At $850 a Pop, Super-Premium Mexican Tequila Embodies the Celebrity Spirit Rob Walker - FT.com
go to original September 28, 2015

Diddy Deleon Tequila Launch in NYC 2014 (SPATE Magazine)

For many of us the tequila-fuelled memories of youth are enough to put us off for life. But now, Mexico’s signature tipple is enjoying a sophisticated comeback.

A new generation of luxury brands is leading the way. Instead of the trademark throat-burning slammer, tequila has reinvented itself as a premium and versatile spirit, says Alex Tomlin, vice-president of tequila marketing for Diageo, the world’s biggest spirits company. “These days, it’s sipped and savored rather than slammed,” he says.

It is a renaissance brought about in part by the involvement of the Hollywood set. In recent years, big name celebrities have developed a penchant for super-premium tequila. So much so they not only want to drink it. They want to own it too.

US rap star and entrepreneur Sean Combs (aka P Diddy) took a shine to one brand, DeLeón, after spotting its popularity on the Los Angeles club scene. He approached Diageo’s North America president, Larry Schwartz, about getting together to buy it, and they did, in a 50-50 joint venture last year. It is now one of Diageo’s fastest growing brands in the US. DeLeón sells for as much as $850 a bottle. Even the cheapest version costs $65

All of this, of course, is a million miles from the tequila of Mexico’s back street cantinas. But that is the point. Like tacos and burritos, Americans have swooped on tequila and made it their own.

Read the rest at FT.com

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