Image this: An expansive rooftop venue thrums with music and neon lights. Above, a sky filled with stars. Beneath, a dance flooring alive with folks in search of an genuine human connection, and borders or obstacles don’t bind them. They’re drawn to high quality, to reliability. Somebody pours a spherical of tequila, the glasses rimmed with smoked salt. They toast, and sip.
It’s not only a occasion, it’s an intercultural gathering, a celebration.
It’s the “actually actual” expertise that makes up the inspiration of tequila’s daring new participant, Loca Loka. In a contemporary age the place youthful generations of authorized ingesting age search authenticity by means of the muddy noise of the established order, Loca Loka is positioning itself as a type of celebratory liquid bridge between tequila-loving cultures.
It’s a product that’s quintessentially Mexican, with cross-cultural ties to India. To Loca Loka, Nationwide Tequila Day is not only a toast to the spirit of tequila, however a toast to the rituals of the previous and experiences to return.
Three Buddies and a Imaginative and prescient for Tequila
The model is based and spearheaded by a trio of tequila fanatics whose monitor information in enterprise and creativity communicate for themselves. The co-founders embody acclaimed actor Rana Daggubati, hitmaking composer-producer Anirudh Ravichander, and dynamic entrepreneur Harsha Vadlamundi.
“Customers are gravitating towards premium craft spirits, cocktail tradition is exploding globally, and other people need manufacturers with substance behind them,” explains Daggubati. “We’ve positioned ourselves proper at this candy spot the place custom meets modern tastes. We purpose to create a class for shoppers who care about provenance, craftsmanship, and cultural integrity in what they drink.”
With loads of expertise in entrepreneurial ventures and a shared ardour for cultural traditions and tequila, the Loca Loka founders noticed a shift occurring within the tequila panorama proper earlier than their eyes. It was turning into the “spirit du jour” amongst a brand new era of drinkers who search exploration and seasoned specialists alike, and the market developments mirror this phenomenon.
Tequila has grow to be one of many fastest-growing spirit classes globally, and within the U.S., even amidst a quantity fall for different spirits, tequila’s recognition has continued to rise. For the founders, it was the clearest path ahead to make an impression, thus Loca Loka was born.
Custom With Intention
Like all good tequila, Loca Loka begins as a mature mix of agave grown within the fields of Jalisco, Mexico. After being skillfully harvested, the agave hearts are cooked and crushed by rollers or screw mills, which is a conventional methodology referred to as milling. As soon as the nectar is extracted, it’s fermented, producing the bottom spirit for the tequila.
The spirit is then double-distilled in pot stills utilizing time-honored strategies that take away impurities and protect the agave’s inherent character.
Daggubati says: “The result’s one thing that honors Mexico’s terroir whereas introducing taste notes that resonate with Indian palates. Whenever you style it, you get that clear agave basis, however there’s this delicate heat and complexity that speaks to how Indians expertise celebration — daring, fragrant, memorable.”
A Cross-Cultural Celebration
On the coronary heart of Loca Loka is that this connection between Mexican heritage and Indian tradition. Tequila itself is conventional and distinctive to Mexico, however Loca Loka has combined up the sport by including Indian thrives, such because the bottle’s illustrative and geometric graphics, in addition to the identify itself: “loca” is Spanish for “loopy,” and “loka” is Sanskrit for “world.” The 2 cultures share many touchstones: daring, spice-forward palates, colourful aesthetics, the honoring of household, and, after all, communal eating and ingesting, which is why a spirit like tequila is a nice avenue to discover this intercultural dynamic.
Loca Loka is uniquely positioned to seize the eye of adventurous younger shoppers within the U.S., the place curiosity in international spirits is rising. As younger shoppers look past acquainted choices like vodka and whiskey, Loca Loka affords an thrilling and recent introduction to tequila.
Loca Loka’s present choices embody a rounded Blanco with fruity and floral flavors that includes a definite aroma of cooked agave together with a delicate earthy midpalate. Crisp and clear, the Blanco has a rounded end that makes it simple to sip, and was awarded a gold medal by the San Francisco World Spirits Competitors (SFWSC) and a silver medal on the New York Worldwide Spirits Competitors.
The Reposado, in the meantime, has been rested for a number of months in oak, its age displaying in its pale gold shade. With an extended maturation comes a richer aroma made extra advanced by means of the usage of French and American oak barrel affect. A balanced palate of oak and fruity flavors finishes with a wealthy, lingering mouthfeel that makes it perfect for sipping neat. Loca Loka’s Reposado additionally received a gold medal on the New York Worldwide Spirits Competitors and silver at SFWSC. It additionally received silver on the WSWA Wine and Spirits Tasting Competitors.
Ravichander says the flavors illustrate the fusion between Indian and Mexican cultures, “every recognized for his or her heat, shade and festive vitality,” in a course of that “delivers a refined concord of sweetness and spice.” They usually aren’t only for sipping neat: Daggubati’s present favourite cocktails are a Picante utilizing the Blanco, and a traditional tequila Outdated Customary with the Reposado.
The Future is Loca
The tequilas are the fruits of what Ravichander calls “a collection of small victories that saved constructing momentum.” For the co-founders, watching their imaginative and prescient translate into actuality was intensely gratifying.
“The early days had been intense,” says Ravichander. “We’d sit in infinite planning periods, mapping out each potential state of affairs from provide chain hiccups to market reception.”
The cultural synthesis of Loca Loka has piqued the curiosity of shoppers and traders alike, with incoming funding quickly accelerating Loca Loka’s enlargement timeline. Seeing it ring a bell has additionally been an ideal win for the group, as Ravichander explains: “It’s validating to see that our intuition about cross-cultural enchantment was proper. Every market entry seems like flexing a muscle we’ve been constructing. We’re getting higher at studying client responses, adapting our method, and staying true to our core imaginative and prescient.”
With eyes on the long run, Daggubati says geographic enlargement is the instant focus. The U.Ok., India, Dubai, the Philippines, and Indonesia are subsequent to affix the Republic of Loca Loka. And within the coming months, shoppers can count on to see the launches of an Añejo, an Further Añejo Version, and a Founders Version.
This Nationwide Tequila Day, we tip our hats and toast a drink to the trendsetters blurring borders and mixing traditions. One of the best spirits are those we share, and we’re elevating a glass to a tequila born from two cultures and crafted for each form of celebration.
This text is sponsored by Loca Loka.
