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| NOM 1079 - Agabe Tequilana Productores y Comercializadores, S.A. de C.V. |
In April of 2008, a group of about 25 of us visited the Agabe Tequilana distillery. Upon
entering the distillery we were promptly greeted by members of the distillery and were
given a demonstration of the Tahona. Shortly after we entered one of the production
rooms, one of the tour members (Ian Chadwick) was given the pleasure of starting one of
the copper stills.
Next, we entered the barrel room which was truly overwhelming…barrels as far as the eye
can see. We were all given samples directly from one of the barrels and allowed to roam
freely to look at the barrels, cases of old products in the warehouse, and much more. As
if this was not already above and beyond what I expected, we were then told that we could
sign one of the barrels at the entrance of the barrel room.
After taking some group photos and having a few tastes from the barrel, we headed over
to the bottling area. This area was a lot bigger than I expected and if you look at the
pictures on the next page, the picture of the bottling room shows about ¼ the size of the
room we were in. We then watched the bottling process and Juan Mesa was even allowed
to wax one of the bottles of 1921 Reposado.
At this point, I figured this was probably the end of our experience at this distillery but,
little did I know, there were many more surprises to come. We walked over to the
hacienda were a nice bottle display was set out with numerous tables around it. We sat
down to a nice lunch and were given a few samples including some new products not yet
on the market. Some of the new products we tasted were a new Oro Azul Crema and Oro
Azul Extra Anejo. After tasting and seeing the preliminary design of the Extra Anejo
bottle (pictured on the next page), we were allowed to reserve our bottles for the Extra
Anejo at a special price. Of course I jumped on this offer. Not to mention that the bottle
is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, but we also got first dibs on one of 300
bottles to be available and a special price with our choice of bottle numbers.
This was truly a wonderful experience and the kindness and generosity of the members of
this distillery is truly amazing. I look forward to returning in the future and hope that my
next visit happens soon.
Update: The kindness and generosity continues. In December 2008, the members of this
distillery, along with the help of my good friend Juan Mesa, gave me the first bottle of Oro Azul
Extra Anejo to the United States. It truly touched my heart and I can never thank them enough.
As Juan can attest, I was completely speechless. It is truly an exceptional edition to my
collection and can be viewed here:
http://www.tequilajoescollection.com/Oro_Azul_Artesanal_Extra_Anejo.html
entering the distillery we were promptly greeted by members of the distillery and were
given a demonstration of the Tahona. Shortly after we entered one of the production
rooms, one of the tour members (Ian Chadwick) was given the pleasure of starting one of
the copper stills.
Next, we entered the barrel room which was truly overwhelming…barrels as far as the eye
can see. We were all given samples directly from one of the barrels and allowed to roam
freely to look at the barrels, cases of old products in the warehouse, and much more. As
if this was not already above and beyond what I expected, we were then told that we could
sign one of the barrels at the entrance of the barrel room.
After taking some group photos and having a few tastes from the barrel, we headed over
to the bottling area. This area was a lot bigger than I expected and if you look at the
pictures on the next page, the picture of the bottling room shows about ¼ the size of the
room we were in. We then watched the bottling process and Juan Mesa was even allowed
to wax one of the bottles of 1921 Reposado.
At this point, I figured this was probably the end of our experience at this distillery but,
little did I know, there were many more surprises to come. We walked over to the
hacienda were a nice bottle display was set out with numerous tables around it. We sat
down to a nice lunch and were given a few samples including some new products not yet
on the market. Some of the new products we tasted were a new Oro Azul Crema and Oro
Azul Extra Anejo. After tasting and seeing the preliminary design of the Extra Anejo
bottle (pictured on the next page), we were allowed to reserve our bottles for the Extra
Anejo at a special price. Of course I jumped on this offer. Not to mention that the bottle
is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, but we also got first dibs on one of 300
bottles to be available and a special price with our choice of bottle numbers.
This was truly a wonderful experience and the kindness and generosity of the members of
this distillery is truly amazing. I look forward to returning in the future and hope that my
next visit happens soon.
Update: The kindness and generosity continues. In December 2008, the members of this
distillery, along with the help of my good friend Juan Mesa, gave me the first bottle of Oro Azul
Extra Anejo to the United States. It truly touched my heart and I can never thank them enough.
As Juan can attest, I was completely speechless. It is truly an exceptional edition to my
collection and can be viewed here:
http://www.tequilajoescollection.com/Oro_Azul_Artesanal_Extra_Anejo.html