Pure Agave Disruption

Savor This Sexy New Tequila

by Livia Hooson

We love a high-end spirit that can be savored solo and not chased. Robin Clough is the 29-year-old, London-based entrepreneur who has debuted an award-winning tequila that is designed to be exactly that; savored rather than chased. Entering the premium spirits industry is no easy feat as tequilas are one of the fastest-growing categories in a billion-dollar industry, with competitors like megadistributors Diageo and brands with celebrity backing like Rande Gerber and George Clooney’s Casamigos. But Robin and his team, which all together make up some of the youngest founding members of an international luxury liquor brand, are breaking onto the scene with their disruptive and ultra-sexy brand, Tequila Enemigo.

Clough, along with Mexican native, Sebastian Gonzalez and fellow British native, Max Davies-Gilbert initially launched in the UK in the fall of 2017. They partnered up with Park Avenue Liquor in New York City and debuted their 500 first-edition bottles branded exclusively with a sleek, black and gold design, with their tequila on shelves in three continents in less than three years.

“Enemigo” (Spanish for enemy) is a forward way to let the public know Clough and his team are challenging the standards of what tequila should be. A reminder to ditch the mixtos (agave and sugar) for a 100-percent, agave-derived spirit from Mexico’s western state of Jalisco. This bold move in the spirits game is a strategically savvy play that has quickly secured them awards of excellence Robin Clough: It all came down to this one after business school, where Sebastian and at a roadside café. I was very apprehensive to drink it because of my past experiences with the spirit. I had always seen tequila as a across the board. Tequila Enemigo has won five International Double Gold awards, more than any other tequila brand last year.

The company’s top-tier bottle of Enemigo 00 Extra Añejo has a long maturation time in American Oak barrels (never reconstituted barrels) leaving the consumer with a balanced amber spirit with notes of caramel and orange. Their Enemigo 89 Añejo Cristalino tequila is aged traditionally for more than a year, then put through a three-phase filtration system that purifies the spirit to create a clear and distinct flavor with hints of coconut and vanilla.

We caught up with the globetrotting millennial to find out

Why tequila?

moment when I was traveling to Mexico right I met, and we decided to taste some tequila

why tequila and why now.

spirit that should be consumed late at night as a ritual punishment between friends. After sipping this authentic agave drink, I was blown away! It was a subtle, complex and refined liquid that we tasted alongside our meal for a few hours. Since that awakening, we began brainstorming. When something changes your perception, it is an exciting moment that you want to create from.

You have created a completely unique recipe, hand-designed with your tequilero in Mexico. What sets you apart from other premium tequilas?

RC: Many tequilas are designed around premade recipes from the tequileros instead of being custom curated. The Cristalino 89 is in a narrow category within a larger category of thousands of tequilas. Of these, about only 34 are aged and then filtered. Therefore, our Cristalino is a clear spirit with complexities of wood and a subtle ageing profile. The 89 represents the number of we do. For example, the first time we got down to Jalisco, there was an agave crisis, and it has become an endangered species because of the demand on the blue agave. They are no longer conscious choices through each process. Because of modern technology, we use 50 percent less husks to fuel our ovens. In addition, we ensure fair treatment of our farmers. Because the price fluctuates for agave every eight to 10 years, we have set a minimum price for what we pay our farmers, ensuring they will always get paid what they deserve, no matter the shift in industry price. iterations that it took to get to the end product. Our Extra Añejo has a full-bodied profile with a hint of agave, demerara, tobacco and a touch of vanilla. Developing for about 30 seconds after you sip it, it is a pleasant surprise for a tequila with this level of complexity to develop gradually and always with an undertone of velvety subtleness. Alongside our tequilero in Mexico, we conducted blind taste tests to create both of our

How are sustainability and loyalty to your tequileros part of your brand?

RC: Sustainability is at the front of everything on the endangered list, but that put things into perspective for us. So, we make environmentally water at our distillery, and we use leftover agave tequilas; bringing the best we could to the table.

Serving and Sipping Tequila Tips

1. Taking a note from the well-known wine glass company, Riedel, our tequila is recommended to be sipped out of long-stemmed flutes in order to savor the spirit with intention. Clough really does not want to tell you how to drink your beverage (there is no right way), but he prefers utilizing this style of glass that is designed for the spirit to be tasted first on the tip of the tongue than pulled slowly from the deep-bottom. 2. The Añejo Cristalino makes a wonderful marinade for gravlax and other seafood including oysters and caviar. 3. The Extra Añejo is an excellent choice to close off a heavier meal such as steak and enjoyed with a cigar for a digestif with family and friends.