Tequila Espolon: history, types and how to distinguish a fake
Tequila Espolon - it is 100% distilled from blue agave. The brand's values are a tribute to the Mexican culture, with its peculiar attitude to death and deceased ancestors.
Each bottle has its own unique engraving, which in turn tells a story starring skeletons.
History of the Espolon brand in brief
Despite the fact that Espolon tequila (or more precisely, El Espolon) appeared on the market of strong agave distillates only in 1998, this brand has its own very solid prehistory.
At the origins of the drink was a small artisanal distillery built in 1889 in the area of Los Altos de Jalisco, which was famous for the sweetest agave, a local wealthy landowner and a fan of good tequila, Don Celso Plasencia.
For two generations, the Plascencia family has been producing white and rested tequila, largely guided by their own needs and those of the surrounding community.
By the way, according to local tradition, it was Don Celso who came up with the idea of creating "rested" Reposado tequila by placing it in oak barrels for a short time.
The situation changed under the grandson of the founder of the family business, Raul Plascencia, who in 1996-1998 built an ultra-modern enterprise on the basis of his grandfather's distillery, which received the name: Destiladora (distillery) São Nicolás. It was here, on the basis of old family recipes combined with the latest technologies, that the current Espolon tequila brand appeared, which means "Rooster's Spur" in Spanish (in the Mexican folk tradition, the rooster is considered a symbol of vitality and well-being).
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After the opening of the new plant and the launch of the new brand, the family business did not go as well as Raul Plascencia expected, as in 2008 the company had to be sold to the American branch of the Italian alcoholic beverage concern Gruppo Campari.
At the same time, the problems were probably anything but the quality of the drink itself, t.к. the process of its production remains in the hands of Celso Plascencia's descendants to this day.
Overview of Espolon tequila types
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 "flavor".
As has been the case since the days of Don Celso, agave pulp is slightly overheated in the ovens during preliminary heat treatment, and the distillation process itself takes a little longer than usual...
The result is drinks that combine the softness of a good distillate with the pronounced smoky flavor of baked agave.
Espolon Blanco
Unaged drink, with light floral and citrus notes in the aroma and vanilla and pepper flavors in the taste. An excellent aperitif.
It is consumed either neat or slowly washed down with sangrita.
Espolon Reposado
A golden-straw six-month-old tequila with pepper and caramel transitions in its smell and taste. It is also very good in its pure form.
If you want something strange, you can try to drink it with a slightly salted mixture of agave and lime juices.
Espolon Añejo
14-month old red gold digestif.
The final two months of aging are spent in Wild Turkey bourbon barrels.
Has sweet vanilla and caramel notes in the taste and a pleasant pepper and toffee aftertaste.
How to distinguish a 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 story composition:
Espolon Blanco - is a living skeleton of Guadalupe, who fights the Spanish colonizers on horseback on a fighting rooster named Ramon;
Espolon Reposado - brave Guadalupe flirting with a skeleton girl, Rosarita, in Mexico City's market square;
Espolon Añejo - the aforementioned couple in love, dancing in front of a barrel of tequila.
Given the high quality and complexity of the labels, it is virtually impossible to fake them. Thus, they can serve as a significant guarantee of the drink's authenticity.
Update: 27.05.2017
Category: Tequila