The UK tequila revolution enters its next phase…

Tequila is the sort of drink most of us have history with.

But, as anyone from Mexico will tell you, it’s because we’ve been drinking it wrong.

In Mexico, tequila – quality tequila, not the stuff you got trashed on at college – is sipped, not slammed.

The first time I went to Mexico City almost 20 years ago I was handed a small glass of tequila at a party.


Naturally, I tossed the whole thing back at once. The circle of people looked at me like I was an alien as they sipped theirs slowly, like whisky.

What I didn’t know back then was that tequila comes in many different forms.



There’s the potent unaged clear type – the only one Brits had really been exposed to until the mid-00s – and then there are smooth, caramelly, sweet, aged tequilas, treated with the same care in the distillation and ageing process as any other sipping spirit.

UWA is one of the premium tequila brands transforming the way we drink tequila (Picture: UWA)

It’s just that back then hardly anyone in the UK was importing it, very few bars were serving it and even fewer people knew to order it.

Bars and tequila ambassadors have been trying to make this point to us for about a decade – and it is slowly sinking in. While it’s still relatively rare, particularly outside of big cities, to order a premium tequila to sip solo, it’s starting to gain traction and certainly the way tequila is used in cocktails has radically transformed over the years.

It’s now vanishingly rare (if you’re over the age of 21) to get your tequila buzz by way of a shot or 5 of white Jose Cuervo accompanied by table salt and a slice of lemon – and thank god for that.

Tequila cocktails have reached art form status (you only need to look at the menu at Ella Canta, Breddos Tacos or Cafe Pacifico for evidence) and we have finally learned to welcome – even enhance – the flavour of tequila rather than holding our nose to block it out.

And now it would seem we are ready for the next phase in our tequila education, courtesy of tequila brand Enemigo.

The ‘ultra-premium’ brand, run out of a high-tech eco-friendly distillery in the heart of Tequila in the Jalisco Province, is spearheading the next phase of the tequila revolution with a tequila they claim is so smooth and complex, you should sip it from a champagne flute to fully appreciate its flavour.

The extra-aged Enemigo 00 Extra Anejo is a caramel-coloured, fruity, spicy, honeyed tequila, aged in American oak barrels, which a panel of tasters at the Spirits Business named one of the 10 best value for money spirits in the luxury market.

The tequila so smooth you sip it out of champagne glasses

Credit: Ocho

‘Enemigo has a lovely balance between the raw materials and the wood, which isn’t taking over,’ they said. ‘This is exactly what aged tequila should be like.’

We tried it (and tried it some more) – from a champagne glass – and have to agree. This tequila, matured for three years in the oak barrels, is as far from the potent white liquid many still associate with the word as a Dairy Lea triangle is from a vintage cheddar: the two cannot be compared.



This is smooth, sweet, warm and subtle on the nose, with distinct aromas of honey and vanilla. The flavour floods the palate with warm notes of honeyed agave, a light toasted nuttiness rounding out the flavours.

It’s rich, moreish and incredibly easy to drink – and will please even those for whom dark spirits usually hold no appeal. Personally, as someone who isn’t a fan of the sharp, peaty fire of many whiskies, this is the alternative.

Only drawback is, unlike those tequila slammers of old, the more you sip, the more you want – which at £145 a bottle (at The Whisky Exchange), is going to be an expensive new habit.

Q&A WITH EDUARDO GOMEZ, FOUNDER OF TEQUILA & MEZCAL FEST When did people in the UK start viewing tequila as anything other than a slammer or a margarita ingredient? The ‘sip don’t shoot’ style of drinking tequila has existed for relatively few years in the UK and predominantly in the bigger cities with London being the pioneer. Big brands such as Patron, Don Julio and Herradura have invested lots of money in marketing, encouraging consumers to drink tequila in the right way by sipping it, as you do with whisky. In Mexico, we don’t do tequila shots, we always sip it either as an aperitif or digestive. When did the first premium tequila appear in the UK and where? Is difficult to know when but I reckon at least 15 – 20 years ago. A very good friend of mine, Jose Sandoval, was the brand manager for Herradura tequila and he did a great job before the millennium. Therefore I reckon late 90s when there was also a Tequila boom in Mexico. Are people really ordering sipping tequilas in bars? Where and how far off are we seeing that happen as the norm, like whisky? Yes, more and more people are ordering sipping tequilas. It is very important to mention that Mexico is currently the 8th most visited country in the world and UK visitors are the leading tourists from Europe. Once a Brit experiences the right way to drink Tequila, there’s no going back, taking the knowledge and sharing it when they return home. How would you say a premium tequila compares to a premium whisky in flavour and enjoyment? There is nothing to compare the two if I’m honest. Tequila has three different expressions: Blanco, Reposado and Añejo. Blanco is un-aged and the UK’s favourite by volume. It is peppery, spicy, citrusy and full of agave flavours. Reposado and Añejo are aged in American oak barrels for a maximum of 12 months for the Reposado and 24 for the Añejo. These two tequilas have some hints of caramel, chocolate, cinnamon etc similar to whisky, but that’s it – nothing else in common with whisky. Tequila is made from a plant called blue agave which is native to Mexico. This plant takes from 5 to 7 (or more) years to reach full maturity so by harvesting time, it is full of energy from ‘Mother Earth’ through sunshine and water. That energy passes through into the tequila-making process and then on to you while you are drinking it. Pure energy! What are the notes of premium tequilas and how would you describe the experience of sipping one? The notes depend on the type of tequila, whether it is a Blanco, Reposado or Añejo. The most important thing is always to check that it is 100% agave. This will give you the guarantee that the tequila has been made entirely from the agave plant. There is another Tequila called ‘mixto’, from which only 51% comes from the agave plant, the other 49% comes from random sugar sources. Should you serve it room temperature, chilled or over ice and why? Always room temperature! Even in Mexico where it’s 37 degrees we drink it room temperature. If it’s chilled it affects the flavours as they do not open up. You can find great tequilas and premium Mexican products at mexgrocer.com. and more about the Tequila and Mezcal fest here.

WHERE TO FIND PREMIUM TEQUILAS Out and about Cafe Pacifico in Covent Garden launched many a tequila lover affair and continues to be the place to go for serious tequila-lovers in London. The selection is one of the best in the country and you get free tortilla chips and guacamole at the bar – a very traditional Mexican way to drink. Temper Soho on Broadwick Street – for Neil Rankin’s signature cocktail, the Irn Bru Spritz (tequila with an Irn Bru reduction and prosecco that knocks Aperol Spritz out of the park) and the Don Colada – cafe mezcal with rum, coconut cream and pineapple. Plus smoked goat or aged cheeseburger tacos, beef-cooked potatoes with melted cheese, burrata with jalapenos and some of the city’s finest and most flavoursome steak coooked on the open kitchen’s barbecue. Breddos Tacos in Clerkenwell and Soho – absolutely stand-out menu and tequila cocktails. The food has to be seen to be believed… take a look at the website and book in ahora mismo. Bad Sports on Hackney Road – sports bar and taqueria with fun tequila cocktails in the downstairs cocktail bar, including The Hammerstein – Malibu, tequila and Coke. Peyotito in Ladbroke Grove – excellent Margaritas, an interesting tequila cocktail menu and a list of sipping tequilas and mezcals. Food is light and fresh. Santa Remedio in London Bridge – ‘groundbreaking’ Mexican food according to Grace Dent and a ‘fantastic’ place to drink tequila. Sold. Ella Canta – recently opened in the Park Lane Intercontinental – high end Mexican with a cocktail list that goes on for days and in an art form in itself. To take home Enemigo 00 Extra Anejo, £145, The Whisky Exchange Enemigo 89 – a clear tequila that goes through a similar, though shorter ageing process to the 00 Extra Anejo but is then filtered to remove the colour. £60, The Whisky Exchange UWA Tequila – small batch, aged in Scottish single malt whisky casks. A seven-month aged reposado with sweet honey and vanilla taste with earthy notes from the lowland agave. Caramel notes, a subtle oaky finish and smooth and buttery on the tongue. £60, Inverurie Whisky Shop Ocho reposado – Subtly aged for eight weeks in oak barrels, Ocho Reposado has an aroma of coffee, bright agave and pineapple, with delicately balanced flavours of white pepper, vanilla, and dark bitter chocolate, with the oak leaving a mocha and soft vanilla finish on the palate. This is the tequila that enticed me back into the world of tequila. I sipped it for a night and it completely altered my perspective on tequila. £18.50, Waitrose.com

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