If
you're an investor and you didn't invest in Tequila futures,
you may need to drink some of this potent spirit to drown
out your sorrows. Tequila sales have been growing at an average
rate of 5.6% per year since 2002. In 2014 alone, 13.8 million
nine-liter cases were sold. The U.S. represents tequila's
largest market with about 52% of global sales.
What
might account for this dynamic market? It's the distiller's
ability to offer a product for every budget and occasion.
And to top it all off, the fastest growth has been in high-end
and super-premium brands. High end brands have grown 189%
in volume since 2002. Also, virtually unknown in 2002, super-premium
tequilas have vaulted 568% and today account for more than
2.4 million 9-liter cases.
This
growth did not go un-noticed by Pepe Zevada, who had spent
over 35 years in the spirits industry. And so it came to be
that he started his own brand and, of course, named it after
himself with the simple letter "Z". He uses agave
plants that are between 7 and 9 years old, ferments them and
uses a unique short column distillation process.
The
Blanco is un-aged while the Reposado is aged for 9 months
and the Anejo 24 months. Since they sent me the Blanco, that
will be the one we try today, so let's get to it.
The
bottle is of a kind of funky "ye olde" design with
the sides pressed in possibly for easier handling and pouring.
Of course, you can't miss the product name as the letter "Z"
is prominently displayed on the label. The nose is full of
the roasted agave aroma backed by pepper and leather notes.
The palate is mildly spicy and peppery and lets the agave
shine though leaving behind a hint of citrus and sweetness.
The finish is fairly long allowing the taste of the agave,
the citrus and sweetness and subtle spiciness to linger. This
is a very good blanco tequila with all the vegetal notes playing
very sweet music. And the price is pretty sweet too at only
$30.00; this is a tequila that can stand proudly with super-premiums
costing twice as much.
Z
Blanco Tequila is 80 proof or 40% ABV and is available
for a quite reasonable $30.00 per 750ML bottle.
By George Brozowski
For
more Rants & Raves click
here.
http://pepeztequila.com/vvvvv
