This $400 Tequila Comes With an Utility — and Not Everybody Makes the Minimize

Brent Hocking is not any stranger to the spirits world. The entrepreneur and trade veteran based DeLeón Tequila in 2009, co-founded Virginia Black in 2016, and Mod Sélection Champagne two years later with hip-hop celebrity Drake. 

He’s at present the CEO of his firm, Mod Selecter, however is now not affiliated with DeLeón, having bought the model to spirits conglomerate Diageo in 2013. (Diageo subsequently partnered with disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, a relationship that ended acrimoniously in 2024 — and Combs is now on trial for intercourse trafficking.) For his newest enterprise, Hocking has stepped away from the realm of celebrity-backed manufacturers to launch an ultra-exclusive tequila known as Purísima. You gained’t discover a bottle in your native liquor retailer, nonetheless — if you wish to get your palms on this high-end spirit, you could navigate a web-based velvet rope by filling out an utility and ready to see in the event you make the lower.

Hocking says that exclusivity was not essentially the aim for his new model; relatively, it’s merely a results of how the tequila is produced. 

“Purísima isn’t restricted to be intelligent; it’s restricted due to what it takes to create one thing this uncompromised,” he instructed Meals & Wine in an electronic mail. “We’re working with one distillery, one course of, and solely the very best high quality uncooked supplies, together with what I imagine to be the purest water supply within the class… When you’re constructing model popularity and one thing meant to dwell in the identical world as nice wine or classic spirits, then rarity just isn’t solely applicable, it’s important. It creates self-discipline — on either side of the bottle.”

So, how precisely does one get a bottle of Purísima? consumers have to go to the model’s web site and full a web-based type, acknowledging that that is merely a request and never a assure that they’ll get a bottle. Hocking says this method just isn’t primarily based on an algorithm or a secretive solution to gather person knowledge; it’s simply to ensure there’s “trustworthy intent” from customers — an uncommon request for promoting a commodity. 

“Most individuals come by way of the registry by request,” he stated. “Others are referred by cooks, collectors, or individuals within the commerce who perceive what we’re attempting to protect. It’s not about standing or exclusivity for its personal sake — that’s how we keep integrity.”

The tequila is produced at NOM 1519, the previous house of DeLeón. Hocking says that his new model is made utilizing related strategies — a devoted manufacturing mannequin at only one distillery, versus contract distillation. 

“We use pure spring wells that run over 400 meters deep — an uncommon supply of water purity in tequila manufacturing,” he stated. “Fermentation is proprietary, and the agave is highland-grown, chosen for splendid ripeness and sugar content material. We don’t disclose each element as a result of, frankly, we don’t must. Our proof is within the liquid itself.” He additionally claims that Purísima is additive-free, though there may be at present no solution to independently confirm this — and the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT) gained’t permit manufacturers to label tequila as such.

A bottle of Purísima blanco, the one expression out there in the meanwhile, will set you again $400 — a particularly excessive worth level that additional underscores the model’s exclusivity. In line with Hocking, aged expressions are in growth, together with a limited-edition reposado slated for launch within the fall and an añejo to observe. He’s additionally set to launch Brown Sugar Café Mexicana, a coffee-tequila liqueur (assume Patron XO Cafe) made with Purísima as the bottom spirit.

Hocking acknowledges that the surge in celebrity-backed tequila manufacturers over the previous few years has introduced a substantial amount of consideration to the class, leading to some notable success tales. Nevertheless, it has additionally created a couple of points for the class as an entire, which is why he’s not collaborating with a well-known face on Purísima. 

“Movie star tequila has contributed to a notion downside, that tequila is extra about picture than substance,” he stated. “Oversaturation isn’t nearly amount; it’s about dilution of that means. When too many merchandise flood the market with related tales and generic liquid, customers turn into disoriented.” 

He actually hopes that’s not the case right here, and that the exclusivity of this new tequila model will probably be a characteristic, not a bug, to assist it acquire recognition — with out an actor, musician, or athlete selling it.