Bringing Wine Barrel Wisdom to Tequila with Casa Obsidiana

Cocktails Distilled

Let’s face it: the agave spirits market is crowded. So, if you are looking to bring out a new tequila, you’ve really got to stand out.

Casa Obsidiana, a brand that was released at the end of last year, is looking to do that on several fronts.

By incorporating elements of modern art, heritage, and liquids substantially transformed by wine cask ageing, the brand is looking to make its mark on the ultra-premium market.

But the promises of all those elements are a lot to live up to.

We talk to co-founder Jean-Charles Boisset about yeast strains, barrel regimes and what it takes to cut through the noise.

Chapters

1. Bringing Wine Barrel Wisdom to Tequila with Casa Obsidiana (00:00:00)

2. Now, anyone who knows your name would probably associate it with biodynamic wines. What has drawn you from grapes to the agave fields? (00:00:57)

3. Now, you and your family have collaborated with the Beckman Gonzalez family, who have over 260 years of experience in making tequila. How did that come about? (00:02:34)

4. Now, the tequila market, especially luxury tequila, is fairly saturated. How difficult has it been to bring out a new brand and considering the prestige of both your families, meet expectations? (00:04:12)

5. Now, speaking of the Beckman family, the agave itself is growing at the base of El Volcán Tequila. Describe the environment … what do you see? (00:07:46)

6. Now, winemakers love to talk about terroir, but spirit drinkers know a lot of that gets lost in the distilling and the aging. So, to your mind, which is more important to the flavour, the volcanic soil or the barrels? (00:11:49)

7. You mentioned the volcanic giving the tequila a different taste than agave grown in other areas of Mexico. Can you describe that flavour? (00:15:29)

8. Let's look go through each of the expressions to get a little bit more detail. Tell us first about the blanco. (00:19:52)

9. And what about the Reposado? (00:21:54)

10. And lastly, the Añejo. (00:24:22)

11. I was surprised to hear you earlier mention cocktails that can be made with this. I would have thought from your descriptions that you would have seen it purely as a sipping tequila. (00:26:52)

12. Now you mentioned earlier about the bottles and as I said in the intro they do border a little on modern art. Tell us how the design came and the ideas behind that came about. (00:28:29)

13. With the nature, the arts, the Mexican culture, all of these things that you're trying to bring together, who is your market? (00:32:06)

14. Now, the range has been out for a little over six months. What has consumer reaction been to it? (00:33:15)