How the Gringos have Stolen our Tequila?

How the Gringos have Stolen our Tequila?

Despite the arrival of President Donald Trump to power, the threat of the elimination of the NAFTA, and to build a wall on the border that we share, the consumption of tequila is increasing in the United States, which has made its sales record the highest growth among the main liquors in this country, according to the Council of Distilled Beverages of the United States (DISCUS).

At first glance the title sounds scandalous but I mean – This comes from a book that really is a homage of the same title in English – “The Gringos Stole Tequila: The Modern Age of Mexico’s Most Traditional Spirit” written by a Canadian Chantal Martineau in 2015.

This time we will not talk about chocolate, or chewing gum, or avocado, or color television, etc. but of a marketing phenomenon that is occurring as the President of the United States Donald Trump imposes the fashion of the “Mexico-Bashing” that is provoking repercussions to the Mexican Peso.

What really explains Chantal, the writer, is that the Americans have appropriated the taste for tequila, and that is that the United States is the largest consumer of tequila in the world surpassing Our own country.

Tequila has displaced gin sales and is approaching rum. In the last 12 years, tequila has gone from being consumed almost exclusively by the Mexican community in the United States to a beverage so popular that it has displaced the sales of gin and that is close to the taste that rum enjoys in this country.

Tequila imports have increased 92% since 2002, which means that the average annual growth has been 5.6 percent, according to DISCUS.

In 2015 alone, 13.8 million boxes of this distillate were sold in this country, with an average of nine liter bottles, which led the United States to endorse its place as the largest consumer of tequila in the world, surpassing Mexico.

Enrique Colsa, Tequila Master of Don Julio, leader of the high-end tequila market in the United States, indicated that the increase in the consumption of this liquor in the US market has gone hand in hand with a notable change in the appreciation of this beverage.

How the Gringos have Stolen our Tequila?

I do not blame the Americans for developing the taste for our iconic drink of Mexico since I was recently in a new tequila boutique and I noticed the impressive collection that exists of Premium Tequilas at fair prices.

During a brief tasting session of several brands of extra añejos I found that tequila brands have been created with sophisticated flavors and outlets packed in increasingly creative bottles worthy of collecting.

Apparently neither the “Mexico – Bashing” will stop the steady growth of the tequila industry based on the cultural anchor of Mexico.