That's the Spirit - Woven into the Fabric of Mexico, El Luchador

Woven into the Fabric of Mexico

The El Luchador Collection is the thread line between Mexican Culture and Ultra-Premium Tequila

By Megan Rider

The new El Luchador Tequila Collection, created by tequilero David Ravandi, founder of 123 Organic Tequila, is a distinctive artisanal collection of tequila expressions that pays homage to and is inspired by the lucha libre—wrestlers known for their colorful masks and rapid acrobatic techniques in Mexican culture.

“The lucha libre wrestlers are a cultural institution in Mexico with their own governing body, the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL),” explains Ravandi. “it’s a cult tradition for luchadores and fans visiting the shrine of El Santo, who was by all accounts the most famous of the luchadores achieving superhero status through his long career and 50+ movies, to honor of his memory with a toast of tequila.”

The cultural link behind the El Luchador Tequila Collection, according to Ravandi, is built around the fact that tequila is part of the cultural fabric of Mexico. “It’s consumed at every birth, wedding, and we can safely say every lucha libre match,” he says.

The original amalgamation of Mexico’s two most valued cultural institutions, blue-agave tequila and lucha libre, was generated in 2013 when Ravandi first introduced El Luchador Overproof Organic Blanco Tequila. It will be replaced by the new collection comprised of Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, and Distill-Proof Blanco tequilas. The El Luchador Collection Blanco tequila, with fresh agave and bright citrus notes and a saline finish, is a great sipper and a favored expression by mixologists as a foundation for building cocktails. El Lucador Reposado is aged for 4-6 months in French white oak barrels deepening its bright citrus and vanilla flavors. The Collections’ Añejo Tequila rests for 14-16 months in French white oak barrels, promising to enhance layers of complexity with notes of deeply roasted agave, caramelized citrus, and dark vanilla. (The Añejo expression will arrive in the United States in late 2022, with an Extra Añejo expression joining the collection by 2025). Finally, the Distill-Proof Blanco Tequila, at 110-proof, is an expression ideally suited for building cocktails and enjoying as a digestif, because of its robust and complex profile.

“The El Luchador Collection is crafted by a team that strives to produce tequila of the highest quality,” says Ravandi. “The immense pride they take in the production of El Luchador is a reflection of both their cultural heritage and their incredibly high standards of production at the distillery.”

El Luchador Tequilas are made from its estate grown blue agave that thrives in the iron-rich volcanic soils of the highlands of Los Altos de Jalisco. It is grown at a very high altitude of 6,500 feet, directly affecting the tequilas flavors.

Here, El Luchador Tequilas are distilled using artisanal methods and produced and packaged in a way that treads lightly on the environment. “There are

Santo Contra Los Zombies

INGREDIENTS

2 oz. El Luchador Blanco Tequila 110 Proof ¼ oz. D’Aristi Xtabentún Liqueur ½ oz. orange liqueur 2 oz. fresh orange juice 1 oz. fresh lemon juice ½ oz. fresh pomegranate juice

PREPARATION

Serve over crushed ice in a Hurricane glass with an orange slice and a pineapple leaf.

absolutely no shortcuts taken,” stresses Ravandi. “Our tequilas have always been produced with the utmost respect for the environment and the people who create them, period. There’s no need for inflated marketing claims around sustainability when you’re transparent about your practices.”

Ravandi was one of the first tequileros to adopt and perfect the innovative aging process in French oak barrels rather than bourbon barrels in the late ‘90s. The Reposado and Añejo expressions rest in such barrels that previously held the wines of Puligny Montrachet. Ravandi includes, “A sommelier recently said of El Luchador, ‘I can detect the elements of white Burgundy. It’s like a chewy Montrachet.”

“I am always challenged to do something different, and this was the perfect opportunity to evolve El Luchador’s agave-forward flavor profile,” continues Ravandi. “I selected a white wine barrel and used lesser aging for the Reposado, while Añejo spends additional time in wood.”

From a terroir perspective, elevation also plays a significant role. “Agave grown at this extreme altitude is stressed and constantly seeking water,” adds Ravandi. “The more fibrous it becomes, the more concentrated the flavors in our tequila will be. Conversely, agave grown at lower altitudes is referred to as “lazy agave” which has a high-water content and results in less desirable aromas and flavors in the tequila.”

A final and probably the most significant point of differentiation for the El Luchador Collection is the fact that the flavors from each expression are derived from native yeast fermentations.

The Collection arrives at a time when the market demand for aged agave spirits is at an all-time peak. “Although Blanco tequila is the spirit of choice for use in cocktails, consumers have been eagerly trading up to enjoy aged tequila expressions neat or over ice,” says Ravandi. “When it comes to exceptional flavor and authenticity, El Luchador delivers on both fronts.”

With a lot of room for creativity, bartenders will find the wide range of styles in The El Luchador Collection of ultra-premium tequilas easy to incorporate in their classics like the Paloma and Margarita and a quality, upgrade for a tequila-base in modern craft cocktails.

The El Luchador mask logo is impactful and the green, white and red labels are emblematic of the Mexican flag. When stacked, the green, white, red cases create a dynamic display depicting both the El Luchador mask and the Mexican flag.