Clase Azul’s New GOLD Expression Makes a Strong Case for Spending $300 on Tequila

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It can pay handsomely to be at the right place at the right time, and for an upstart tequila producer trying to break into a crowded space, the right time was 2007. The right place proved to be the nascent luxury segment of the tequila market, though nobody really knew it at the time. When Clase Azul founder Arturo Lomeli launched a $1,2000 bottle of five-year-old Clase Azul Ultra tequila, the idea was to make a temporary splash rather than to launch a perennial favorite.

In the decade following, growth in the top end of the tequila market has exploded, manifesting itself most visibly in the sale of George Clooney-backed Casamigos to Diageo for a cool $1 billion. Clase Azul has been along for that ride, producing ultra-premium tequilas packaged in distinctive, handcrafted ceramic bottles that have fetched as much as $30,000 each. When approached in that context, its latest release—a $300 bottle aimed at bringing its beautifully crafted tequila and artistry to market at a more obtainable price point—doesn’t seem like such an extravagance.

Clase Azul

Clase Azul

This is still a costly bottle of tequila, and if you’re simply looking for a decent-quality bottle to pour into patio margaritas, keep moving. It’s important to keep in mind that when you talk about ultra-premium spirits that retail for hundreds or thousands of dollars, you’re generally not just talking about the liquid, but also about ancillary aspects like packaging, rarity, and even more superficial things like status—what owning a certain bottle says about you. There can be a bit of pomp around such bottles that is worth acknowledging, but it’s also important not to get lost in the extraneous.

Clase Azul telegraphs its luxury through signature glass and/or ceramic bottles, each of which is crafted by hand by artisans in the Mexican town of Santa Maria Canchesda. They share a distinctive silhouette, and you’ve probably seen these pepper-grinder shaped bottles at a restaurant or bar before, either on the top shelf of the back bar or repurposed (once empty) into flower vases or other decorative containers. Each Clase Azul GOLD bottle is hand-numbered (only 6,000 were made) and trimmed with 24-karat gold, a flourish that may lend an air of grandeur to your liquor shelf but does nothing to improve the quality of the tequila inside.

Clase Azul’s New GOLD Expression Makes a Strong Case for Spending $300 on Tequila appeared first on MansBrand.

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