It is the eye-watering clear liquor drank with lime and salt that is synonymous with the highlands of Mexico.
But now an unlikely producer is entering the Tequila market, and created in its own distinctive style.
Above: agave
An Aberdeen firm has founded its own brand of ‘craft Tequila’ infused with the aromas of Speyside whisky.
At £55 a bottle it is available on order and also due to be sold in high-end eateries and stores such Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
The company exports Speyside whisky casks from Scotland to Tequila, Mexico, where the product is aged and bottled.
Read more: Architect chief resigns in wake of angry industry row
UWA Tequila claims is the first in the industry to put a Scottish twist on the traditional Mexican spirit by releasing the world’s first solely aged Speyside whisky cask Tequila.
It is claimed it is the first time a Tequila has been created by ageing it in Scotch whisky casks without combining different blends, in a venture set up with a six-figure investment from owners Michael Ballantyne and Ross Davidson, below.
The 100 per cent blue weber agave plant spirit is aged and rested in premium pre-filled Speyside whisky casks which are exported for the next stage of the production process.
Read more: Architect chief resigns in wake of angry industry row
Just like Scotch, Champagne and Cognac, only drinks from or matured in Mexico, mainly in the state of Jalisco, can bear the moniker.
Taking a step back as executives in the oil and gas industry, the two businessmen hope to present a "completely niche product to the drinks market, combining different cultures to create the ultimate luxury spirit".
Mr Ballantyne, co-founder of UWA Tequila, said the result is "like nothing else on the drinks market at the moment".
"It’s been a long time developing everything for the brand, but we’ve put a lot of effort into producing the very best tequila with our own Scottish twist.
"Being native Scots and knowing our whisky’s rather well, we simply took inspiration from the whisky industry and applied it to our Tequila."
Read more: Architect chief resigns in wake of angry industry row
He said: "Ageing in various casks gives each one a unique expression, and we wanted to be the first people to do something really different in the Tequila industry.
"Our aim is to provide artisanal Tequilas aged in barrels from Single Malt casks, to casks that are used by some of the finest wineries in the Napa Valley.
“The brand really is all about thinking outside the box and doing something different.
"Being very new to the drinks industry we’ve had to learn a lot quickly, but for us, educating people on the right ways to enjoy tequila whilst promoting responsible drinking is a key part of our business.”
Mr Davidson, fellow co-founder, said: “We make the Tequila in the same way as anyone else does, but the fact we started out with an industry first using Single Malt Scotch whisky casks really does make our Tequila stand out.
“Traditionally companies use American bourbon casks for ageing Tequila so we’ve taken a really innovative approach in doing something completely different to the norm.
Read more: Architect chief resigns in wake of angry industry row
“Our core range has three 40 per cent ABV products in it, but we’re already looking into ageing tequila in numerous other types of casks to create really high quality, super premium small batch tequilas.
"We’ll also have some extremely rare ones to follow, but we’re not revealing too much at the moment.”
The company is working alongside a leading Mexican Tequila distiller in the town of Tequila to produce the new spirit.
Whisky giants Gordon and MacPhail, and independent company Bootstrap Liquor, will take the lead on UWA’s distribution across the UK.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel