Tierra de Ensueño: 2 Brand-New Tequilas + An Exclusive New Drop!

[00:00:00] Speaker A: You like hearing when a brand is doing something brand new and releasing some releases that you've never heard about. Well, tonight, Matt Robertson from Insueno is going to talk about these two brand new releases. And there's an exclusive in the video about a brand new drop that's about to happen. So watch till the end so you don't miss about the brand new tequila that's coming soon. Stick around. This is a great interview. It's tasting tequila with bread. All right, guys, I'm fired up tonight because we're going to talk about these two things right here that are brand new to the market and we're going to learn about them from Matt Robertson himself and Mr. Insueno. How you doing tonight, Matt? [00:00:46] Speaker B: I'm doing great, Brad. Thanks for having me on. [00:00:48] Speaker A: Well, I'm fired up. Last time I seen you, we were with Sergio Cruz in Chicago, like pouring drinks for people at off premise. So it's been a little while. [00:00:55] Speaker B: That was a heck of a night, wasn't it? [00:00:57] Speaker A: It was a lot of fun. [00:01:00] Speaker B: It went late. We had a few tequilas, as one does, and now we're excited that we got some new stuff that you haven't tried yet, it looks like. But maybe that'll change in the next few minutes. [00:01:09] Speaker A: I am fired up. So for the people who don't know who you are, give everybody a little brief introduction to who is Matt Robertson? [00:01:15] Speaker B: Yeah, so Matt Robertson here. I've been in the spirits industry for a little while now. Done sales and marketing for some other brands in my past, but really fell in love with agave and took quite a while for our brand to come to fruition. We really took our time. I met Sergio Cruz many years ago. I think we became friends and made a lot of tequila before we ever. Actually, I should say we drank a lot of tequila before we ever made any, to be honest. We drank a lot, became friends, then made a bunch, still didn't sell any many years later. We actually have Ensueno in the market now and we're really happy to, you know, be spreading the word with folks and to have such a great reception to it. So far, super small batch, so if you see it on the shelf, hopefully grab a bottle and, you know, the things we're going to talk about tonight are just coming out. So we're excited for everyone's feedback. [00:02:04] Speaker A: So what was it that got you in touch to meet Sergio Cruz? [00:02:08] Speaker B: So that was a bit of a long story, but the connection was actually our partners, Venicio and Juan Pablo from Tequila Partners So if you don't know those gentlemen responsible for a lot of the success of a brand, one of the OG brands, Partida, in Mexico before, you know, that brand later sold, they were really active, you know, in. In Mexico for, you know, doing a lot of the. The work to build that brand. And, you know, we connected with them when they were starting to look at the space, saying, hey, we're coming off of the exit of this brand. We want to still help and be involved in tequila. There's a lot of interest. And it was sort of the same time when we were looking at the space, saying, agave, there's an opportunity there. But everything I drink tastes really sweet. And, you know, something is not quite right about it from, you know, some of the authentic tequilas that we tried when we were down there. And so they started to get, you know, involved and basically made the connection to Sergio. We all got together and, you know, one important thing too. It's kind of funny like, this was never really supposed to be Ensueno, so to speak. I haven't told this story very often, but a lot of it was starting out as a consulting project because I was still doing sales and marketing for clients, and this was going to be another one of those. So I'm helping. I'm trying to connect the dots, put things in play for, you know, our client. Fast forward. Our client at the time, they didn't really want to listen. You know, we were saying, hey, additive free. Make a craft tequila. You don't need to be super sweet. They didn't want to take a lot of that advice. And it ended up fizzling out. We just didn't have the same mindset of how to go to market with. With the brand. But everything happens for a reason. So met Sergio, stayed in touch, we became friends, drank a lot of tequila. Thanks to JP and Vinny. We all got together and said, hey, well, yeah, that didn't pan out how we thought it was going to. That's not a client anymore. But what if we just did everything we were telling them them to do and made a brand? We did. We can bootstrap this thing. We don't need a lot of money. Let's just make this a passion project. And so that was like the origins of ensuing and just being crazy enough to. To go after it without a lot of resources, to be honest. [00:04:18] Speaker A: Yeah, but I think a lot of brands start that way with not a lot of resources. So it's for sure you guys are here and you've made it, you've Made it a few years now. Right. What was your first year that you brought a bottle to market? [00:04:29] Speaker B: So our first sales were April of 2024. Yeah. So we're over two years now. And, you know, some days it seems like it was just yesterday. Other days it seems like it's been an eternity. I think that's sort of the life of an entrepreneur and in the spirits business, maybe even more so. But it's fun, right? Like, we're very blessed and have a very fun. Fun nine to five. [00:04:49] Speaker A: So we talk about Sergio Cruz. We all know nom 1414. What was it that got you guys to get Sergio to do this at 1580? [00:04:58] Speaker B: That's a great question. You know, a lot of our first conversations and, and hang sessions were at 1414, and we of course met with Sergio Baco and the team there and they're amazing. I can't say enough good things about all the work that they do there. You know, for a few different reasons, though, we felt like this project was going to be better suited to do somewhere El. We definitely looked under all the different areas and places that we could do it. We actually switched distilleries three different times in order to land at, hopefully our forever home. Our partner is now at 50 and 80, Francisco and Elvido. But we were looking for, I think, the type of attention to detail and just intentional inefficiency. That doesn't really make a lot of sense unless you're signing up for this, knowing that's what it's going to be. So I can understand why it didn't quite work out at some other distilleries. And, you know, we went in with a long list that seemed to get longer. Every conversation Sergio and JP and Vinny had about what can we do just slightly different that's not already being done in the market. How can we, you know, just kind of push the envelope of what's possible while still, you know, staying true to the authenticity and the heritage and the culture of tequila and of Mexico? So that sort of developed this long list. And, you know, we thankfully had Sergio's bless. All right, this is a little bit unorthodox. I make all of my brands here at 14:14 on the master distiller here. And we're going to tell my partner and my boss, Sergio Vivanco, that this one we're going to make somewhere else. I think it's pretty uncommon, you know, for that to happen. And obviously the respect for Sergio to. For that even to be a possibility I think is pretty powerful. [00:06:44] Speaker A: Yeah. For sure. And 1414 is great. We all love it. It's, you know, one of my favorite distilleries. But 1580, you know, has a long history coming from being 1079 and some absolutely amazing tequilas that have come from there for years. So that's really cool. Now, what is it that gets this other guy that we talk about a lot? Sir Oscar Vasquez? [00:07:08] Speaker B: Yeah. So the great point, right? It's super unique for Ensueno to have two maestros on the brand. As far as I know, there's not another brand in terms of, like a core lineup, you know, having two, you know, Tequila's day to day working on this project. Sometimes you might see a limited edition, right, Or a one off where you have two master distillers. But we're super fortunate to have that as our, our brand. And they're both equity partners on the brand. When we talk about the distiller, we talked about Sergio, Oscar, they're my partners. So this isn't like a, you know, a white label. Hey, make this for me. Give me a good price. Like, we're all in this together to hopefully share in the success and, you know, share in the hard times, too. Like when we sit around the table and say, hey, how are we going to compete in a challenging time for, you know, the spirits industry in general right now? So when we talk about Oscar, we were always looking at, again, things that we could do that would be slightly different. And one of the things that we thought would be really cool right around the time when Oscar was, you know, ready to, I think, step out of the shadows of a really prolific tequila, right? And sort of move on to doing something under his own name? We thought, wouldn't it be cool to have these two rock stars that are young? I consider them like the future, you know, next generation of tequila, doing really, really awesome stuff and to collaborate and just push the envelope because they both have some similarities. You know, both living in a Rhonda is both not coming from a generational family of tequila, right? Which is so common in tequila, gets passed down from your father, your grandfather, and that has a lot of really great characteristics. It also has some, I think, tendencies to be, this is the way that we make Tequila. And, you know, it can be really great and passed down. But sometimes I think you all also want to look for innovation and being progressive and what we can try new things. And that could take many forms which we'll talk about, right? Like the types of barrels, the yeast, the cuts that you make. There's so many different things. And Sergio has a fun little chart that you may have seen of the infinite possibilities that you can make there. But what if we got these two guys in a room together? I tell distributors this all the time. It's like having two Michelin star chefs in one kitchen. It can go really well. It can also sometimes maybe be a little challenging. Right. You got two rock stars comparing. But we thought this would be a really cool and unique way to make tequila and just push the boundaries of what's possible. [00:09:44] Speaker A: Yeah. I think it helps that those guys are two good friends and have also worked together for quite a while besides this. So I. I always think it's awesome. Like, it. I. I always never know who to really talk to about, you know, the brand. When I'm hanging out with Oscar and I'm talking about it and hang out with Sergio, I only mention Oscar. And then I talked to Oscar about it, and then I went on Sergio again. I only talk about Oscar just to rip Sergio all the time. It's so much fun. [00:10:10] Speaker B: I love it. It's funny because, like, you do get, like, all these different perspectives. Like, at the end of the day, as you know, everyone's palette is unique to themselves, and so we don't always agree. And. And that's sort of like, what we wanted in this design. Right. Is you have this, like, healthy tension of ideas. Like, we've done single barrels, and Oscar and. And Sergio couldn't have been more distinctly opinionated on which one was better for them for their palette. Right. And so Oscar really loved our rum single barrel. Sergio loved the Rosa. And so we dropped them both, and they each had their pick. And, you know, I think my job a lot of times is get between the two of them, and we. We get together and have a Find a consensus of, like, all right, what do we want to do here? Because there's so many. So many paths. You know, what's the right one at the right moment? That's a lot of the, you know, what we talk about. [00:11:02] Speaker A: Okay, so whose idea was the oldest bourbon or the oldest blanco in the world? Like, who came up with that whole idea? [00:11:11] Speaker B: You know, that was another example of, I think, drinking a lot of tequila over a memorable evening that can maybe turn, you know, a little bit hard to. To reconcile where the ideas came from. But Jay and I were, you know, having a great evening in Guadalajara. We went up to the distillery and just started, you know, shooting off all these different ideas. And I think the ideas got better and better. You know, the more Ensueno, we had. That's not a, you know, it's something that we can put in advertising, so don't quote me on that. But for us, that was the experience that night. And we said, you know, you have a barrel rested. Blanco talked about the, you know, the limits of what the CRT and the Norma say for that. And, you know, I think Jay was like, well, you know, you could have the world's oldest Blanco. So we said, well, why don't we do it? Let's try it. [00:12:02] Speaker A: And I think it is. Oh, there it is. It's almost gone. There's the world's oldest. [00:12:08] Speaker B: I love it. [00:12:09] Speaker A: Blanco. So. And that one's. I probably, I guess I haven't finished it. Just to hang on to it. It's probably the thing. Right? [00:12:17] Speaker B: That's, that's how mine look as well. Speaking of. What, what are we, what are we pouring up tonight? I'm, I'm getting a little parched. [00:12:25] Speaker A: I am, too. So I, I, I would like to start with this new Rosa. The new Rosa Anejo. [00:12:31] Speaker B: I love it. Yeah. That just was announced, and we're really excited for this. I think some folks might be familiar with the Rosa reposado that we've done. We did two different batches of that, and it's sort of a bit unique this time around because we've done it for Valentine's Day and years past, and we've done it as a reposado. This time we decided to take these casts and leave it for a bit longer. You know, we had a couple of those after the first release. And this is fun because, again, going back to Sergio and Oscar's different palettes, Sergio said this is, like, one of his signature profiles. He said, like, this is, like, it was pretty close. You know, my, my, my Spanglish is improving, but the translation was pretty close to, like, this is one of his perfect tequilas. He's a big Rosa guy. He likes the wine, he likes the funk. This is, this has got a lot going on, a lot to unpack, and we're excited for folks to, to try it. It is a single barrel, though, so a couple hundred bottles. If you're, you know, seeing this now, hop on the, on the search bar and see if there's still some bottles left out there. And, you know, we definitely hope you enjoy it. [00:13:46] Speaker A: Where is it going to be available so we people know while watching. [00:13:49] Speaker B: Yeah, so this is, this is going to be. This was a request for, you know, from California. We had a lot of folks that were Saying, hey, you know, we saw that you did some Anejos in New York and New Jersey. You know, if you heard about those, those are our first Inejos that we've ever done. Those are single barrels. And, you know, so California was. Was hitting us up saying, hey, west coast, you know, can't. Can't just do the East Coast. This is going to be at all your. Your favorite retailers in California. So the good thing about that is California is a state that does shipping. So if you're not in California, this, you know, still should be able to make its way to your. Your door, hopefully soon. And it's a little bit higher, higher proof than our core expressions. I think we're at 43.2, if I'm not mistaken. [00:14:34] Speaker A: Yep, 42.43.2. [00:14:38] Speaker B: Nice. [00:14:38] Speaker A: That's really little writing for a guy as old as me. You know, I could smell this from when I poured it. That's. That's how good the nose is on this, that I could smell it as soon as I poured it. [00:14:49] Speaker B: There's some aromatics going on there for sure. [00:14:51] Speaker A: Yeah, that's really nice. So what is the. What's the barrel that you use for this one? [00:14:56] Speaker B: So we're still using the Spanish wine, the Rioja red wine casks that we've used in the past, but we've never let it sit for this long. And so that's where I think you're going to get a lot more. Just bursts of flavors going on. And the aroma, obviously, spending that much time in the barrel, it is distinct. [00:15:19] Speaker A: The Ensueno smell is still there. And, you know, one of the things I love about your tequila is I always pick up a really great cinnamon, both in the nose and in the taste. And I could smell. I can smell that little cinnamon note still in there. Yeah. How long was it in the barrel? [00:15:34] Speaker B: So this one was, I believe, almost two years. Wow. [00:15:37] Speaker A: So that's a long time. [00:15:40] Speaker B: Yep. Basically, after we. After we were doing the first experiments, then we were able to get our hands on some more of the barrels, and we said, all right, let's fill them up and see what happens. And this one, I think, came out really unique, and we're trying to show different sides of the brand. While I think you picked up on this, making sure that the core and sueno DNA is still present. So even when we experiment with some of these really unique casts and different types of ways to make the tequila, we want it to still have that kut agave presence and have some of those core characteristics like you get from the cinnamon. I loved your video looking at the barrel rested blancos, and I think one of the things you brought up is how much is this coming from the barrel? How much is already there? The barrel of kind of, you know, highlights some of the notes, draws them out a little bit more. But I think folks would be surprised to see how much of the cinnamon and some of the, you know, the flavor is in our core blanco before it even goes into the barrel, which, you know, expresses itself in some of these longer aged expressions, too. [00:16:41] Speaker A: Yeah, that video was fun. You know, that was all from Agave Matchmaker and the Flaviard program they put together. And it was such a great training of how the barrel does what it does. So I thought, now let's make a video about it. Plus two great brands in there. So that's pretty fun. [00:16:56] Speaker B: I love it. Shout out to Grover and Scarlett. [00:16:59] Speaker A: Yeah. And there's. Every time I smell this, I get something different. I pick up some grape, I pick up some orange blossom note. I almost feel like there's, like, a baked apple type note in there. I'm tasting it. It just smells so good. [00:17:16] Speaker B: Let's go. Salud. [00:17:24] Speaker A: Wow. I like that oaky dryness that it has. And there's that cinnamon, and there's orange there. There's, like, there's all kinds of fruit. This is very fruity. [00:17:33] Speaker B: Yeah. Which I think there was a lot of that on the. The reposado. So it was nice to keep that in the anejo and sort of add in an even, you know, another layer, I guess, of some character and complexity when it's sitting. And we're pretty happy with how it turned out. I think it's not necessarily, you know, with any single barrel. Our approach is like, this is not something that maybe the person that's just getting into tequila, it's going to be their instant favorite. But that's not who we're looking to for this. Like, our core, I think, is with the Blanco and Repo. While they're still very agave forward, they're meant to be inviting to, like, you know, we. We have a really diverse audience on those expressions where folks that are realizing that some other brands maybe aren't as high quality or as authentic as they might think, coming over to Ensueno and be like, wow, this is really easy to drink, even for, you know, a good amount of complexity. But for some of the single barrels, it's like, all right, let's. This is for, you know, the core audience that are like, let's let's really get into the, you know, the fun, you know, uniqueness of flavors that may not be as inviting to someone that's just coming over from. I won't name any brands, but, you know, you know, the. Those brands. [00:18:46] Speaker A: Sure. Absolutely. This is really complex. The finish is long and just changes with what different flavors are there. This is really good. The complexity of it is amazing. And I can see why Sergio says this is one of his favorites, because this has just so many different things going on and so many different flavors. It takes you one way, and then it takes you another way. The way that it gets your mouth, like, just lit up and it's so balanced. All of a sudden you're like, well, holy cow. Thank you. It's just so good. [00:19:15] Speaker B: It's fun to go back to and, like, let it open up in your glass. Like, if you're enjoying a couple of pours over that, you know, like, over an evening, you can just really dive in and see how it. It, you know, changes, you know, over. Over time. And you get different things each sip, which is always fun, I think, to go back to, you know, versus, like, that's, you know, a little surprise and delight. [00:19:39] Speaker A: Yeah, it's nice to have, like, your go to pour, and, you know, that's what it's going to taste like. And, you know, you may be chilling, watching tv and sipping through that bottle or that glass, and it tastes the same. It's another thing to have something like this that's really complex, that then every time you take another smell, and every time you take another sip, it's like somebody poured you a different glass. Yeah, I think those are fun. Now, my wife doesn't, because I'm like, this now tastes like this. You should try it. You know, she's like, leave me alone. These are fun. And I. I honestly thought it'd be a little more, I want to say, dessert, you know, dessert style. Some of these anejos and some of the anejo roses I've had are like, I'm gonna have one glass of that because it's like a. A thick, more of a heavy flavor. This. It's light still. It's got. Not that it doesn't have a lot of flavor, but the flavors aren't heavy. The flavors are light and fruity and grapey. And there's a nice underline of oak, a nice underline of a. A vanilla. But the fruit continues to change. And this is, like, this was a multiple pour type on yejo for me, and I'm usually blancos all night and then one on yeho and then I go to bed. Right. So, yeah, just be a starter. [00:20:47] Speaker B: So glad you like it. I mean, you're one of the first to. To try it. So we're excited to. To see what everyone thinks and hopefully get their hands on a bottle. [00:20:56] Speaker A: Is there a thought of keeping a Rosaniejo around, like, on a regular basis or doing it as a seasonal thing mostly? [00:21:03] Speaker B: We've definitely looked at it. It's always a challenge for us, just trying to, you know, procure enough barrels to stay in stock of the core items that we have now, if you don't already know, like, our blanco and reposado batches, you know, they tend to be very, like, micro small batch. So we're talking to 3,000 bottles per batch for the entire country. And we're starting to look at requests coming in to carry and sueno and other countries and international markets. And we're still having some growing pains, if you will, to just keep the production to keep up with the demand in the States we're in. So we definitely want to look at it. I think that there's a lot of things that we want to do, and sometimes we have to just say, all right, there'll be time. Like, patience is a marathon, not a sprint. So for sure. I think at some point it's possible. Right now, though, we're trying to definitely make sure we can keep producing more of the core, which is our blanco and reposado. And it looks like you got some new batches of those on your desk as well, which I'm excited to see. I think to the right. Batch 11. I think we're on to now for the blanco, which is kind of crazy. 42, that's the. The ABV that should be. You should have a batch 11 and a batch 5 of the repo, I believe. [00:22:25] Speaker A: Okay. So, yeah, this one. This one says batch five, and this one says. Okay, yeah, it says batch one. Is that a one one? So it must be. [00:22:34] Speaker B: That might be very bad handwriting on my part, you know. [00:22:37] Speaker A: Okay. [00:22:37] Speaker B: Yeah. So sometimes I have to write the letters in too, and when I do that, it's not good. So that is supposed to be an 11. [00:22:45] Speaker A: Okay. [00:22:45] Speaker B: So. [00:22:45] Speaker A: And so this is batch 11. And batch 11 is 42 ABV. [00:22:49] Speaker B: Yeah. So, yeah, all of our batches so far we've kept at 42 on the Blanco and repo, but that's our latest batch on the. On the blanco. [00:22:57] Speaker A: I still have a little bit of this one hanging around, which says batch one rum. [00:23:04] Speaker B: Oh, Fun. [00:23:06] Speaker A: This was so good. But I again, this is like, I gotta finish this on a special night. So let's talk about your core real quick, a little bit. So your core blanco, what is your process for your normal core blanco? [00:23:20] Speaker B: Yeah, so it's definitely one of the few barrel rested blancos. And what we're trying to do there is definitely preserve all the things that folks like in a blanco. Definitely a cooked agave bomb. A lot of citrus, you get some pepper, but then it has like a very approachable sort of gentleness, you know, softens, smoothens, if you will, by resting in the barrel for just a short amount of time. We're talking, you know, a few weeks. Every batch is slightly different. We really lean into the terroir. [00:23:51] Speaker A: Right. [00:23:51] Speaker B: Of agave. So if you're familiar with wine and just getting into tequila, I tell people that terroir is just as much of a factor when it comes to tequila, you know, and it's not just highland lowland, you know, but it could be the same estate that we're harvesting all our agave from. One part of it, you know, gets more sun and one's sort of a little bit lower and gets more frost, you know, puts the, a little bit more stress on the plant during those colder, you know, winter mornings, the time of year that we harvest. So all these things are different. And we thought early on we're launching the brand. Why try to make every batch taste exactly the same? Usually that's accomplished when, you know, you use artificial ingredients or additives. Avocantes. We were never going to do that. And we said, let's let, let the plant speak. Let's just let this be a terroir driven approach. And every batch will have nuances of flavors and aromas that are slightly different. But hopefully if we're, we're following the same recipe and doing things at the same quality, there'll be enough familiarity of, hey, this tastes like ensuenya. So if you start to drink more and more batches, you say, oh, I can pick up, like you said, the cinnamon and different characteristics that become part of our brand DNA. But you may find batch to batch and sometimes we intentionally do things a little bit differently, like the world's oldest blanco or batch five, which for a long time may still be Oscar's favorite batch because we only put it in for five days. So we have some fun with it too, and don't take ourselves too seriously in that regard. It's a lot of creativity, but that's our core. So it's a Unique setup where the core also has a limited edition type component to it because once the batch is done, no batch is ever going to taste exactly the same. If you like a batch, I would definitely say maybe get a second bottle because we're so small. Typically once it's, once it's gone, your retailer is probably not going to be able to restock. It's like they'll get their order and. And that's it. But it keeps it fun and then it's something to look forward to for the next one that will have other highlights of what the terrar gives us. [00:25:58] Speaker A: It is neat when you find a batch that you really like and then it's gone. And then now I'm, you know, jumping from website to website to go, okay, do you, do you have a batch five? You know, do you have a batch four? Like, and you're trying to find that one that you liked. What about the repo? So what's your process on your. Your regular core reposado? [00:26:18] Speaker B: Yeah. So the blanco leaning into the reposado, we wanted to use the same CAS for the core, so we're using extra rare. We did bourbon casks. You know, we don't have any sort of official partnership with the producer of the bourbon whose casks that we're able to fortunately acquire. We've got a great friend at an amazing cooperage and so we're able to get our hands on some pretty special barrels. And, you know, I think it's a poorly kept secret at this point. Some of the barrels that we're we're using, but, you know, we're allowed to say what the they are, but we're not allowed to use the, you know, the name and the IP and all that stuff. Right. Or as a precaution. Right. According to our council. But they are some of the most coveted, you know, casts that you can find in the industry. We're very fortunate to use those. And it's a bit surprising to some that when you have such great bourbon casks that go for a really sometimes astronomical amount on secondary markets, that we don't overuse them. You know, I'm sure you've had tequilas on the reposado or anejo side that are clearly catering to a bourbon demographic and you could taste it and perhaps in a blind, you might be like, is this tequila or is this bourbon? It really picks a lot of the barrel for us though, even though we have these really special barrels, we want it to be, I would say, a compliment to the Kut Agave. Versus overpowering and trying to become the star of the show. The kut agave and the terroir, that's going to be what we lead with. And then we want to find the flavors that we can get in the profile that are complemented by the barrel. And that's one of the reasons why, with our reposado, we use the same casts, and we're intentionally wearing down these casts through the several batches of barrel resting that we do for our blanco. Once they get to the point where we're not getting as much extraction and flavor that we need in a short amount of time, with a few weeks for the blanco, then we start to use them for our reposado. So it gives us, you know, you'll see if you put this next to some of the most popular brands in the marketplace, a reposado, we might be lighter in color than some brands in Yahoo. And of course, a lot of that comes with what are the additional things that are going into it. But if you wear out the barrels and you're not adding anything that's not supposed to be in there, it doesn't have to be super dark. And that's sort of what we're going for, is a balance expression. But you do get a nice little hint of the barrels, I think, on the finish. That gives you a little, like, wanting another sip, I should say, going back for more. A touch of natural sweetness, which is very different in some of the profiles in the market. [00:29:00] Speaker A: Sure. So when you have these barrels for your core, you're. You're not doing single barrels for each batch. You're. You're blending some barrels together for those batches. [00:29:10] Speaker B: And exactly. [00:29:11] Speaker A: Who. Who spends more time picking that blend? Is that more Oscar or is that more Sergio? [00:29:18] Speaker B: Yeah, that. That's definitely where we try to, you know, divide and. And split up some of the tasks and then still come together with consensus. But, like, of course, we can, you know, always sit and try every single barrel together, batches and releases. Overall, when we're finalizing that, we generally all get together. But Oscar has been instrumental in helping us with barrel selection, with blending. And I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention, you know, in many ways, we have three tequileros because we also have, you know, our partner Balta at the distillery, who is another rock star and actually makes other brands as a master distiller at 50 and 80 that don't have Oscar or Sergio involved. So we're very fortunate to have so many talented people on the team. But Working with them and trying the different barrels, we're always looking to find the profile. So it's not always the same amount of time. You may. Typically, for the reposado, we'll have a range of months. Might be six to nine months, might be eight to nine months, eight to 10. But it really just depends on what the barrel gives us. And one of the fun things that we've seen over time is that, you know, even though you have, let's say, 20 barrels that you're using and you fill at the same time, they're not, not all going to taste identical. And that's where, of course, single barrels come from. Outside of, you know, using really unique types of, you know, what it previously had in the barrel, you know, you never know. So it's. It's part art, part science to all of this, I feel like. And that's part of the fun when you taste things of like, wow. Wasn't expecting that. You know, even for folks as talented as Sergio and Oscar, sometimes, you know, even they could be surprised. I didn't think that was going to do that so quickly. And we're getting better at, you know, definitely having a sense of this is probably going to be ready to pull by this date. But you truly never know until you taste it. [00:31:08] Speaker A: Yeah, that's awesome. It is really fun. When doing a single barrel tastings, I just recently got to do that to, you know, pick a barrel and to taste, you know, 10 barrels, same tequila, and all 10 of them taste different. And then come back three months later and all 10 of them still taste different, but they taste different from what they tasted last time. You know, and going process, people don't, you know, I know people get upset about single barrels or there's too many releases. You know, some people complain about it, but they've never done that process. To know how much different and how special that single barrel really can be based on the person who picked it and what that barrel gave. I love single barrels because of that. So thanks for doing. [00:31:49] Speaker B: It's a lot of fun. And, you know, like, I get that they get a bad rap, right? And you could, you know, maybe overdo it. There is probably some risk of if you release too many things, it could be a distraction from your core items that you want to let people know what Ensueno, for example, tastes like. And if they only try single barrels, they might not know, hey, well, what's the core like? But I think I get that it's also just a lot to keep up with. Right. So for awesome. Content creators and educators like you, Brad, like, you got to keep tracking tabs on all these different things. So I would probably hate single barrels if I was making all these videos too, because you're like, oh, man, another one. [00:32:32] Speaker A: I think they're fun, though. So they are. They are hard to chase. And. And I do understand how people maybe can't afford to buy all the time and they. They fall into that FOMO and maybe they're spending money that they shouldn't, and I don't want people to do that. But also understand that these, these are great, really cool projects that, you know, make it really fun and, you know, you can taste the differences in these. And, you know, I know it's a lot of work for you guys to do it as well, but I know it's also very exciting when you have one come out and really hit and everybody really loves it. So your brand already hits with so many people. I talk to people all the time that love your core products. So the single barrels, I think, are pretty fun. [00:33:11] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a lot of work, but it's definitely rewarding and it allows us to get creative and have fun with it. And you touched on a key point too. Like, there's definitely a FOMO aspect. You know, I. I have it myself too. At the end of the day, I'm an agave fan and I'm always. I mean, you can see behind me most of those bottles aren't in Swenia. There's a bunch of ones, but there's a ton that are not. And you know, I'm a fan of. Of what everyone is doing and, and always want to try it as well. But I think where sometimes it can be off putting to folks too is like if you mark up your single barrel and it. Not all. It's not always a brand, but sometimes it could be the retail partner. But if something costs double what your core costs or is really, really high, then it can get a bit of a bad rap, perhaps. But we try to make it as affordable as we can. We're just slightly up from what our. Our core expressions are, and that's just to account for. There is a ton of work that goes into it. There's additional fees. There's things that we have to do that would be spread out over a whole batch of lots of barrels that now get, you know, only spread out on one barrel. So we try. It's actually less. I think from a business side, it's not as good for us to do single barrels. It's more Costly and less like margin. But we just think it's a fun way to push the envelope again of what's possible and have some creative, you know, expression there. Because at the end of the day, if we're not having fun, then that's where this origin of this brand started. So we have to be having fun or we're not doing becomes work if [00:34:38] Speaker A: you're not having any fun. So none of us like work. [00:34:40] Speaker B: Exactly, Exactly. [00:34:42] Speaker A: Since we started with. Since we started with the Anejo, I say we. We back into the repa. [00:34:49] Speaker B: I like it. Let's do it. [00:34:59] Speaker A: Tell me you make Oscar fill these. These little bottles. [00:35:04] Speaker B: That would be fun. Although I think I do have a photo somewhere of. Of the guys helping put on some. Some labels. [00:35:12] Speaker A: That's awesome. [00:35:13] Speaker B: Yeah, he put one on his shirt, so he didn't. He didn't last long on the assembly line. We had to put him on. [00:35:22] Speaker A: I can see that. Okay, so this is batch five. What's. What's the story behind batch five? [00:35:28] Speaker B: Yeah, so this is the latest one still using, you know, the combination of the two types of very rare wheated bourbon casts that we've become known for. And I don't know if everyone knows this, but since batch two, we started to use the combination of the two types of. Of weeded bourbon cast. So batch one is the same as what we use for the blanco. And then batch two, we started to get our hands on some even more coveted casts, and we did a blend. So that's continued. That's going to be our. Our core. And batch five is introducing the same cast, but some new ones. So now that we continue to grow and need to procure more barrels, Oscar's job gets a bit harder because it's not all the same age now we're dealing with. All right, is this a fifth fill? Is this a first fill? Now, not all of them are going to work. How do you get the blend of a lot more extraction on that first fill, a lot less on the 5th? This has been in for this many months. The other one, you know, was. Was filled a lot less. It becomes a lot of variables on top of what we already have, and that's where the blending component really comes in, because it's not a single barrel. And, you know, again, a unique thing for Ensuenio is, like, even though they're both master distillers, we really have Oscar focused a lot, many things, but his official title is master blender, and that's not something that you see on a lot of Labels. You see it in other spirit categories, but we think it's really important. It's, you know, a key part for how that final profile comes out. And it's a really nice, you know, kind of teamwork that we have between what him and Sergio are doing. So this one is just hitting shelves now. Batch 5. Definitely want to get your take on it. Still coming in at 42%. And color still, I think, is, you know, you can see that it's age relative to the blanco. But I do have some people in low lighting. They're at a bar and they're like, I can't. Can't tell which one's the blanco, which one's the repo. You can see in a proper setup like you have, but, yeah, you can [00:37:39] Speaker A: see there's color there. [00:37:40] Speaker B: We'll give a little sneak peek too, while you're holding up the mini bottle, Brad. Word on the street is that maybe those would be available at some point in the. In the future. So if you can't get your hands on a 750, maybe there would be a. These are 100 mls, maybe at a retail store near you sometime soon. [00:37:57] Speaker A: I'll give you a nice tip that I figured out this week as well, because I took an empty one of these that I had and filled it with some batch. I think it was batch five blanco. And I just hoped that this worked. I sealed it and then I put it in my carry on. [00:38:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:38:16] Speaker A: Headed to Vegas. And I thought, okay, if they take it, I'll either chug it right there in the line or I'll lose a hundred milliliters. And it made it like, this bottle is passable on. On the airline. So that's pretty exciting to have this size because this is a little better drink. Now, I didn't drink it on the plane because you're not allowed to drink alcohol that you brought on the plane. [00:38:41] Speaker B: Yeah, no one would do that. That's very bad. I've never, never seen that happen before. [00:38:48] Speaker A: So. [00:38:48] Speaker B: But it is the max amount that [00:38:49] Speaker A: you can bring on it is the max amount. So are you allowed to say the names of the barrels legally? Like, are you allowed to say them or can I accidentally say them? [00:39:00] Speaker B: I won't say it, but if you know it, you know, you might know them and. Well, I think I have no comment. [00:39:08] Speaker A: I think one of them has a. I think it's Weller van Pappy Winkle, something like that. Maybe. [00:39:20] Speaker B: Perhaps. [00:39:20] Speaker A: Perhaps. We don't know for sure. I haven't seen them in person. I've only heard the rumors. [00:39:25] Speaker B: Yeah. Anyone that wants to come down, you know, we do have them. They're all stamped up. You can see the names. Come and see us at the distillery if you haven't been down. I mean, you've obviously visited many distilleries. The. The experience is like no other. It's. It's pretty magical. [00:39:41] Speaker A: Yeah. I've never been to a 1580 when you guys were there. I did have a party during Independence Day last year with another brand from 1580 that Mr. Oscar is part of as well. [00:39:55] Speaker B: I'm sure that was a terrible time. I saw some photos of this year. I had some FOMO myself. [00:40:01] Speaker A: We wanted to come down so bad, but we had this Vegas trip planned because September 16th is also my wife and I's anniversary. So what better way to spend our wedding anniversary than celebrating Independence Mexico? Like, that's pretty awesome. I love it. [00:40:16] Speaker B: We got to go down recently for our newest expression, or one of them that we'll talk about in a sec. And we sort of unofficially launched that in. In Arandas for the Cabo Gata. And so for folks that don't know what that is, we were taking the horses and riding around the town square in Arandas, and they have these every week, basically leading up to Independence Day. And. Yeah, so we had our. Our bottles and got it out into the streets for some real world feedback before it made its way to the US and it was a good time. There's nothing like riding around on a horse with a bottle of tequila in hand in the middle of the streets. Things that you just, you know, wouldn't maybe do here in the States or at least without getting into a little bit of trouble. But they actually have first time for me, like a drive through that you can go on your horses because they have the bars literally set up right on the street. So you go and you got your cup, your copa, and you just order your drink, and they'll fill it up for you, and then you're off. You know, you pay them with your pesos, take off with your horse. Life is good. [00:41:23] Speaker A: I. I was told as long as the horse isn't drinking, it's not drinking and driving. [00:41:27] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's how it works. [00:41:28] Speaker A: That's the rule. Yep. This is very nice. Again, you have your base of Ensueno, but there's. There's that caramel and the vanilla and some of that oaky note. My favorite cinnamon is there. [00:41:41] Speaker B: Yep. [00:41:41] Speaker A: There's a little bit of. I haven't smelled this in any of your others. And this is always, I think, a bad way to explain it, but it's the smell that I use is a musty barrel smell. So the. The smell when you walk into the barrel room and you get that wood humidity like that. It's musty. I don't know whatever word to use. You know what I'm talking about, though? [00:42:03] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. It's like this. This old barrel, like, in the. In the cellar that's been there for. Yeah, yeah. [00:42:10] Speaker A: Humid, wet wood smell. And that is. And I really like that. I. I look for that in a lot of tequilas because it reminds me of when we go down to bourbon country and you walk into a rick house and you have alcohol wood smell. It's just, like, so good. And it leads to, like, a little bit of a molasses note, a little bit of a vanilla note. [00:42:30] Speaker B: Yep. [00:42:31] Speaker A: But there's also a really nice, almost petrichor minerality in this as well. Now, this is. [00:42:37] Speaker B: This one's good, I think, part of it. [00:42:40] Speaker A: I really like that sweetness in there. There. Yeah, that's really nice. [00:42:44] Speaker B: Yeah. I think we try with the aging, right. And wearing out those barrels where you might be picking up some of that. As some of the barrels get older and older, they give some of those characteristics as some of the bourbon gets less and less pronounced. [00:42:58] Speaker A: Right. [00:42:58] Speaker B: And you get more of the sort of oak that's. That's just, you know, sitting there and aging and doing its thing. And it. It leads to a really, I think, balanced expression. [00:43:08] Speaker A: And it also. [00:43:10] Speaker B: The more that we use the barrels, we just find, like, the harmonizing of flavors. Right. Like, at first, you might say, oh, we got a little bit more bourbon than we want on this. And then, you know, you. You can kind of COVID that up in the. In the blend. Right. And get to where you want. But over time, like, the tequila and the bourbon and the cask sort of all become one. You get that sweet spot in the number of fills that you do and the amount of time where it's like, okay, this is, like, the perfect harmony of flavors, which. We're always really excited when that happens. [00:43:40] Speaker A: The bourbon in this one really only shows up to me in the finish. That. That's where I kind of start to feel a little bit more of that bourbon. [00:43:46] Speaker B: Hint. [00:43:47] Speaker A: But I did pick up almost a little bit of cedar as well. There's a lot of different wood that I don't know that I could say. You know, maybe I didn't experiment as hard with your other repos that I've had, but this one seems like it's more oaky Woody characters with that bourbon more in the finish. Right. And if I'm thinking of the other ones, I've hit more of a, a caramel bourbony taste right up front and a little less of the actual wood. And I'm, I'm, I'm getting more of that in this one. That's probably going to open up and change a whole bunch too. But this is really good. [00:44:17] Speaker B: Glad you liked it. [00:44:18] Speaker A: Yeah, that's killer. What one you want to try next? I picked the first two. You picked the rest. [00:44:23] Speaker B: I think we got to go into. You know, I'm feeling something a little bit more fuerte, a little bit, maybe even higher proof. I don't know. [00:44:32] Speaker A: Let's do it. [00:44:33] Speaker B: Let's do it. So we've never, never released a high proof blanco before, but I hear they're all the rage. [00:44:40] Speaker A: Well, they are. I have noticed that a lot of liquor stores say they, they don't sell as many high pro proofs and, and they always know who the tequila nerds are because they go right to the high proofs. Right. So I know I am one of those guys, for sure. I am a high proof person. And this one is single, like kind of. Kind of a single barrel as well, correct? [00:45:04] Speaker B: Yeah. We ended up doing, I believe, four barrels and those were blended. So it's a very small, you know, super micro batch. Not as many as we would under a typical batch. And this is a fun experiment that we did with the Tequila Report. You know, having such fun with the world's oldest blanco. We said, hey, what are we going to do next? Like, let's run it back. And the idea came for Ensueno's first high proof blanco. And like, we're touching on. There's so many great expressions in that particular category or class that we really wanted to take our time and figure out how we're going to position ourselves in that space. You know, same way as when we launched. Right. Like the world doesn't really need another Tequila, probably doesn't need another high proof blanco, unless you're going to do something a little different. So we felt like there's a lot of good representation already out there, but that's where we ultimately decided, like, let's barrel arrest this as well for a little bit. That's been a core part of ensuing DNA with the blanco, and you don't see that as often. For a high proof blanco, you know, to be barrel rested or any blanco, really, it's a very Small, small percentage. So we thought that that would be fun. We played around with the different ABVs, spent over a year working with Jay and Matty and obviously Sergio and Oscar. And this will be something that I think we'll hopefully get great feedback on and look to continue. But we wanted to do something special for, you know, batch one of this. So it's pretty limited. There, I believe is 1182 bottles that we did and we split it up about 50, 50 between online and retail and out in the wild. So it's one of those that you, you know, if you don't see it or get to buy online, you can still go out and hunt for it and sometimes that's part of the fun and. Yeah. Excited to see what you think on this one. 50 ABV, 100 proof. [00:47:05] Speaker A: What's your resting? What would we rest this in? The same as the core barrels. [00:47:09] Speaker B: Same core, core barrels. They were, they were newer barrels, so we were closer to our earlier batch age times. This was just under three weeks in the barrel, actually. Three weeks. [00:47:21] Speaker A: The legs on this thing is incredible. Like, it is sticking to the glass. [00:47:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:47:27] Speaker A: And I, I like that this one has a little bit of a funky note to it. A little bit more like not, not like true mallow, but just like a little bit of that funkiness. This. Am I crazy to say dark chocolate in the nose? [00:47:41] Speaker B: No, there's. There's a lot there. [00:47:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:43] Speaker B: It has a little bit of, of a, you know, of a natural sweetness while still giving you what you'd expect from a high proof. Blanca. I'd say like, but that barrel resting just creates some uniqueness. [00:47:55] Speaker A: It does. The cooked agave, the roasted pineapple, sweet potato like blend of what a cooked agave smells like is right there. Now I'm going to say to me, a little less cinnamon on this than what I expected. With it being the high proof, I kind of figured that cinnamon would dance off the top, but it's, it's, it's there, but it's faint. [00:48:13] Speaker B: Yeah. For, for this one, we did a slightly different blend when it comes to the cuts, and that may be part of it. When we were looking at the different ABVs and what we wanted to, to find in the profile and this came out at, at barrel strength. So we did not add any water after. Yep. [00:48:37] Speaker A: So when you're doing those cuts, is that a little less tails and a little more heads to keep that proof a little bit higher the whole time. [00:48:45] Speaker B: So for us, and this may be getting a little bit too in the weeds, but we Typically. I shouldn't say typically. We never used any colas, so tail tails are never part of our production. I think that they're. They can be helpful in circumstances with. With, you know, body and whatnot. But we've. We found that we haven't needed to. To use those and that typically our, you know, our production will be cabezas and the cortisone. So for this one, it was a little bit higher in the cabezas than we would normally do for our core lineup. [00:49:20] Speaker A: That makes sense. I mean, it's hard to keep everything that high. [00:49:23] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:49:23] Speaker A: I'm really surprised when people are able to pull off 55s on a regular basis. Man, that's a really hard and small amount of tequila to make that happen every time. [00:49:34] Speaker B: Yeah, it's tough. I think our last, you know, production that we just did was. Was just under 54, was what the. The final blend ended up being. But, yeah, to get right at 55. And it depends on, yeah, I mean, how much you're doing and how much cabases you have. And yeah, it's. You have to go in with the mindset of where we're making 55, but sometimes that might not be the best profile. Right. So we'd rather say we'll see what we get, you know, and make the cuts based on taste versus abv. [00:50:04] Speaker A: It's not nearly as hot as what I was expecting. It drinks more like 40, 45 or 44. [00:50:09] Speaker B: Yep. [00:50:10] Speaker A: It has a nice peppery finish. That's not real normal for you guys. That's a little more pepper than the cinnamon like we talked about, but it's still there. It's faintly there. The sweetness is really there. That, like, the smell of the cooked agave, that roasted pineapple, sweet potato taste is in there really nice. This one is more citrus than what I've picked up in the other ones. [00:50:35] Speaker B: A lot of citrus. Right? Like lemon, lime. There's a lot of. Yeah, citrus bomb going on with all the flavors you described. A little bit more pronounced for me. The. The mouth feel is very soft too. Like, it's. Is lush, like. Yes. [00:50:50] Speaker A: I don't want to say soft is a good word, but it's filling. Like, it. It coats everything, and it really, like, covers your mouth really nice. This probably needs to be part of your core. [00:51:03] Speaker B: That's. That's a great compliment. We'll take that. I mean, and I think you hit it on the head with, like, if I didn't tell you, the abv, and for folks trying it, like, I don't know how many people would guess 50. And I think in a good way, where it is full flavor, but it is also relatively approachable for a high proof at 50%. You know, like, if you have the average person that maybe is not a tequila nerd, right, like us say, hey, try this 100 proof. If you told them, they might be a little scared if you just gave him this, I think a lot of people would be like, oh, that's, that's pretty damn good. [00:51:36] Speaker A: This is very easy to drink. And you know, you would think at 100 proof, I would get some alcohol. Like, that's. You would just think there's some alcohol there. There isn't like a hit of alcohol in any way. And I have a lot of Hundreds, you know, 103s, 105s where you, you have, you have to push through the alcohol sometimes to get to the flavor. [00:51:56] Speaker B: Yeah, you get a little bit of that, a little, little burn, like, but then, then you get to what you want. But yeah, this one doesn't have it. [00:52:02] Speaker A: No, this has what you want right in the beginning. And the finish is very citrusy. Like, the longer you let it sit without taking another sip that you said lemon and I'm saying lemon and lime, but there's also like this almost like a floral orange that kind of shows up in the finish for me. That's really nice. Completely different than the nose. Like, the nose was one thing. For me, it was a little thicker. Like, I picked up a little bit of that chocolate, a little bit funky and coke agave. But the flavor is much brighter than what the nose was. [00:52:33] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it was definitely, I think less, less citrus on the nose, but it really comes through on the, on the palate. [00:52:40] Speaker A: Yeah, that's really good. That's. This is really good. I was trying to figure out what we were going to drink while I watched Survivor with my wife. When we were done, I have no damn idea. Now make a hoven of all of it. [00:52:55] Speaker B: Hey, come up with the next ensfondio expression. [00:53:00] Speaker A: Is there a hoven in the future? [00:53:02] Speaker B: There's probably a lot of things in the future. We don't specifically have a plan at the moment to drop a hoven, but we didn't have a plan to do a high proof blanco either. It's one of those things that I think as time passes and our creative itch just rises time and time again, we're always like, the number of barrels that we have right now is constantly climbing and it's really hard for us not to Add on these really cool, unique barrels, even though we know it's not going to be part of the core. Right. So every order of, you know, the core barrels, it's like, well, let's grab one of these. Let's grab one of those. Like, I wonder what that would taste like, no matter how obscure. So I think at some point, for sure, like, we're definitely just having fun, experimenting and, you know, taking people's feedback and at the end of the day, just trying to see where we can take this. [00:53:54] Speaker A: I guarantee you've had a hoven at a table somewhere that you've all went, we need to make a hoven. Probably, probably maybe 812 sips in. Yeah, somebody poured something in something. [00:54:06] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, we actually did it on, you know, we made hovens. We haven't sold any or bottled any. It was a fun activity. We've done with. Some folks came to visit us at the distillery and we had some of the latest batches and we said, hey, you know, let's put you to work. Who wants to make a hoeven for us? And everyone had, you know, split into teams and had their different, you know, ideas. And then we had Sergio and Oscar judge. So it was a pretty, pretty fun, pretty fun exercise. And yeah, we definitely looked at each other like, hey, should we just bottle this? [00:54:40] Speaker A: I've done several here, you know, where I come out and I go, and what do I want to drink tonight? You know, Right. So it's like, I think I'm gonna. I want. I want some repo, but I also want some hyper proof. And I end up making a hoven of somebody's repo and high proof and going in the house going, this should be bottled. Like, it always tastes so good when you do them that way. [00:54:58] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we're having fun with it. And, you know, there. There might be one other barrel coming up soon, too. You know, we talked about, obviously the Rosa. We talked about the high proof. We. We've. We've been active lately, and so there might be one. I see you got a cool red bottle back there. The red and white one that I know it was a single barrel. There may be a, maybe a part two to that series coming your way soon. [00:55:22] Speaker A: You know, this. This was very interesting to me and I did. I did find that it was kind of polarizing. Some people really loved it. Like, I really liked this one. And then I had some other people that were like, oh, you know, I didn't like that flavor, so. And that's. Yeah, that's what we like about doing this, right? [00:55:38] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:55:39] Speaker A: And I did. I have some friends that have a podcast called the Whiskey Tequila Fridays Podcast, if you've ever listened to that. It's fantastic. And one guy, Drew, he's the tequila guy, and other guy, Matt, he's the whiskey guy. And every show, they bring a tequila or Drew brings a tequila and Matt brings a whiskey, and they do a thing called the quick sips. And that's where they take a sip of a whiskey, and before the finish runs out, let the finish go, but don't let it go all the way. And then when it's not gone, you take your tequila, nose it, it, sip it, and then see what does that whiskey get from that tequila. And then the next time you go the opposite direction, you sip the whiskey before the finish is gone, you know, and taste the whiskey or do the tequila. What. You know what I'm saying? So you go back and forth, and it's really cool. Every time I've ever done it with them, it's always been this really interesting experiment. So the first thing I did when I got this was, hey, let's do a quick sip video. I stole their idea and with their permission, of course. And. And I did it with Woodford and that tequila and went back and forth, and it was really cool to see what the Woodford gave to the tequila when you tasted it. But then when you did the other direction, what the tequila really gave back to that Woodford, and how those flavors really showed up in there, that you didn't necessarily grab all of those flavors in the taste that you really did when you started blending them together. And the idea of the bitters in there, I think just really, to me, makes that a really cool drink, period. Like, it's. It's very awesome. So I was a big fan. [00:57:18] Speaker B: Just something I think, that, again, hasn't been done before. You know, to our knowledge, using bitters, casks to. To age tequila and probably at the very far spectrum of pushing the envelope, right? And that's maybe why that might have been one of our more polarizing expressions, because it's so different and unique, and people don't have a comparison point. You have a reposado, you've had a million of them. You know what to compare it to. You can kind of rack your brain around where that fits in the flavor profile. You get something like this, and it takes a second to be like, whoa, what? Like, what am I tasting? [00:57:52] Speaker A: Exactly. That was the first thing I did, was like, where does this even fit? Like, this is so different, but it's so good. [00:57:57] Speaker B: Yeah. I think the second edition that. That may be out soon is probably going to continue in that. That tradition. [00:58:06] Speaker A: Okay. You always just might as well just make it an exclusive and tell it here. [00:58:10] Speaker B: All right, let's do it. Let's do it. So series volume number two, the bitter series. Our next one we did with. Again with. With Rob Tequila Collective, someone who shared our craziness for expanding, like, what we think is possible for aging of tequila. We decide to do an orange bitter series. So we went from cherry an hour into orange. If I could describe it in one sentence, I would say an Old Fashioned in a glass. [00:58:41] Speaker A: That's what I was going to say. That's got to be an Old Fashioned in the glass. That's pretty awesome. [00:58:45] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, I know that cocktails and RTDs and all that is popular right now. And, you know, they have a lot of ingredients and stuff in them. I think you just put Ensueno into a bitters cask and you pour that neat or over a big cube, and you don't need anything else. It's. It's a. It's a fun one, and I'm excited for people to try that one out. [00:59:06] Speaker A: So that would be an Anejo as well. [00:59:07] Speaker B: That one is also Anejo. Yep. A couple years in the same. Same cask, but orange bitters this time. [00:59:13] Speaker A: I am waiting for that one. That. That is exciting. [00:59:16] Speaker B: It's gonna be fun. [00:59:16] Speaker A: That's gonna be a Tequila Collective single barrel. [00:59:19] Speaker B: Yep. So that'll be available very soon. And this one's kind of cool. You'll see we really leaned into the branding of this one. So it is orange. And we have a cool sort of component to this one. You'll see it's a bit Halloween, a bit Dia de los Muertos. It's got different aspects to it. You'll see some bats on there, the marigold color. And a portion of the proceeds are going to go to help bat conservation efforts. Efforts. So those, if you don't know, very important part to, you know, agave and the pollination and whatnot that the bats do there. So we're trying to help out a little bit where we can. And that was a great lead that we had from Rob, who's done some other things with them in the past. [01:00:04] Speaker A: We're hitting all the clubs. So if you don't know where to get great tequila content and information and learn about what's going on in the industry, sign up for the Tequila [email protected] subscribe. And if you want to be part of an exclusive group and be able to have access to great single barrels, great tequila content, and get to spend time with somebody like Rob at the Tequila Collective, go to the Tequila Collective and join that club. I'm a member of both of those programs, and they're fantastic. So there's a plug for both those guys. [01:00:31] Speaker B: They're great. And thanks again, Brad. I mean, for having us. This has been, like, so fun, and we're excited to, you know, hopefully be able to help get some more bottles out your way here soon, you know, in Indiana. So when you're running a little low, you don't have to wait for something in the mail. [01:00:46] Speaker A: Yeah, it's that shipping fee that's always the biggest bummer, right? Like crap. I gotta order another one of those. But when you like a tequila as much as I like yours, as you can see, I've ordered many. I. I just poured this last one here. The batch 11 at 42. [01:01:04] Speaker B: There we go. Salud. [01:01:05] Speaker A: Salute. Delicious. It does feel light after drinking the hyper, doesn't it? Like, you can really tell the difference in that mouthfeel. [01:01:14] Speaker B: But it has a. I convinced myself for a while, drinking the high proof that I was, you know, that that was actually just the blanco. And so now, yeah, it does feel like a, you know, a light version. [01:01:25] Speaker A: Yeah. Much lighter mouthfeel. But honestly, as easy to drink. Like, that really shows me how easy that 50 was to drink, because I think you said this is 42. And the difference between the two, in heat and in proof, really doesn't feel a whole lot different. It's just that mouthfeel is what you feel different. Yeah, all the flavors are still there. This. This is really good too. [01:01:48] Speaker B: Yeah. So that one just dropped will be available at your local retailers and online. And, you know, you touched on it. Shipping. No one wants to pay for shipping. So for the high proof, we decided anyone that orders that online, free shipping, you know, so you add that to your cart, free shipping on it, on all your bottles. [01:02:05] Speaker A: Fantastic. So best place to go to order is it your website? Is that the best spot to go order tequila? [01:02:10] Speaker B: You can go to our site. Yeah. Ensuenyotaquila.com or ensueno.shop. either of those will get you there. And free shipping will be added automatically when you add the high proof. And then you also can see all the other retailers that have it or go to your local retailer. If they do shipping, they should have it in stock very soon as well. [01:02:29] Speaker A: And when we order from your website, does it ship out of California? Is that where it' coming out of? [01:02:34] Speaker B: So it depends. We got a couple different spots, but typically it'll. It'll ship out of Florida, but we do have some fulfillment that's also out of the. The west coast. So it just depends on your address. Try to get to you as fast as we can. [01:02:45] Speaker A: Gotcha. So you're looking more not where the person is that's ordering, not just from one specific. Specific spot. [01:02:52] Speaker B: Exactly. [01:02:53] Speaker A: Perfect. Well, Matt, I mean, we've been rolling for an hour. I really appreciate you taking your time. I know you're. You're not just sitting at home with nothing to do that you're very busy. So thanks for taking your time and doing this with me and I just really appre you and appreciate what you and your team have put together and love your tequila now. [01:03:10] Speaker B: Likewise, Brad. Thank you so much for having us. We really appreciate it. And I'm glad I, you know, I packed before we did this interview because I'm gonna go catch a flight. We just launched the state of Maine. Small market, but I. I'm from there, so I'm gonna catch a flight and got a blitz tomorrow and you know, keep spreading the good word of inspeno and thanks for helping share it with the people. We appreciate it. [01:03:28] Speaker A: Anytime. Cheers, my friend. Salute. [01:03:30] Speaker B: Salud. I got the wide angle lens. Oh, no. [01:03:33] Speaker A: There you go. [01:03:34] Speaker B: No, I'm almost. I'm almost out. I can't. We can't end like that. [01:03:37] Speaker A: No, we can't end on empty glass. [01:03:39] Speaker B: I can't go on this flight. [01:03:42] Speaker A: Fill up some of these. [01:03:45] Speaker B: You should see my carry on. [01:03:46] Speaker A: I bet it is. [01:03:48] Speaker B: Salute, my friend. [01:03:49] Speaker A: Salute, my friend. Cheers.