Agave For Día de los Muertos

Exotico Tequila Blanco is made from 100% Blue Weber agave grown in the Los Altos region of Jalisco, Mexico. The agaves are steamed for 16 hours in an autoclave oven and then crushed in a mill. After fermentation with their proprietary yeast strain, it is distilled twice in a copper pot-still.

Tequila Galán (Spanish for "gallant"), is produced in the Valley (formerly known as the Lowlands) Region, just outside of the town of Tequila at La Cofradía distillery. This 100% agave distillate is aged for 4 months in virgin American white oak that has been given a medium toast. The comical label design depicts a suave Day of the Dead skeleton with gray-streaked pompadour.

KAH brand line is marked by their hand-painted skull shaped bottles, intended to signify the Mayan culture and tequila’s heritage over the past 3000 years. The reposado in particular is painted as "El Diablo" or the Devil. This bright yellow-orange bottle contains a 10 month old, 110-proof spirit aged in French Limousin oak casks.

Arta Tequila prides itself on on being both "steeped in tradition and rooted in rebellion." The distillery, overseen by Master Distiller Angel Gonzalez, uses traditional practices with no pesticides and sustainable farming, recycling the unused bits of agave into compost or made into bricks for construction. The "rebellion" here comes with a whopping 11 months of aging (usually reposado averages about 4 - 6) in ex-Heaven Hill bourbon barrels. The bottles are handmade with a Dios de Muertos skull design etched in the glass.

This tequila hails from Arandas in Jalisco at the El Ranchito Distillery owned by the Vivanco family, fifth generation agaveros. The agaves are sourced from their own estate which they grow from the "hijuelo" stage (baby shoots) to maturation at 7-9 years of age. The piñas are cooked for 24 hours in 100 degree ovens. Champagne yeast is used for fermentation which occurs only in the winter months. This allows an extended mash period and a fruitier distillate.

Created in the Highlands of Tequila known as Los Altos, El Espolon Añejo is handcrafted from piñas slow-roasted for 18 to 20 hours at the San Nicolas distillery. Rock music is played during the production process to "inspire" the agave. Aged for 10 months in new American oak and finished maturing in used Wild Turkey Bourbon barrels for two additional months. Try this in an Old Fashioned cocktail for a modern spin on a classic cocktail.

Los Siete Misterios (The Seven Secrets or Mysteries) was founded in 2010 with the mission of preserving the dying tradition of mezcal making. This expression is produced from 100% organic arroqueño agave which is produced traditionally and is double-distilled in clay pot-pot stills. It is unaged and is bottled at a proof of 97.4. The seven mysteries are the bottlings themselves; they have seven expressions available, each representing a different type of agave.