The World Innovators
in Sipping Tequila
Have Changed the Game, Again
In 2009, an independent, small-batch tequila company brought a craft tequila to market that changed the way tequila was perceived by the spirit industry, the culinary industry, and tequila connoisseurs worldwide. Casa Dragones Joven Sipping Tequila was the first tequila of its kind, specifically created to be enjoyed neat, the way one typically enjoys a fine wine or cognac.
Dubbed the “Tastemaker’s Top Tequila” by Forbes, the innovation behind Casa Dragones Joven involves blending 100 percent Blue Agave unaged silver tequila with a proprietary amount of extra-aged tequila, barrel-rested in new American oak for five years. The result is a tequila as clean and fresh as the agave it came from, with a warm, round finish and hints of hazelnut highlighting the wood. Award-winning chefs have marveled over the spirit’s versatile food-pairing possibilities, while sommeliers and mixologists around the world praise the spirit’s complex yet smooth taste.
Eleven years later, Casa Dragones is changing how we think of tequila again. This summer marks the release of Casa Dragones Barrel Blend. Its latest expression is a 100 percent Blue Agave Añejo with a taste, body, and finish never before experienced in an aged tequila. Casa Dragones Barrel Blend is a marriage of notes and aromas designed to capture the hearts of tequila lovers and aged spirit lovers alike. It’s a crowning achievement, the product of a three-year journey of taste.
The story of Casa Dragones Barrel Blend begins in Jalisco, beneath the volcano of Tequila. Here, Casa Dragones uses pure spring water and sweet lowland Blue Agave to produce tequila in a modern, sustainable small batch production, a method that uses less water, less energy, and creates less waste. The elaborate process delivers exceptionally smooth, clean-tasting tequila and is recognized by the Tequila Regulatory Council as the most sustainable in the industry.
JULY 2020
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Gonzalez-Nieves worked for two years with one of France’s most renowned cooperages to custom-make two kinds of wood barrels. The first, a French Oak barrel, is made from a proprietary blend of 100 percent Quercus Sessile oak, harvested from five different forests in France. The barrels are custom toasted to impart a silky roundness while allowing the minerality of the agave terroir to shine through.
The second style of barrel is custom made from New American Oak from Missouri and Pennsylvania. In contrast to the French Quercus Sessile Oak, the New American Oak receives a custom medium toast, accenting the floral complexity of the tequila while adding a hint of almond and spice.
After aging the tequila in its respective casks for over 12 months, Casa Dragones spent months testing different blending techniques. When it uncovered the best blend between the tequila aged in American Oak versus French Oak (of which the exact ratio is kept hush-hush), Casa Dragones Barrel Blend was born.
CASA DRAGONES
for which Casa Dragones tequila is known. The working theory on how to achieve this dynamic borrowed on the previous innovation with Casa Dragones Joven: Blending tequilas, this time aged in two different types of wood barrels, would make it possible to exert more control over the precise taste, body, and finish of the final result. Finding the perfect wood for the barrels would be key.
“It’s so beautiful and elegant. I get orange blossom, honey, almond, caramel and cedar with a dry and vegetal finish. We don’t typically focus on añejos because they often shadow the greener flavors of agave plant but there is a place for this añejo.”
- Yana Volfson, agave spirits expert and beverage director of ATLA and Cosme in New York and Ticuchi in Mexico City.
This method takes time and care, two traits not typically associated with more mass-produced spirits. But nothing about what Casa Dragones does is typical. Its first expression was a high-end sipping tequila before sipping tequilas were even a distinction in the industry. Its second expression was Casa Dragones Blanco, 100 percent Blue Agave silver tequila, crafted to deliver the purest essence of agave and a remarkably versatile tequila ideal for professional and amateur mixologists alike. A full six years elapsed after the Blanco before Casa Dragones Barrel Blend appeared. The wait was due to a never before attempted innovation in aging tequila.
Casa Dragones co-founder, CEO and first-ever female Maestra Tequilera Bertha González-Nieves knew she wanted to produce an aged tequila that would acquire accents from the barrel-aging process without losing the distinctive taste
SHOP CASA DRAGONES
“Casa Dragones has produced another winner,” says internationally renowned chef Thomas Keller of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. This añejo is a true sipping tequila; it’s beautiful and the body and color are extraordinary.”
To experience Casa Dragones Barrel Blend for the first time is to find your new favorite aged spirit. It’s a tequila so silky and expressive, it's guaranteed to elicit pleasure. Pour two fingers into a tulip glass from the elegant, smoked grey bottle, numbered and signed by the producer. (Don’t bother with ice or a chaser; with Casa Dragones’ long, warm finish, you won’t need it.)
Immediately, you will notice the spirit’s color: apricot and summer grass, with hints of butterscotch if held to the light, different than any Añejo you’ve seen before. Swirl the tequila in its glass and watch its luxurious legs slide down the sides in slow rivulets. Observe the clarity of the tequila as it settles. Put your nose to the lip of the glass and inhale deeply. Smell the bouquet of aromas this unique blend offers: fig, juniper, almond, stone fruit, agave. It smells like what it is: a fine tequila, unburdened by the typical vanilla and caramel of other Añejos.
The first sip will excite the tip of your tongue and warm the back of your throat. The mouthfeel is silky and delicate, elegant with a smooth finish. You will notice blackberry, cacao, and macadamia, as the floral notes linger in your nose, enticing a second sip. This is a tequila unlike any other, the pure expression of the journey of taste.
The only thing predictable about Casa Dragones Barrel Blend is its singularity. In ten short years, Casa Dragones has gone from an unknown craft distillery to the world leader in sipping tequilas. Since pioneering the sipping tequila distinction in 2009 with Casa Dragones Joven, Casa Dragones still does everything with innovation, craftsmanship, and the sustainability of the spirit in mind.
“Innovation is the foundation of our company. It’s what we like to do best—to explore the possibilities within the tequila category and work on innovating to deliver something truly different and special,” says Gonzalez-Nieves of her experience making Casa Dragones Barrel Blend. “What we’re always trying to do as producers is to expand the tequila repertoire through unique taste-quality and modern production.”
Learn more about Casa Dragones Barrel Blend’s journey of taste, and explore its entire line of distinctive sipping tequilas, at casadragones.com.
Barrel Blend
JOVEN
BLANCO
To experience Casa Dragones Barrel Blend for the first time is to find your new favorite aged spirit. It’s a tequila so silky and expressive, it's guaranteed to elicit pleasure. Pour two fingers into a tulip glass from the elegant, smoked grey bottle, numbered and signed by the producer. (Don’t bother with ice or a chaser; with Casa Dragones’ long, warm finish, you won’t need it.)
Immediately, you will notice the spirit’s color: apricot and summer grass, with hints of butterscotch if held to the light, different than any Añejo you’ve seen before. Swirl the tequila in its glass and watch its luxurious legs slide down the sides in slow rivulets. Observe the clarity of the tequila as it settles. Put your nose to the lip of the glass and inhale deeply. Smell the bouquet of aromas this unique blend offers: fig, juniper, almond, stone fruit, agave. It smells like what it is: a fine tequila, unburdened by the typical vanilla and caramel of other Añejos.
The first sip will excite the tip of your tongue and warm the back of your throat. The mouthfeel is silky and delicate, elegant with a smooth finish. You will notice blackberry, cacao, and macadamia, as the floral notes linger in your nose, enticing a second sip. This is a tequila unlike any other, the pure expression of the journey of taste.