La Gritona Reposado Tequila

La Gritona Reposado Tequila is a rested tequila from the Jalisco highlands made entirely by a small team of local women.

The name means the screamer, which suits a project part-owned by Los Angeles punk guitarist Andy Coronado. The tequila itself is made by Melly Cárdenas at her small distillery in Valle de Guadalupe, high in Jalisco, one of very few women working as a master distiller in Mexico and backed by a team staffed entirely by local women. She works with Blue Weber agave of nine to ten years grown in the iron-rich red soil of the highlands, steam-cooks it for 24 hours in a single thick-walled earthen oven, rests it another 24 hours before crushing, then ferments naturally in open steel vats for six to nine days at whatever pace the wild yeasts and the weather dictate. Double distillation follows, all under her own roof.

Pale for a reposado and refreshingly free of the vanilla and dulce de leche notes that mask commercial versions, with honest roasted agave, black pepper and a dry, savoury finish. Sip it neat at room temperature. It makes an exceptional Margarita or Paloma.