Latest news with #agave
Forbes
a day ago
- General
- Forbes
Cielo Launches One Of The Oldest Premium Tequilas Ever
A bottle of new Cielo X laid down on the table. For more than a decade, El Diamante Del Cielo has been busy establishing itself as a premiere name in the realm of top shelf tequila. Now it's launching a new bottle that encapsulates just as much time in each and every sip. Cielo X is a luxurious extra añejo that spent 10 years aging in white oak barrels. Crafted and patiently matured by master distiller Arturo Fuentes, one of the industry's most celebrated artisans, it is among the oldest--and priciest--releases of agave spirit this year. And we scored a first taste. Is it worth the $800 suggested asking price? Let's uncork its delicate decanter and find out. The first thing to notice about the liquid is its burnt caramel color. It's almost radiant in the pour, but not necessarily as opaquely dark as you might suspect of a spirit of this stated age. There's also a surprising degree of layered nuance to the nose. This isn't a single-note oak bomb. Instead, you're treated to initial aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg, which open up to reveal candied apricot as it sits in the glass. A considerable amount of confection carries over into the sip. It is a richly textured experience, dominated by vanilla and creme brûlée under fresh berry fruit. The finish returns to cinnamon, adding a final component of cracked black pepper to contemplate as it slowly fades off the tongue. Although the juice is probably best enjoyed as a dessert dram, a subtle vegetal undertone from the matured agave holds true at its core. It remains, unmistakably, a tequila. And a Lowland one, at that. Sustaining this degree of clarity at such a lengthy age isn't at all easy. There's a reason why even the priciest of expressions on shelves today rarely brandish more than 5 years worth of oak maturation: it's downright difficult to find balance at this point. The overall elegance and multi-dimensionality of this product is a testament to the artistry of Arturo Fuentes. Before his journey in tequila began, the 30-year industry veteran spent time in Cognac as well as in the Champagne sectors. So he's certainly no stranger to working patiently and deftly with wood. He's also well-versed in shaping sensational base spirit. At Fabrica de Tequilas Finos, where Cielo is distilled, Fuentes works on a handful of other notable brands including Cenote and the Nick Jonas-backed Villa One. With El Diamante del Cielo, he fashions his tequila through a triple distillation technique, distinct from the double distilled industry standard. It results in a markedly delicate style of sipping spirit. And one that can evidently stand up to plenty of time in the barrelhouse. For connoisseurs with deep pockets, Cielo X certainly won't disappoint. It sits pretty--yet not ostentatiously--on a back bar, in a narrow decanter with a faceted stopper that evokes the heart of the agave plant. The Roman number X is etched across its backside. For those who want a taste of Fuentes' laudable expertise at a much more attainable price point (around $53 a bottle), the flagship añejo from El Diamante del Cielo is a worthwhile substitute. Until you can get your finances in order, at least. The range of liquids in the core portfolio of El Diamante del Cielo
Forbes
03-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Father's Day Gift Guide 2025: The Best Travel Experiences You Can Book With Hotel Points
Use hotel points to enjoy special, one-of-a-kind experiences with father and son. getty Hotel points are a valuable loyalty currency that you can earn from frequent travel, but also from credit card spending. Many credit cards are affiliated with hotel loyalty programs, while others allow you to transfer points from the credit card program to different hotel points. But, many hotels are diversifying the rewards that they offer allowing members to use their points for more than just hotel stays, but also unique experiences that are otherwise hard to buy on their own. If you are looking for a Father's Day gift that taps into Dad's personal interests, especially if you can go along with him, these gift ideas are available for a limited time and can be paid for with hotel points. These are some of the options from the major hotel loyalty programs, some of which are auction-style offers and others have a flat points price. Live your race car dreams by using Hilton Honors points. McLaren Act fast to bid on this experience, which ends June 3, to attend the home race of Lando Norris and the McLaren F1 Team. Hilton has partnered with the brand for 20 years, and this package includes VIP tickets for two to attend Saturday's Practice and Qualifying Sessions. It also includes various hosted team activities and two nights at the Hilton Garden Inn Silverstone. Sample the region's variety of agave in a variety of cocktails. Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal At the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, guests or visitors can redeem 150,000 hotel points for a two-person 'agave study' experience. Experts guide you through a flight of tequilas and mezcals that are paired with cheese, chocolate, homemade flavored salt and fruit. Unlock VIP tickets to a legendary soccer tournament with Hilton points. Hilton Honors Two tickets to this international soccer event include VIP access to watch the pre-match warmups and a photo opportunity with the winning team and their trophy. Also part of the auction deal is a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium, team memorabilia and a two-night stay at the Signia by Hilton San Jose. Learn to surf on one of the world's most famous beaches, Bondi Beach, thanks to IHG One Rewards points. IHG One of the Mastercard Experiences that IHG offers to its co-branded credit cardholders is a private surfing lesson at Australia's world-famous Bondi Beach. A pro instructor and expert lifesaver will lead the lesson and then take you behind the scenes to the world's oldest surf lifesaving club. The experience, which goes for 129,000 points for two people, includes lunch, a photo opportunity and some gifts to take home. Play padel at a private members club using IHG points. IHG Auctions For only 12,000 IHG points, cardholders can reserve a court at the exclusive Reserve Padel Club at New York's Hudson Yards. This offer is valid for four people and comes with complimentary padel equipment, water bottles and towels. The courts are available year-round since they are 'within a bubble' for heat insulation despite being outside. Galleeria Vittorio Emenuele and Duomo in Milan getty Frequent traveling dads can use IHG points to book private tours of notable landmarks around the world. They include an after-hours tour of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, the Duomo in Milan, a Seine River dinner cruise in Paris and the ruins of Pompeii. Wrigley Field is one of the oldest baseball fields in the country. getty Redeem Marriott points for a variety of baseball experiences. These include watching your child shout 'play ball' at a game, enjoying VIP box seating and a special tour of Wrigley Field, and walk out onto the field. Bidding points on these different packages for summer events will end soon, but more packages will be added soon. World of Hyatt points can help you learn to lasso like a Texas cowboy. getty Practice your best cowboy skills by learning how to lasso like an expert at this hour-long experience at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa outside of Austin. The lesson costs just over 5,000 points, which is similar to the price of a Category 1 hotel on the World of Hyatt award chart. It is also possible to pay $73 for the lesson and earn points instead. Earn or redeem Hyatt points through World of Hyatt's FIND Experiences. World of Hyatt Follow the scent of expert truffle-hunting dogs during a visit to Parisi Udvar Hotel Budapest, part of the Unbound Collection by Hyatt, to go on a search through the forest for these pricey ingredients. After the hunt, the hotel's chefs will prepare a truffle-inspired picnic for a tasty finish. This experience costs about 11,000 points. Using points, you can charter your own fishing boat to catch and cook your own dinner. World of Hyatt At the Hyatt Centric Key West, just over 108,000 World of Hyatt points can unlock an exciting, half-day fishing adventure on a charter boat from the hotel's dock. The catch you bring back will be prepared perfectly by the hotel restaurant's chef team for you to enjoy the same evening.
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
What Is So Special About Tahona Tequila?
A heavy volcanic stone wheel, or tahona, is a traditional tool to crush agave and imparts a unique profile to the tequila it helps produce. The tequila category has exploded over the past decade, with global sales surging more than 60% since 2016 and U.S. consumption alone growing by 302% since 2006, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US. But amid all the celebrity-backed bottles and high-speed production, there remains a small but passionate corner of the industry committed to traditional methods. One of the oldest among those techniques is the use of a tahona—a two-ton volcanic stone wheel—to crush agave. At La Alteña Distillery in Jalisco, which has been active since 1937, El Tesoro remains one of the few brands in Mexico to use the tahona exclusively. After the piñas, or hearts, of the agave plants are cooked, the tahona rolls over the agave to crush it. Many producers blend tahona-crushed juice with extract from more modern roller mills, or liquid from diffusers, which use hot water under high pressure to extract sugars. El Tesoro's commitment to this labor-intensive method is both practical and deeply personal. 'The tahona stone is what sets us apart from most other tequila producers in Mexico,' said Jenny Camarena, El Tesoro's new Master Distiller. 'There are only a handful of others who use this method. It's what has always been done for El Tesoro, and it has helped me decipher and detect El Tesoro in a blind tasting.' Flavor is a major reason the method persists. Tahona crushing preserves the nuance of the roasted agave, which generates the sugars that contribute to fermentation. This in turn leads to a spirit rich in earthy and cooked notes with a unique mouthfeel. 'I know what a tahona-crushed agave spirit tastes like every time – the cooked agave flavors I get like sweet potato, tamarind, baked plantains, caramel and grilled apricots are preserved, not zapped,' Camarena explained. 'The stone itself leaves a gentle earthiness and mineral character.' In the wider tequila market, flavoring has also been at the center of a recent, high-profile lawsuit. Diageo—parent company of Casamigos and Don Julio and one of the top beverage conglomerates by market cap—has recently been targeted by a class action suit over claims that their '100% agave' label is misleading and leaves room for the use of additives. Diageo disputes the claims. Still, an ongoing back-and-forth could leave an opening for tequilas that back up their flavor with demonstrated, traditional methods. Even beyond flavor, the tahona is a symbol of El Tesoro's philosophy. The stopper on the brand's bottles are even made out of a tiny stone shaped like a tahona. 'It's like our special tool, our symbol, that has been there since the distillery first opened,' Camarena says. 'It has seen us through the years, it knows the stories of La Alteña.' From a business standpoint, tahona-based production is likely one of the least efficient methods of extracting sugars from agave, and the lengthy process is often traded out in favor of scale. In fact, replacing a tahona—especially the one in use, which is as old as La Alteña itself—wouldn't be easy. El Tesoro's tahona is as old as their distillery itself, which was founded in 1937. While the current stone could last another 20 to 25 years, a backup plan is already in place. 'I do know a person who got a stone for a project and never used it and that is willing to give it to me, just in case,' Camarena said. 'El Tesoro would not be El Tesoro without the tahona stone.' In a landscape chasing efficiency, using a tahona to make tequila is a reminder that a faster process isn't necessarily better.
CBS News
28-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Giant agave in Oakland neighborhood drawing attention as it undergoes death bloom
The life cycle of a massive plant in an Oakland neighborhood is coming to an end, and in death, it is putting on quite a show. "This big momma here? Yeah, we're just calling it the agave right now or the giant asparagus," Brion Spensieri said. At nearly 27 feet, the name is appropriate for the plant, especially being from the Asparagaceae family "It is from the family asparagus, that's why it looks so much like an asparagus," Spensieri said. It can take a while for the plant to reach this stage of its life. "I think it's at least 30. That's what our landscaper said when we decided to keep it. But the internet doesn't always agree on how long it takes for this to happen," Spensieri explained. "Some say 10 to 30 years, others say up to 40, others say up to 80, the house was made in the 1890s so God knows how long it's been here, but we love it." The plant is now in the part of its life known as the death bloom. The once-in-a-lifetime flowering event will attract pollinators like bats, bees and hummingbirds. And it can drop up to 1,000 seeds and new plants known as pups. "It's going to make these gorgeous yellow flowers at the end," Spensieri said. The plant's death bloom has earned it some internet fame on social media after a neighbor posted it on Instagram. "The algorithm figured it out, and it gave it over a million views. Thousands of people liking it and commenting on it. It just felt really good being part of my community," Spensieri said. And there are other ways it could live on. "People have said, 'Hey, send me the stock, and I'll make tequila out of it.' And I'm like, I don't know how I'm going to mail that, it's massive," Spensieri told KPIX. More importantly, it will live on in the memories it has created for the Spensieri family and their neighbors. "It's cool to think that it came from something like it, and it will make other things like it. And we just can't wait to pass those on, and we'll set up a table with all the seeds and pups and give back to the community," Spensieri said. Once the agave flowers, a death bloom is inevitable, and nothing can be done to stop it. Typically, it takes around 10 to 15 years for the agave to bloom.
CNN
18-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
After years of flying high, celebrity tequila braces for impact
New York CNN — It's tough out there to be a tequila maker — not even Kendall Jenner is immune from the industry's challenges. 818 Tequila, the four-year-old brand owned by Jenner, has slowed down hiring and dialed back spending on some of its marketing efforts, a troubling sign for the industry that has experienced seemingly stratospheric growth and garnered celebrity attention for the past several years. 'We've observed a pull-back on discretionary spending and an increase in what we view as more deliberate purchases,' Mike Novy, CEO of 818 Tequila, told CNN, adding that the company is focusing on its core lineup of tequilas to give customers the 'best possible price.' This year is turning into quite a headache not only for 818 Tequila, but for the whole industry. Tequila sits at a 'critical juncture,' according to a recent report from OhBev, an alcohol marketing agency, with 'signs of market normalization' following a decade of extraordinary gains. Consumers already aren't spending as much on tequila compared to the height of Covid-19 when people stocked up their at-home bar setups, which has prompted a wave of layoffs. Plus years of excessive demand have sparked an oversupply of agave — the main ingredient in tequila — causing prices to sharply decline as inventory goes unsold, damaging profits for farmers. Now there's the threat of tariffs of 25%, as the spirit is produced exclusively in Mexico. Tequila currently falls under the free trade agreement President Donald Trump signed with Mexico and Canada, which is set to expire next year. For now, that trade deal has allowed goods from America's neighbors that comply to come in duty-free, but that could always change. Consumers are being more discerning of their purchases, with the industry 'seeing a reversion to pre-pandemic levels of business and growth,' according to Andrew Chrisomalis, co - founder and chairman of Pantalones, the two-year-old tequila brand created by Camila and Matthew McConaughey. He said that tequila drinkers are not spending as much on the super premium category (i.e., the $150 bottle of Clase Azule that's a favorite of celebrities and Real Housewives, alike) with purchases being 'less kind of flash, less sort of showy' as drinkers look for high-quality tequila at an affordable price. That benefits Pantalones, he said, which costs $45 for a 750 ml bottle of Blanco. 'Given the uncertain economic environment, people are being more cautious… you sort of feel that in everything and in every way of life, including ours,' he said. 'Discernment would be the key word and if you have that differentiated product, you should feel pretty good about yourself.' But there's some relief on the tariff front – at least for now. 'We have not seen any changes or differences this year at all from a tariff perspective, which has been a blessing, frankly,' he said, but confessed that it's operating in an environment that has a 'little bit of uncertainty, no question.' That uncertainty has prompted Pantalones, 818 Tequila and other companies to stockpile their supply in the United States, which is tequila's biggest consumer, accounting for 80% of imports. Tequila exports from Mexico jumped 30% in January of this year compared to the same month a year ago, data from Mexico's Tequila Regulatory Council shows. With sales in the United States possibly nearing its peak amid an uncertain trade environment, Pantalones is eyeing the United Kingdom for further expansion. The brand has recently inked a distribution deal with supermarket chain Tesco, bringing its reach to about 2,500 stores across the country, in addition to being sold in a slew of restaurants and hotels. Tequila is in its infancy in the country, which means there's an 'education curve' for consumers, Chrisomalis said. The brand is holding tastings to introduce customers to its three varieties plus tapping into McConaughey's star power for promotion. The McConaughey's 'lend themselves an opportunity with a large audience to help do that. It'd be very difficult for me to do that without them, but with them, it's just a much easier task,' he admits.
