Clase Azul Tequila is distinguished by its opulent, head-turning presentation and lavish price tag to match. However, do you know about the rich history and brand behind the spirit’s luxurious appearance?
The last time you perused your local ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, you may have ogled over the iconic Clase Azul decanter bottle. Clase Azul Tequila is distinguished by its opulent, head-turning presentation and lavish price tag to match. However, do you know about the rich history and brand behind the spirit’s luxurious appearance? That’s where we come in.
Clase Azul isn’t just a pretty face. In fact, the heart of the brand lies in deep-rooted connections to traditional Mexican culture and craftsmanship, which is what makes it worth every penny (and sip). So, let’s dig up the past of the this renowned tequila brand and trace its roots back to humble beginnings.
The Clase Azul brand came to life in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1997. The founder, Arturo Lomeli, was a 23-year-old bar owner who dreamt of sharing his Mexican hometown and heritage with the world. So, he teamed up with a friend to make and sell their own tequila. And, well...it flopped.
Lomeli wasn’t ready to back down, so he headed back to school to study marketing. There, his vision became clear: he needed to start from scratch with new packaging that not only captured his traditional culture but was beautiful enough to be kept and reused. Thus, the Clase Azul decanter was born.
The ceramic vessel was (and still is) hand-crafted by local Mexican artisans and even inspired part of the brand name. Clase Azul, or “blue class” in Spanish, refers to the blue paint on the original decanter and the Mexican blue agave plant used to craft the tequila.
For Lomeli, getting the business off the ground was a grassroots effort. In fact, he traveled from bar to bar in Mexico and the U.S. to pitch his tequila. Many bar owners turned him away due to the larger-than-life decanter size that didn’t fit on most bar shelves. Plus, the price of $100 per bottle was pretty hefty compared to the average $18 per bottle.
Nevertheless, the Clase Azul brand persisted for years after and eventually hit their stride in 2014. The owners of Tao Group Hospitality, a major restaurant and nightlife provider, picked up the brand and spread the word of their personal affinity for the spirit. Their sales skyrocketed.
Now, even through several growing pains, Clase Azul has blossomed its reputation as one of the most recognizable, high-quality spirits in the world of tequila.
The Clase Azul family grows their blue agave plant in the mineral-rich mountains of Jalisco, Mexico. During the harvest, the agave leaves are removed to expose the core of the plant, A.K.A. the piña. The piñas are slow-cooked in traditional brick ovens, then milled to extract the sweet juice that emerges during the cooking process.
Next up: fermentation. The extracted juices are fermented in their patented yeast imparts, creating a one-of-a-kind flavor profile. Then, the elixir is distilled in copper stills.
Time is the true craftsman for the more complex Clase Azul spirits. Some of their tequilas are matured in various types of oak barrels for months to years to elevate the palate. Then, they’re bottled up in the artisan-made decanters, which is the *lime wedge* on top.
Aged or unaged, this meticulous and time-honored distillation process ensures exquisite, premium tequila with every sip.
The famous blue and white bottles are not only refined, but functional. Clase Azul has beautiful, handcrafted decanter designs, each brushstroke telling its own story with ties to Mexican culture and traditions. Here is a little background behind the bottles:
This one’s for the silver tequila sippers. Tequila Plata is a fresh, unaged tequila with sweet hints of citrus, mint, guava, and vanilla. The elegant glass decanter allows the crystal-clear beauty of the tequila to shine through.
Clase Azul’s reposado tequila is housed in the most iconic decanter in their family, and the OG decanter that started it all. Each cobalt blue, feathered stroke on the ceramic decanter is meticulously hand-painted by Mexican artisans. This tequila is an overall symbol of Mexican heritage, aged in American whiskey casks to create notes of vanilla and hazelnut.
This tequila was inspired by the time just before dusk, when darkness embraces the light, and it shows in the decanter. It took 6 years for them to emulate nature’s beauty in the bottle by fusing glass to a black ceramic base. Clase Asul Tequila Gold combines the plata with a special reposado aged in French oak casks and extra añejo aged in American whiskey casks finished in sherry casks. This combination create sweet and savory notes of fig, toasted wood and green olives.
Good things come to those who wait with this aged añejo tequila. The notes of nutmeg, clove, and toasted oak are a result of the 25-month aging process in American whiskey casks.
The decanter design is also a tribute to Mazahua indigenous culture. The spirals at the bottom of the vessel represent the earth’s fertility, the thin blue line above symbolizes the water which gives life to the agave, the piña at the center is the heart and soul of the tequila and, on the back, the four-petaled flower represents the sun.
If you’re a collector of tequila, the Extra Añejo Ultra is a treasure designed just for you. From the plant to the decanter, it takes 14 years to craft and age this exclusive spirit.
The bottle is created with three metals—platinum, silver, and 24-karat gold—by only the most meticulous artists. Since the metallic paint isn’t visible until the clay is fired, the artisans basically do it blind. They have to craft and paint it by memory, a technique that can take years to master.
Their top-notch mezcal is sourced from Durango, a state in Northern Mexico, from a unique agave plant variation. The decanter is hand-crafted by the Mazahua people, an indigenous community with crafts and artisanship at the center of their culture. The raw, black clay is symbolic of the smoky taste.
This mezcal pays homage to the state of Guerrero, a little-known Mexican region rich in landscapes, art, and strong leadership by women.
The decanter is painted in jade green and accessorized with a four-petaled flower; a shade and symbol representative of ancestral wisdom, tender nature, and the warrior spirit of Mexican women.
