About Us
Joseph Horrigan
Joe, or Tequila Joe as he is more widely known, got his start
providing tequila tastings to close friends in the comfort of their
homes. After a short while, his passion for the spirit turned into an
obsession. With constant hours of research, he strived to learn as
much as possible about every aspect of the spirit. Shortly after
beginning the private tastings, Joe got the idea to start a tequila
tasting group that came to be known as “Tequila Joe’s Tasting
Aficionados.” After conception, Joe decided to turn the group into a
fundraising entity in hopes to change perceptions of tequila and
tequila drinkers. Joe and his group hope that through their various
tequila tastings they can broaden their knowledge, palate, and
friendship while improving the community through fundraising.
Some of the benefits Joe provides to his Aficionados are a rewards
program, access to his ratings of different tequilas, custom tequila
rating form, and much more. Currently, he is working on a guide to
tequila.
For more about Tequila Joe click here
Our History
Tequila Joe Horrigan started hosting tequila tastings for people in
early 2006 and started the Tasting Aficionados group in December
of 2006. Tequila Joe had a lot of people interested in the tequila
tastings so he decided one Sunday that he was going to start a
tasting group the following Tuesday.
With such short notice, he believed that the first tasting would only
have a couple of friends attending it. The first Tasting Aficionados
event was called a roaming tasting, which entailed everyone going
bar to bar in Davis trying a tequila at each place. To his amaze,
fifteen people showed up for the first tasting. It was a great
success. Tequila Joe was not sure what he was going to do with the
group at that time, so he wrote down the tequilas each person tried
the first night in belief that he may use the information in the future.
Shortly after the first tasting Tequila Joe decided to have a rewards
program implemented. He decided that the first 100 people could
join the rewards program of the group for free and that in the
future he would need to charge a membership fee. By looking at
other tasting clubs in the area and figuring out what he liked and did
not like about each one, Tequila Joe was able to design the
framework for his own tasting club. The first thing decided on was
rewards after trying 25, 50, 75, and 100 different tequilas at
different Tasting Aficionados events over time. The rewards, in
order of attainment, are a Riedel tequila glass, a shirt with the
Tasting Aficionados logo, a bottle of tequila, and an out of town
tequila tasting trip worth $100 dollars.
Next, in the framework, was finding people to help with the group
and some sponsors. Tequila Joe talked with one of the bars (The
Davis Graduate) in the Davis area that had the largest tequila
selection and got them to be the host bar. This meant they would
bring in tequila reps for tastings and give discounts to the
members. They were glad to be involved and eager to help. Then
Tequila Joe met Art Guzman, who owns a few of the La Piñata
Restaurants and tequila bars in the Bay Area, and he decided to
sponsor the Riedel glasses for the group. After doing a few
Aficionados tastings, Tequila Joe got the idea to incorporate
fundraising into some of the events. Once they started doing the
fundraising, the sponsors and opportunities really opened up. Now
the Tasting Aficionados have Adrian Blanco sponsoring engraving
(which customizes the Riedel glasses), Kia Jafari who designed the
Tasting Aficionados logo, Andrea Manners donated numerous
tequila shirts for raffle prizes, and Oro de Jalisco who donated a
bottle for the tastings and plans to provide more in the future.
Zocalo has also been added as the Sacramento host bar for the
Tasting Aficionados. In addition to the host bar responsibilities,
Zocalo also donates items for raffles and giveaways.
Now, in their current state, the Tasting Aficionados are continuing
their tequila tasting and fundraising. The group has hopes to
continue changing the perceptions of tequila and tequila
enthusiasts, while improving the community through their donations
to local charities.
Joseph Horrigan
Joe, or Tequila Joe as he is more widely known, got his start
providing tequila tastings to close friends in the comfort of their
homes. After a short while, his passion for the spirit turned into an
obsession. With constant hours of research, he strived to learn as
much as possible about every aspect of the spirit. Shortly after
beginning the private tastings, Joe got the idea to start a tequila
tasting group that came to be known as “Tequila Joe’s Tasting
Aficionados.” After conception, Joe decided to turn the group into a
fundraising entity in hopes to change perceptions of tequila and
tequila drinkers. Joe and his group hope that through their various
tequila tastings they can broaden their knowledge, palate, and
friendship while improving the community through fundraising.
Some of the benefits Joe provides to his Aficionados are a rewards
program, access to his ratings of different tequilas, custom tequila
rating form, and much more. Currently, he is working on a guide to
tequila.
For more about Tequila Joe click here
Our History
Tequila Joe Horrigan started hosting tequila tastings for people in
early 2006 and started the Tasting Aficionados group in December
of 2006. Tequila Joe had a lot of people interested in the tequila
tastings so he decided one Sunday that he was going to start a
tasting group the following Tuesday.
With such short notice, he believed that the first tasting would only
have a couple of friends attending it. The first Tasting Aficionados
event was called a roaming tasting, which entailed everyone going
bar to bar in Davis trying a tequila at each place. To his amaze,
fifteen people showed up for the first tasting. It was a great
success. Tequila Joe was not sure what he was going to do with the
group at that time, so he wrote down the tequilas each person tried
the first night in belief that he may use the information in the future.
Shortly after the first tasting Tequila Joe decided to have a rewards
program implemented. He decided that the first 100 people could
join the rewards program of the group for free and that in the
future he would need to charge a membership fee. By looking at
other tasting clubs in the area and figuring out what he liked and did
not like about each one, Tequila Joe was able to design the
framework for his own tasting club. The first thing decided on was
rewards after trying 25, 50, 75, and 100 different tequilas at
different Tasting Aficionados events over time. The rewards, in
order of attainment, are a Riedel tequila glass, a shirt with the
Tasting Aficionados logo, a bottle of tequila, and an out of town
tequila tasting trip worth $100 dollars.
Next, in the framework, was finding people to help with the group
and some sponsors. Tequila Joe talked with one of the bars (The
Davis Graduate) in the Davis area that had the largest tequila
selection and got them to be the host bar. This meant they would
bring in tequila reps for tastings and give discounts to the
members. They were glad to be involved and eager to help. Then
Tequila Joe met Art Guzman, who owns a few of the La Piñata
Restaurants and tequila bars in the Bay Area, and he decided to
sponsor the Riedel glasses for the group. After doing a few
Aficionados tastings, Tequila Joe got the idea to incorporate
fundraising into some of the events. Once they started doing the
fundraising, the sponsors and opportunities really opened up. Now
the Tasting Aficionados have Adrian Blanco sponsoring engraving
(which customizes the Riedel glasses), Kia Jafari who designed the
Tasting Aficionados logo, Andrea Manners donated numerous
tequila shirts for raffle prizes, and Oro de Jalisco who donated a
bottle for the tastings and plans to provide more in the future.
Zocalo has also been added as the Sacramento host bar for the
Tasting Aficionados. In addition to the host bar responsibilities,
Zocalo also donates items for raffles and giveaways.
Now, in their current state, the Tasting Aficionados are continuing
their tequila tasting and fundraising. The group has hopes to
continue changing the perceptions of tequila and tequila
enthusiasts, while improving the community through their donations
to local charities.
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"Tequila For A Cause" |