Move over Tequila and Mezcal

This is the story of an Agave Spirit called Revel, made from 100% agave in Morelos, Mexico, and known as Revel Avila. More about this in a moment.

In the alcohol industry, spirits and wines are protected by law, known as Denomination of Origin. What that means is that it “is a designation that protects geographical status and refers to products specific to a particular region or town, which convey a particular quality or characteristic of the designated area.” (Spirits Beacon)

Some examples: Scotch can only come from Scotland; Champagne can only be called that if it comes from the region with that name; Cognac must come from the Cognac region in southwest France, and so on.

In the world of Agave Spirits, until recently, there were five types of products in Mexico:

Tequila: Must come from Jalisco.

Mezcal: Comes from nine different states, most notably Oaxaca.

Raicilla: It is the same as mezcal — but since it is not made in one of the nine states, it goes by another name. Raicilla comes from the Western side of the state of Jalisco.

Bacanora: Can only be found in the mountains of Sonora, a state in northern Mexico.

Sotol: An Agave Spirit that is technically not an agave spirit. While the base plant, Dasylirion or Desert Spoon, is also in the asparagus family, it is not classified as an agave. Still, the spirit is often roped into the category.

But wait, there’s more. Some time ago, I wrote about Agave Spirits made in India. A Wine Enthusiast article points out that “the plant is now being grown and distilled in California, Australia, South Africa, Peru, Venezuela, India, and elsewhere.”

It is interesting to note that Designation of Origin does not preclude drinkers from choosing Prosecco, Cava, and other sparkling wines; Brandy instead of Cognac; American Single Malt whisky instead of Scotch, etc. Bourbon, however, does not have to be made in Kentucky. Most of the Bourbon comes from KY (over 90%) but also from other states.

Revel Spirits — the Product

In 2018, Revel Spirits created the new agave-based spirit category and named it Avila. Distilled in Morelos, Mexico, Avila must utilize agave grown within the state’s borders, which boasts a terroir different from other regions in the country. According to Revel Spirits:

“An active volcano to the north provides the state’s nutrient-rich, virgin soil, which produces incredibly healthy and robust agave. REVEL’s award-winning Avila is handcrafted using both roasted and steamed pinas of 100% blue weber agave, a process that yields a flavor profile that combines the smoky notes and characteristics of mezcal with that of tequila.”

It turns out that Revel is the world’s first Avila, but this spirit has been enjoyed in Morelos for generations, with deep local roots in the region. The people of Morelos are incredibly proud of this spirit – Revel is simply giving them a conduit to showcase it to the world by bringing the brands to market.

Avila is offered in three variants: Blanco, which is bottled straight after distillation; Reposado, which is aged for 12 months in ex-whisky oak barrels; and Añejo, a 47% AbV spirit that is aged for 24 months in new French oak barrels.

I’m not a tasting expert or even a tequila/mezcal aficionado, but I found the products very smooth, flavorful, and a combination of the smokiness of mezcal and the characteristics of tequila. Yet, the taste is quite distinctive.

The Flaviar tasting notes included this: “Flavor / Taste / Palate We wish we could call it a Tequila, but we can’t, so we’ll call it very Tequila-like with a rich mouthfeel and notes of cilantro, succulents, mint, white pepper, and a hit of zest.”

In addition to the base brand and variants, Revel Spirits have also produced a line of Ready-to-Drink (RTD) products called Avila Spritz with some unusual flavor combinations (my favorite is Grapefruit Rosemary).

Meet the people behind the brand and new category

The founder and CEO of the company is Micah McFarlane, who has spent most of his work life in the music industry as a tour manager. I’m always struck by the ‘smarts’ of some entrepreneurs entering the booze business — eager to learn, adapt their skills, and work their asses off. Micah is all of these and much more. We had a terrific conversation about the similarities between the alcohol and music industries. Both businesses cater to specific consumer tastes, and the packaging is vital, as is promotion activity and dealing with distributors and retailers.

Micah McFarlane (L) and Justin Harley (R)

Speaking of distributors, among the things that impressed me was that Neil Barnett is an advisor to the brand and brought it to my attention. In case you don’t know him (it must be because you are either new to the industry or not in it), Neil was President and COO of Fedway distributors in NJ, the largest independently owned wholesaler. Neil is smart, knows the business better than most, and is very tough and discerning about new products. He is also a great guy, and if he likes a brand, I, for one, will stand up and take notice.

McFarlane partnered with Héctor Ruiz, a restaurateur in Minneapolis and a Morelos native, to bring the agave-based spirit to consumers. Revel Spirits is made at a farm and distillery in Morales, in the south of Mexico, which the Ruiz family owns. For generations, the Ruiz family has produced the agave spirit in Morelos. However, it was only consumed by friends and family until Revel Spirits were formed.

By the way, Micha met Hector Ruiz’s cousin, whose name is Noa Avila, hence the name Revel Avila.

To round out the team, Justin Harley joined as a partner. Justin is an award-winning Actor, Producer, and Director. He starred in NBC’s critically acclaimed, award-winning drama series “This Is Us” and is also known for “Smallville” and “Revenge.”

In addition…

Revel Spirits is the steward of this category and takes its role very seriously. They are leading the charge to get the Mexican federal government to grant a Denomination of Origin protecting Avila and ensuring that no spirit can bear that name unless it’s produced using agave grown and distilled within the borders of the state of Morelos.

During the Covid pandemic, Revel Avila donated 30% of the profits from online sales to the United States Bartenders’ Guild’s (USBG) Covid-19 relief fund to support on-trade workers during the pandemic.

Revel is available in 13 states — CA, TX, ND, MN, MA, NY, NJ, NV, MN, KS, MD, RI, and CT, with more on the way. It’s also available online at ReserveBar and Flaviar.

The Blanco sells for around $50; Reposado for roughly $70; and the Añejo for $175.

# # #

Just this past week, two major industry resources have pointed out the impact on tequila from other agave spirits:

IWSR —”Is Tequila Under Threat?” Link

The Spirits Business — “Alternative agave spirits could challenge tequila.” Link

What influence has it had on international alcohol beverages?

(The earlier posting on the Columbian Exchange generated a great deal of comment and emails and I invited Mr. Desmond Nazareth of Agave India Industries Pvt. Ltd to share some further thoughts on the subject. So, here is a guest blog posting from him. In this article Desmond introduces a wide array of local alcohol products from around the world, some of which were new to me.)

The Columbian Exchange between the so-called ‘Old’ World (mainly Eurasia) and ‘New’ World (the Americas) was more than an ‘event’ – it was a ‘process’ that started in the 16^th century and continues in a more generic sense even today.

In this guest blog, I would like to discuss the impact of this Exchange process on international alcoholic beverages and, make some suggestions for ‘opening up’ alcobev categories.

Fermented beverages across the world

Contemporary scholarship tells us that up to the 12^th century AD or so, most cultures around the world consumed various forms of naturally fermented beverage. These were typically what we today call ‘wines’ (fermented grapes, fruit and berry juices), ‘beers’ (assorted cooked and fermented grains), and fermented natural sweet liquids (fermented palm sap, agave sap, nectar from flowers, honey).

The introduction, and role, of distillation

In the Old World, using various fermented beverages as their substrates, distilled (and infused) potable alcohol began around the 12^th century AD, giving rise to the plethora of ‘spirits’ and ‘liqueurs’ of today – the technique used initially was ‘pot-still’ distillation and later included ‘column’ distillation.

The New World knew nothing of distillation techniques until the 16^th century AD, when it was introduced there by Old World colonizers.

With distillation being part of the technology that featured in the Exchange, it was applied to the variety of fermented beverages in the New World, including those made from ‘dramatis botanae’ that were local, and others that came with the Exchange.

Among the botanical species introduced to the New World, sugarcane (and the by-product, molasses) was by far the most important – the basis for light and heavy rums. Grapes, of course, became the basis of countless ‘local’ New World wines and spirits.

Species introduced to the Old World included cashew, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, agave and corn – cooked and fermented, either alone or in combination with other local substrates (and sometimes a substitute ingredient), these became the basis of so-called ‘local’ distilled spirits.

The advent of claims for ‘local’ beverages: GIs, AOs…

In today’s world, various regions and countries lay claim to a ‘privileged’ status for a variety of alcoholic beverages, with the recent introduction of ‘international trademarks’ in the form of Geographical Indications (GIs) and Appellations of Origin(AOs), which are protected by the WTO and affiliates. Examples of these abound: Scotland’s ‘Scotch’, USA’s ‘Bourbon’ , Mexico’s ‘Tequila’, Brazil’s ‘Cachaça’, Goa’s ‘Feni’, etc.

Consider some ‘local’ alcobev that resulted directly from the Columbian Exchange:

Cassava plant, an edible starchy tuberous root.

grape based ‘pisco’, with Chile contesting Peru for ‘ownership’
grape based wines in California, Chile, Argentina etc.
grape based spirits like ‘singani’ in Bolivia
cashew apple based ‘feni’ in Goa, India
agave based spirits in India
molasses and sugarcane based rum and cachaça in the Caribbean, and South america
cassava based spirit in sub-Saharan Africa
single-malt whisky in Brazil, Japan and many other countries
potato based ‘horilka’ in Ukraine, vodka in Poland and Germany, ‘akvavit’ in Scandinavia, ‘poitín’ in Ireland, ‘tuzemák’ in the Czech Republic
rye based whisky in Canada
sweet potato using ‘soju’ in Korea & ‘shōchū’ in Japan
the list goes on…

Now, in none of these countries or regions can one say that they produce only the product whose ‘localness’ they are trying to protect – in general, a variety of alcoholic beverages ‘originating’ from all over the globe are made ‘locally’ in most other parts of the globe.

In an increasingly connected, globalized world, does this sort of ‘protectionism’ make sense?

The question raised by Agave India

India -- Deccan Plateau — India — Deccan Plateau

A case in point is the artisanal, small batch agave spirit that Agave India officially makes in India (since 2010), from blue-green agave that has been growing ‘locally’ on the Deccan Plateau for at least one hundred years. We would like our agave spirits to compete internationally with agave spirits made in Mexico – but the international competitions recognize only ‘Tequila’ or ‘Mezcal’ and do not allow us to compete within those ‘protected name’ categories. We’ve tried to make an argument for a larger category, ‘Agave Spirits’, in which ‘Indian agave spirits’ can go up against ‘Mexican agave spirits’, but so far to no avail.

We also make an artisanal, small batch sugarcane spirit in India, that we call ‘Pure Cane’ – but we cannot compete with ‘Cachaças’ in their category for the same reasons – should we not have an international category of ‘Sugarcane (or Cane) spirits’? It would make the many international producers of fine cane spirits happy to be recognized.

Perhaps, one day, globalization will remove meaningless barriers and productive exchanges of all kinds will take hold – some of which have very ancient geological and human histories.

(Acknowledgements: to the amazing, globalized and free resource that we know and love: ‘Wikipedia’)

Thank you, Desmond.