmeca Gold took the first place).
Historical reference. One of the oldest Mexican distilleries, Tequila Herradura, produces Pepe Lopez tequila according to an old recipe known since 1857. For many years Felix José López served as the manager of the Hacienda San José del Refugio. The estate had an old distillery built at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. Senor Lopez paid special attention to her: being an inquisitive person, he experimented a lot with the distillation of fermented blue agave juice.
In 1870, Don Felix managed to buy the hacienda from the owner, Josefa Salazar. After that, he registered his own brand of tequila – Hacienda San Jose Del Refugio – and set about building a new distillery. This plant was used for over 90 years, until 1963, when it was turned into a museum.
Don Felix died in 1878. The company he founded was destined to go a long and glorious path. His son, Aurelio, renamed the family firm Casa Herradura. It became one of the largest Mexican tequila producers.
In 1965, the tequileros of the Herradura distillery made exactly the same tequila that was made at the San José del Refugio distillery in 1857. It was both strong (40%) and very mild in taste. The centennial anniversary of the company was approaching, and therefore, in the name of the drink, they decided to perpetuate the name of its founder, Felix Jose Lopez, whose friends and relatives simply called Pepe.
Despite the fact that since 2007 Grupo Industrial Herradura has been part of the American concern Brown Forman, Pepe Lopez tequila is still being produced. Almost all operations in the distillery are performed manually. Blue agave, from which the drink is made, is grown on company-owned plantations located in the states of Nayarit and Jalisco. Fermented juice is subjected to double distillation. The resulting alcohol is diluted with crystal clear spring water.
According to Señor Rubén Aceves, Casa Herradura’s director of international branding, the only improvement made to the original recipe of the drink was the use of a diffuser to distill it. This device allows you to increase the yield of tequila from the wort, and, consequently, reduce its cost and selling price.
Types of tequila Pepe Lopez
Two varieties of Pepe Lopez tequila are produced with a strength of 40%:
- Pepe Lopez Silver – a young colorless tequila with a rich aroma and sweet taste of blue agave with a hint of lime;
- Pepe Lopez Gold is a straw-golden tequila with a fruity aroma and a complex taste, in which notes of agave and citrus gradually give way to warm peppery-malt tones.
