From Mexico to Manhattan: A Boom in High End Tequila

400 bottles of aged tequila line the walls of Zengo, a restaurant in Manhattan. Photo by N. Parish Flannery @LatAmLENS

Traveling from the blue agave lined hills of Jalisco, Mexico all the way to the outer bank of midtown Manhattan, tequila is stepping into the “lime” light.  For instance, as I explained in a recent article for The Global Post, ZENGO, a chic restaurant in midtown Manhattan that serves sushi, sashimi, and a variety of Mexican dishes, has over 400 bottles of different kinds of tequila in the locked cabinets of its underground tequila “library.”

The restaurant is owned and operated by Richard Sandoval, a high-profile Mexican chef.  He opened his first restaurant in Manhattan a decade and a half ago and now has over 30 restaurants in cities across the country.  All of his restaurants feature tequila, but ZENGO, in particular, is unique.  After opening two years ago, ZENGO now features the largest tequila selection in New York City.

As I explained in my recent article for The Global Post, “In 2001, more than 80 percent of tequila produced in Mexico contained low-grade blends, according to government figures. That has turned around substantially. In 2011, almost 60 percent of the country’s tequila production was 100 percent agave.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE A FEATURE STORY I WROTE FOR THE ATLANTIC ON ARTISAN TEQUILA PRODUCTION IN JALISCO.

Courtenay Greenleaf, a tequila expert who refers to herself as a “librarian” rather than a sommelier, who runs the tequila bar at ZENGO, explained that “every one of [Sandoval’s] restaurants has a very extensive tequila list, but [with ZENGO] he really wanted to give it the emphasis it needed.”

In the dimly lit bar, Courtenay, petite, energetic, dressed in black, animatedly explained her interest in the cactus-based alcohol.  Patrons at small tables sampled “flights,” educational samplings of different kinds of tequilas, pairings designed to teach patrons about the effects different types of wood aging barrels, different varieties of agaves, and different distillation processes can have on flavor.

In restaurants such as ZENGO, tequila is being introduced to a new market of consumers in the U.S.  “There are a lot of people… who have had bad experiences with tequila, doing shots in college” who are giving the beverage a second chance, Courtenay explained.

From ultra-premium producer Patron to niche-market distilleries such as Proximus, Avion, and Tio Pepe.  As I explained in my Global Post article, “The Patron brand controls upwards of 70 percent of the United States’ ultra-premium tequila market, estimates Patron Spirits spokesman Greg Cohen.”

Aficionados say the sipping tequilas are smoother are the palate.  Unlike the blancos mixtos which are usually gulped down in shot glasses or poured into sugary mixed drinks, aged tequilas are also easier on the body.   Añejo connoisseurs  in restaurants such as ZENGO aren’t likely to experience the same negative day-after effects as the shot-drinking revelers at college frat parties who consume bulk amounts of low quality blanco tequilas.

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Edgar Moreno, a tequila fan and former speechwriter for Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderon, explained, “high quality Tequila does not give you a hang over as the less pure ones, though it always depend on the quantity you drink.”