agave – Boozy Blondes

Happy Thanksgiving!

We’ve reached the end of our Tales of the Cocktail mini-series with Molly’s favorite – tequila! Chrissy interviews Ana María Romero, Master Distiller with Mijenta Tequila. Chrissy and Ana María find a spot away from the excitement at the Mijenta Cocktail Party at the Four Seasons during this year’s Tales of the Cocktail to chat about the brand and Ana María’s love for curating the perfect tequila taste.

Ana María has been in the industry for about 30 years, and her current position revolves around innovation with quality control and process control. Her first love was wine – she initially only thought of drunk people when she thought of tequila! In reality, tequila can be elegant and complex – it just has a bad stereotype around it! Tequila is so expressive, and Ana María appreciates the freedom in her position to design a complex, delicious taste. She’s in the game to change that historical stereotype – tequila = just drunk people. Drinking tequila should be an enjoyable, immersive experience – one to be remembered the next morning!

What sets Mijenta Tequila apart from other brands is the high quality level of the agave, how it is slow cooked and the meticulous distillation process. Also, there are no additives used in the process. You can read more about Ana María and Mijenta Tequila in an interview from Chilled Magazine.

While hard to choose, Ana María admits the Blanco is her favorite variety in the Mijenta family. A recommended recipe, El Diablo, using the Blanco can be found on the Mijenta website.

Ana María ends the interview and our Tales of the Cocktail mini-series encouraging us to always fight for our dreams ❤ Such a perfect finale.

You can follow Mijenta Tequila on Instagram, and keep up with Ana María on her Instagram page too. She’s teaching a certified professional tequila taster class starting in 2025! Sign up the Boozy Blondes!

Cheers!

Tales of the Cocktail mini-series continues when Chrissy interviews Mike Winters, founder and CEO, and Iliana Partida, Master Distiller, of Quintaliza Tequila, the world’s first and only coffee aged tequila! Two things the Boozy Blondes love – coffee and tequila! But keep in mind, this isn’t a liqueur, nor a coffee-infused, flavored tequila. There is no infusing, mixing or blending of any kind!

To get the coffee aged Reposado tequila, the Quintaliza team seasons barrels that previously held organic cold brew coffee from Chiapas, Mexico. It’s initially aged two months in an American whiskey cask prior to finishing for three months in the coffee seasoned cask.

“We began with a simple, but bold dream to bring great tequila and great coffee together. The idea was not only to create something very new and different in the tequila category, but also to do it in a way that tastes great naturally without the use of any additives,” says Mike Winters, founder and CEO of Quintaliza Tequila. “Bartenders in particular are driving the call for additive-free tequila but struggle to find enough examples to fill a bar menu.”

Photo Credit: The J Projects by Jaci Peña

Yes, another thing the blondes love – additive-free booze! Quintaliza is certified organic and additive-free! The rich flavor and character comes from the agave and the tequila’s proprietary aging process.

During the interview Mike and Iliana discuss how they got started in the industry. While Mike is fairly new to the industry, Iliana grew up in it; she’s a 4^th generation master distiller! But both know this is their home and are dedicated to changing the tequila game and bringing this high quality, responsible innovation to market!

This “responsible innovation” is two-fold. Being certified organic and additive-free means the Quintaliza team isn’t throwing just anything into their product; they honor their ingredients, staying true to agave’s sweet, natural taste. Also they place a heavy priority on sustainability. Quintaliza only uses organically grown agave, and the company has been planting agaves since day one, demonstrating respect for the land from which it’s harvested. In addition, the coffee grounds from Quintaliza’s coffee-aged barrels are repurposed as fertilizer to increase the pH level of the soil in the agave fields.

Usually when you think of tequila, “responsible” isn’t the word that comes to mind. As Chrissy mentions during the interview, tequila is at the forefront of many memes, typically insinuating a rough night – the opposite of being responsible. That’s why Quintaliza is so great – it’s changing the tequila game for the better, and who isn’t intrigued by a “responsible” tequila?

Be sure to follow Quintaliza on Instagram, and check its website to find where you can purchase a bottle! And once you get a bottle, try out some fabulous cocktails illustrated in the glamour shots below! ! (Photo credit The J Projects by Jaci Peña)

Let us know which you’ve concocted! By the way, the most popular selling cocktail using Quintaliza is the Espresso Martini. This should be no surprise considering the tequila is coffee aged! You can find the recipe here.

Pictured left to right: Aloe Goodbye | Casual Friday | Wildflower Margarita