Following on the heels of the most successful and fastest growing ultra-premium spirits launch ever in the United States, Casamigos Tequila founders and owners, George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Michael Meldman, are proud to bring their award-winning Casamigos Tequila to Canada. "We love tequila. On the rocks, by the shot, at times, straight from the bottle," say George Clooney and Rande Gerber. "We are excited to bring Casamigos to Canada. It's a great feeling to share something we created, drink and are extremely proud of," added Clooney and Gerber.
Casamigos is named after Clooney and Gerber's homes in Mexico, which roughly translates to "house of friends." Tequila-filled nights with friends is how Casamigos was born. Casamigos was originally created out of Clooney, Gerber and Meldman's desire to enjoy the best-tasting, smoothest tequila and was always intended for personal use, to be shared with family and friends.
THE AMIGOS: It's safe to say these men know a thing or two about toasting good times, whether with friends and family at their homes in Mexico or at Clooney's villa in Italy. As founder of the Gerber Group and Gerber Spirits, Rande has extensive experience within the restaurant and bar industries. Casamigos follows the successful launch of Gerber's Caliche Rum, a super-premium white rum introduced in March 2012, he developed with Roberto Serrallés of Destileria Serrallés—a renowned sixth-generation family-owned rum business, which was named "World's Best Aged White Rum" by Beverage Testing Institute. George Clooney is an Academy Award-winning actor, director, producer—and now, tequila-maker. Mike Meldman's Discovery Land properties include premier private club and community developments from the Bahamas to Hawaii.
"We worked on the creation of Casamigos Tequila with our master distiller in Jalisco, Mexico, for years and held many blind tastings until we knew we got it right. We've been drinking Casamigos with friends and family for over six years," says Clooney.
THE PRODUCT: Casamigos is currently available in Blanco and Reposado. These small batch, ultra-premium tequilas are made from the finest hand-selected 100% Blue Weber agaves, grown in the rich red clay soil and cool climate of Mexico's Jalisco Highlands for a minimum of seven years. After harvest, the agave piñas are roasted in traditional brick ovens for seventy-two hours before undergoing an extra-slow fermentation process over an additional eighty hours, nearly double the industry standard. Our Blanco rests for two months. Our Reposado is aged seven months in the finest premium American white oak barrels, which have been carefully reconditioned after being used to age the finest premium whiskey. Our refined process ensures the smoothest tequila with no unnecessary additives and is gluten-free.
In their late-night "research sessions," Gerber and Clooney preferred a sipping tequila known as Reposado, a term referring to the aging period when the spirit rests in oak barrels. This inspired the notion: "What if we made this stuff ourselves?"
"Casamigos Reposado is smooth and clean with hints of caramel, while Casamigos Blanco is crisp and clear, with subtle hints of vanilla and a smooth finish. Both are great served neat or on the rocks, and are the perfect base for premium cocktails," says Gerber.
Before going into the bottle, each batch is tasted and approved by our master distiller, as well as Gerber and Clooney, to ensure the highest quality. Each batch is then numbered and signed by Gerber and Clooney. Casamigos' authentic minimalist design reflects the men who created it.
"We talked about how this was going to be like the bottles you see in old John Wayne movies," jokes Clooney, "where you slide the bottle down the bar, pull the cork out with your teeth, and pour yourself a shot."
With the launch of Casamigos Tequila into the Canadian market, it is now available at over 200 retail locations across Western Canada and Ontario, including the LCBO and BC Liquor Stores. Casamigos is available at many on premise locations throughout Canada including The Keg, who in September launched a nation-wide feature bar menu with five Casamigos signature cocktails.
Casamigos' social media has over 20 billion impressions, ignited by authentic content and influential friends of the brand. Casamigos' Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, website, and blog constantly evolve and feature exclusive content including recipes, images of the founders, quotes, special event coverage and DJ-curated playlists. Select content is then distributed via Casamigos' social media channels, allowing fans all over the world to engage with the brand on multiple platforms.
Now available across Canada, the United States and expanding worldwide, Casamigos has garnered the highest accolades from the spirit industry's most well respected authority figures. Awards and ratings include the highest rated gold medals from the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, The Beverage Testing Institute, The New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, The Spirits of Mexico Tasting Competition and many more. Additionally, Casamigos was rated "Excellent, Highly Recommend" by The Ultimate Spirits Challenge, received the coveted 5 star rating from BevX magazine, "A perfect tequila", A rating, from Good Spirit News, named "Best Tequila in the World" by Men's Journal magazine and Oprah Winfrey lists Casamigos as "The Smoothest, The Best."
Clooney, Gerber and Meldman recently launched their Casamigos Añejo tequila to the United States market; the new Añejo offering will be available across Canada in 2015.
Source - Casamigos Tequila