LIVE Life TO ITS FULLEST

Bribón Tequila Labels are Redesigned to Stand Out in the Premium Agave Spirits Category

By Michael Tulipan

Bribón Tequila asks agave fans, “Are you Bribón enough?” a.k.a. “Are you living life to the fullest?” This question has been the inspiration for the brand, which dates back almost two centuries.

A character in Mexican lore, El Bribón was known for playing by his own rules, always keeping a positive outlook on life, and wanting to lift the spirits of everyone he encountered. Add a little tequila, and you have a recipe to enjoy life to the fullest.

The Orendain family, one of the four founding families of tequila, began distilling blue agave in 1840. The production of Bribón Tequila at their Casa Don Roberto remains faithful to this long heritage. Produced in partnership with Palm Bay International, Bribón Tequila is a complex yet approachable spirit that makes for a great Margarita and other delicious cocktail offerings.

The process starts with fully matured 8- to 10-yearold agaves harvested by hand and then cooked for 18 hours at 100° Celsius to convert the starches to sugars. The cooked agaves are then shredded, and the juice ferments in tanks at a steady temperature with a proprietary strain of yeast developed by Don Roberto. After fermentation, the liquid is double distilled in a process that combines pot still distillate with column distillation. This unique method imparts a higher quality to the final liquid offering a hint of sweetness from the agave and a slight citrus note, with a smooth peppery after taste, resulting in a classic, ultra-premium Blanco tequila.

Three expressions of Bribón are currently available— Blanco, Reposado (aged in toasted American oak barrels for 6—9 months), and Añejo (aged for 6—9 months in ex-bourbon barrels).

This year, the company has reimagined the Bribón brand with new packaging that pays homage to Mexico’s storied history of tequila-making while elevating the visual look. The founding year for Casa Don Roberto now figures prominently on the label’s center and is embossed on the bottle. In addition, the figure of the Bribón has been redesigned with more space on the label devoted to the story of this legendary figure. Like many brands embracing authenticity, Spanish terms now figure prominently, with “Agave Azul” and “Hecho en Mexico” appearing in their native tongue. The overall look is clean and modern.

“When designing our new labels, we had both the trade and consumers in mind,” says Abelardo Orendain, third-generation owner of Bribónn Tequila. “We asked ourselves what design would catch your eye at a bar or liquor store while simultaneously matching the ultra-premium liquid in all our bottles.” The updated bottle design also features a longer neck and slip-proof shape making it easy to grip and more bartender-friendly.

“The new look was created to help better match and reflect the ultra-premium liquid quality of our delicious agave spirits,” says Dave Singh, Spirits Director at Palm Bay International. “We hope that these upgrades will help us achieve our ambitious 2023 case objective in an exploding category and better position us as a go-to premium-tequila brand amongst trade and consumers.”

As it grows, Bribón Tequila continues to pay homage to the heritage of its family and Mexican traditions. Now it has a new, more sophisticated look sure to make it stand out in the ultra-premium tequila category.