Tequila, the most emblematic Mexican liquor, is having a party in the United States, where consumers positioned it at 2020 in second place of sales, after vodka, driven, according to experts, by the popularity of margaritas, a cocktail that today 10 February celebrates its day.
This popular cocktail, immigrants, stars like actor George Clooney, who devised their own tequilas, and a change in mentality have boosted the drink Mexican in the US
“The perception that tequila was very strong and that it was a working-class drink was changed,” Carlos Haro, author of the book “Tequila ” (2002) and owner of the Californian restaurant Casablanca, known for offering near 800 varieties of the drink obtained from the agave.
The great acceptance of tequila was demonstrated last year with an increase ofsales of 30,1%, which is equivalent to $1,200 million dollars more with respect to 2020 , according to figures from the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS, in English).
The increase was the second largest in the country, only behind pre-mixed cocktails, which means a 42,3% ($423 million), according to DISCUS, an association that represents the producers and marketers of alcoholic beverages in the country.
Tequila also took second place among alcoholic beverages best sellers in 2021 with $5,200 million last year, trailing only the $7,423 million for vodka, which has been the most widely traded liquor in the US since the 1970 decade.
The rise over whiskey, brandy or cognac in sales has been achieved thanks to to the work of the tequila companies and restaurants like Haro’s, on the famous Californian beach of Venice, who opted to raise the concept that consumers had about this drink.
Why National Margarita Day Exists
For Anna Marisa Harding, co-founder of California-based tequila company AsomBroso, the popularity of margaritas in recent decades has also has contributed to the increase in tequila sales.
This cocktail is even now included in the menu offered by sports venues.
Its great acceptance has even led to naming the 22 of February as the National Day of Margaritas, date in which bars, restaurants, and tequila producers make offers.
Added to this is the arrival of high-end tequilas on the market and new presentations of this drink, Harding points out.
“People were educated in the tequilas. In the last 5 years, añejos have grown in popularity, and many people are drinking them as an after-dinner drink, instead of cognac or another strong drink”, he warns.
Even the presentation of the bottles has increased the presence of this drink, Haro points out, highlighting the price that some designs have achieved.
Haro also acknowledged that tequilas with high-profile celebrity labels have helped draw attention to this drink as did actor George Clooney with his Casamigos tequila brand, which was sold in 2017 to the British multinational Diageo for $1, million.
Immigration hand in hand with consumption
Clooney and his partners, businessman Rande Gerber (husband of model Cindy Crawford) and real estate magnate Michael Meldman, originally created the brand with the idea that it would be a collection private for family and close friends, but when they were required to have a license to continue making tequila, they decided to market it.
Something similar happened to Harding and his partner Ricardo Gamarra, who started their company in 2002 as “a hobby”, which led them back to search for their Mexican roots.
In this sense, Haro acknowledges that it was the Mexican immigrants who popularized the consumption of tequila.
Proof of this is that California is the state with the highest sales of this drink, followed by Texas, Florida and Illinois, according to data from the Statista pollster.
Precisely the arrival of Mexican immigrants to states like Wyoming or Vermont has led AsomBroso to have more requests from distributors.
“These are markets that are expanding more and more,” says Harding, who pro forecasts that tequila sales will expand faster than the overall spirits industry over the next five to 000 years.
Haro agrees with this projection, although he is also committed to the growth of mezcal consumption in the US due to the good work that the Oaxacan community is doing with its proposals gastronomic.
Clooney and his partners, businessman Rande Gerber (husband of model Cindy Crawford) and real estate magnate Michael Meldman, originally created the brand with the idea that it would be a collection private for family and close friends, but when they were required to have a license to continue making tequila, they decided to market it.
Something similar happened to Harding and his partner Ricardo Gamarra, who started their company in 2002 as “a hobby”, which led them back to search for their Mexican roots.
In this sense, Haro acknowledges that it was the Mexican immigrants who popularized the consumption of tequila.
Proof of this is that California is the state with the highest sales of this drink, followed by Texas, Florida and Illinois, according to data from the Statista pollster.
Precisely the arrival of Mexican immigrants to states like Wyoming or Vermont has led AsomBroso to have more requests from distributors.
“These are markets that are expanding more and more,” says Harding, who pro forecasts that tequila sales will expand faster than the overall spirits industry over the next five to 000 years.
Haro agrees with this projection, although he is also committed to the growth of mezcal consumption in the US due to the good work that the Oaxacan community is doing with its proposals gastronomic.
“Immigration influences the tastes of a country, and in the United States, Mexican products already leave a mark that is difficult to erase, tequila is here to stay like tacos”, he concludes.
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