Don Julio has taken the Tequila market by storm. The iconic brand is increasingly strengthening its position in the Indian market, primarily driven by an unprecedented rise in tequila’s popularity. According to a Euromonitor International, tequila consumption has surged in India with a notable annual growth rate of over 12 per cent in the past five years.

Experts and market watchers attribute this growth to the growing cocktail culture and the popularity of premium and craft tequilas. The Luxe Café caught up with Karina Sanchez, the global brand ambassador of Don Julio to chat up about the rise of tequila, trends that will drive the global market, and more. Excerpts:

Is it Tequila or Don Julio? Should we say Don Julio is leveraging the spike in Indian tequila market, or should we say you are catalyzing it?

It won’t be totally fair to say the spike in Tequila consumption in India is only because of us. But growing presence of iconic tequila brands is definitely one of the many key factors that has fuelled this growth in the last half a decade or so.

Since you understand the complexities of Tequila, what factors define good tequila?

What defines good tequila is its versatility – in how many different ways it can be consumed.  I believe that – Don Julio is that super-premium versatile liquid that offers your palette a nice balance between the agave and oak.

We have been following the original recipe handed over by our late founder, Don Julio González.  He used to say that best Tequila comes from the perfectly mature agave land which takes at least 6 year to reach that stage and then further two year of aging.  So each bottle of Don Julio is a result of the craftsmanship developed over these eight years.  For the brand, what happens in the agave land is super important for the final flavor of tequila.

India as a country is just warming up to Tequila. How do you plan to tap the new drinkers to Tequila?

I think education is the key to help consumers identify a good tequila and different ways they can consume it.

For us, activities like education seminars in the metro cities and engaging events like tequila tastings work effectively to make people understand the spirit in a better way.

Also, holding informative sessions with bartenders in some popular bars is important.  Due to the rising cocktail culture, it is imperative to work closely with the bartender community as they can create amazing cocktails with Don Julio, thus expanding the possibility of occasions for consumers to have it.

What is the consumption pattern of Tequila worldwide – Men vis-a- vis women. 

In Mexico, I would say the 90’s decade is when we started seeing phenomenal growth of Tequila driven by the increasing consumption among women.

Men probably are still drinking more but women played an important role in the expansion of this industry.

I believe, because of the versatility of spirit, and the availability of smoother tequilas, women are keener to try this spirit. The cocktail culture is also a very important factor in drawing women to Tequila consumption. 

How is Tequila consumed in Mexico? 

I have to tell you that majority of Mexicans do very simple cocktails.

Though Margarita is the number one cocktail made with Tequila in the United States, and number four all over in the world, it’s the Paloma for Mexicans, the most authentic Tequila cocktail since 1950.

There are some iconic regional Mexican cocktails as well. For instance, in the low lands of Jalisco which is a very important production site for Tequila, there is a famous regional cocktail ‘Cantarito’  made with Tequila Blanco, grapefruit, lime juice, orange juice and salt.

Another super iconic regional cocktail from the low lands is Batanga –– made with Tequila Blanco, coke, lime and salt.    

What’s your favorite Tequila cocktail?

It is the super refreshing Paloma, made with high quality Blanco tequila, grapefruit soda, and lime juice.  It was named after a popular Mexican folk song ‘La Paloma’ which was often played in a Jalisco bar where the cocktail was served. 

What kind of food compliments best with Tequila?

Mexican food of course is very good with Tequila. But Tequila has its versatility and it can be paired with any type of food, in any part of the world, just that one needs to know the profile of the liquid to create the right balance.

Don Julio in particular has a variety of different aromas and flavors that can be paired with different kind of foods.

What according to you are the trends that will drive the tequila market? 

Cocktails at the moment is the driving the Tequila market.

The classic cocktails, specially — Margarita, Paloma and summer cocktails will be driving the spirit all over the world.

Which markets do you see Tequila really taking off in a big way, outside Mexico? 

Tequila is spirit of the moment in the United States and also one of the biggest markets for the spirit. Other than US — Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Australia are growing a lot in Tequila.

Also, Colombia, because culturally it is very similar to Mexico and they are doing very interesting food pairings with Tequila.

From my perspective, India is also an important market for us in Tequila because in a short time, it has really taken off as a spirit.