Contents
Tequila Espolon is a 100% blue agave distillate. The values of the brand are a kind of tribute to the Mexican culture, with its peculiar attitude towards death and deceased ancestors.
Each bottle has its own unique engraving, which in turn tells a story where skeletons play the main role.
tequila what you need to know
Espolon brand history in brief
Despite the fact that Espolon tequila (or rather El Espolon) appeared on the market of strong agave distillates only in 1998, this brand has a very solid background.
At the origins of the drink was a small artisanal distillery built in 1889 in Los Altos de Jalisco, famous for the most sugary agave area, by the local wealthy landowner and fan of good tequila, Don Celso Placencia.
For two generations, the Placencia family has been producing white and rested tequila, mainly guided by their own needs and the needs of the surrounding population.
By the way, according to local tradition, it was Don Selso who came up with the idea of creating a “rested” Reposado tequila by briefly placing it in oak barrels.
The situation changed under the grandson of the founder of the family business, Raul Placencia, who in 1996-1998 built an ultra-modern enterprise on the basis of his grandfather’s factory, which received the name: Destiladora (distillery) San Nicolas. It was here, based on old family recipes, combined with the latest technology, that the current Espolon tequila brand appeared, which in Spanish means “Cock Spur” (in Mexican folk tradition, the rooster is considered a symbol of vitality and well-being).
After the opening of a new plant and the launch of a new brand, family affairs did not go as brilliantly as Raul Placencia expected, since already in 2008 the company had to be sold to the American branch of the Italian alcohol concern Gruppo Campari.
At the same time, probably, the problems consisted in anything, but not in the quality of the drink itself, because. the process of its production still remains in the hands of the descendants of Selso Placencia.
Overview of types of tequila Espolon
All drinks produced under the Espolon brand consist exclusively of Blue Agave distillate and contain 38 (in the case of the USA – 40) degrees of alcohol.
At the same time, the tequila produced by the San Nicolas distillery has a certain family “zest”.
As has been customary since the time of Don Selso, agave pulp, during preliminary heat treatment, is slightly overexposed in ovens, and the distillation process itself takes a little longer than usual.
As a result, drinks are obtained that combine the softness of a good distillate and a pronounced smoky flavor of baked agave.
how to drink tequila
White Spur
Unaged drink, with light floral-citrus notes in the aroma and vanilla-pepper hints on the palate. Excellent aperitif.
It is used either in its pure form or slowly washed down with sangrita.
Espolon Rested
Golden-straw six-month-old tequila, in the smell and taste of which you can catch peppery-caramel transitions. It is also very good in its pure form.
If you want something strange, you can try washing it down with a lightly salted mixture of agave and lime juices.
Aged Espolon
14-month red gold digestif.
The final two months of aging is spent in Wild Turkey bourbon barrels.
It has sweetish vanilla-caramel notes on the palate and a pleasant peppery-iris aftertaste.
How to distinguish fake Espolon tequila
A distinctive feature of the brand are very characteristic labels made in the spirit of Mexican traditions. The label of each of the three brands of the drink contains its own rather complex plot composition:
White Spur – quite a living skeleton of Guadalupe, famously fighting with the Spanish colonialists riding a fighting cock named Ramon;
Espolon Rested – the dashing Guadalupe, flirting in the market square of Mexico City with a skeleton girl, Rosarita;
Aged Espolon – the aforementioned couple in love, incendiary dancing against the backdrop of a barrel of tequila.
In view of the high quality and complex plot of the labels, it is practically impossible to fake them. Thus, they can serve as a significant guarantor of the authenticity of the drink.
tequila cocktails
Relevance: 27.05.2017
Tags: Tequila, Tequila brands