Like many of life's greatest plans, the idea for Scotland's first-ever coffee tequila brand was formed over a Saturday afternoon pint amongst friends.
The budding entrepreneurs in question, Kieran Woods, Stewart Weir and Adam Alzadjally, all brought their own level of expertise, and a thirst for opportunity, to the table.
With Bacardi-owned Patrón XO Cafe (commonly referred to as Cafe Patrón) having been pulled from the shelves not long before, a gap in the market proved the catalyst for their three-year journey towards the launch of Jalisgow.
“We were big Cafe Patrón drinkers, and when it was discontinued we would still ask for it at bars in the hope that they still had some left," Woods explained.
“More often than not we’d end up disappointed.
“At that time Adam was working in the coffee industry and had come up with a coffee tequila sample at home.
“We had tasted that before and decided that it was time to try and make something happen.
“Three years later, here we are.”
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Released exclusively in Glasgow this month, Jalisgow is a premium coffee-infused tequila crafted by the experts at The Hacienda, Casa Reyes D’Barjas in Mexico, the second-oldest tequila distillery in the world.
Produced in small batches and created by local producers and farmers, the drink is made with 100% Blue Weber Agave, the highest quality on the market.
Dubbed a 'Mexican spirit with a Scottish heart', the team has maintained a close relationship with the distillery while developing their brand, despite initial plans to bottle and produce in Scotland.
“We got as far as ordering in all of the tequila, buying the bottles and then hiring a company to mix it for us here in Scotland.
“There was one ingredient that didn’t arrive on time, and it was the luckiest thing that could have happened.
“If we had gone to production, we would have had a lot of useless liquid because we would never have been able to legally call it tequila.
“We returned all of the goods we had sourced including pallets and pallets worth of tequila, and started making inroads into Mexico.”
In the same way that no bubbly made outside of the Champagne region of France can be referred to as such, a spirit can only be called Tequila if it is made in one of five authorized states in Mexico.
So, it was time to commit to a new vision for Jalisgow.
“When we first visited Jalisco, the distillery actually had doors that had been imported from the shipbuilding industry on the Clyde, and are now being used as commercial oven doors in Mexico to cook our Agave.
"We took that as a bit of a nod from the universe that this was the place for our tequila to be produced," co-founder Stewart Weir said of their decision to move forward with the brand.
When it came to the all-important taste tests, the trio knew that they had to strike a perfect balance to fill the gap which had been left by Cafe Patrón.
“We came into the drinks market eager to cater to what people in the UK wanted," Woods continued.
“For example, we cut the ABV down to 30% even though Cafe Patrón was higher.
“We wanted to focus more on something that was a pleasure to drink, taking away that burn you get with a tequila shot.
“There’s so many ways to consume our drink whether that’s over ice or in a cocktail.
“The more variety, the better.”
When the time finally came to introduce the people of Scotland to Jalisgow, within 10 days the team had secured listings in no less than 45 Glasgow bars, such as The Finnieston, Lebowskis and The Locale, with a further three in Dundee and interest in Aberdeen.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to walk into bars around Glasgow and see our bottles on the shelves," Woods said.
“There have been so many times over the past years where we weren’t sure that would ever happen.
“Combining our unique skills and backgrounds within the industry meant that we could all reach out to networks of people we’ve met and worked with along the way.
“We wanted to start strong by launching in our home city and we’ve had the warmest of welcomes.
“That’s purely down to the people of Glasgow being so ready to support their own products and three local guys who want to succeed.
“It’s in the nature of Scottish people to support each other, and that’s played a massive part in getting us to where we are now.”
For more information on Jalisgow, visit jalisgow.com.
Bars wishing to stock Jalisgow should contact orders@jalisgow.com.
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