Casa Dragones (Photo: Patricia Marquez Flores)

Close your eyes, clear your mind, and think of the last time you took a sip of tequila.  Dollars to doughnuts, as the memory entered your mind’s eye, you winced and shuddered.  I don’t care how fancy, expensive or “ultra-premium” the tequila might have been – it’s just one of those knee-jerk reflexes.

Berta González Nieves and Bob Pittman with Quincy Jones at the Las Vegas launch of Casa Dragones at Caramel (Photo: Al Powers/RETNA)

Now, imagine if you will, a tequila that eradicates that need to grimace and inhale quickly, through clenched teeth.  A tequila that can be sipped (from a crystalware hybrid that brings to mind a tall, tapered snifter on a long stem) as a hip digestif, in lieu of cognac or port.

Well, thanks to entrepreneur Bob Pittman (the guy who gave us MTV, served as COO of AOL Time Warner, and provided the venture capital for DailyCandy) and Bertha González Nieves (the first woman to achieve the title of maestro tequilera) it has happened, in the form of Casa Dragones, the only premium joven tequila available on the market, today. 

Casa Dragones' flavor is due to the mineral-rich volcanic soil

Here’s the skinny.  A few years back, Pittman met González Nieves (at that time, gainfully employed, overseeing José Cuervo North America) at a party in Brooklyn.  He recollected an incredible bottle of tequila that he had once been given in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico that had none of that “wince factor” associated with tequila.  Pittman, an avowed aficionado of tequila, had been so enamored of the elixir, that he tracked down its provenance, but came to learn that the proprietary blend was not for sale.  “The taste never left me,” said Pitman.

Long-story longer, Pittman decided that González Nieves was the ideal person to aid him in recreating that blend, so right then and there, he asked if she’d like to start a business with him.  And thus, Casa Dragones was born (proving once and for all, that you never know who you’ll meet at a house-party in BKNY).

The Casa Dragones plantation

Meanwhile, you might be thinking (as I was, when I heard this tequila tale), what the heck is a joven tequila?  Well, it seems that joven, (an official tequila designation that translates to "young"), is a rarely-used style; wherein a primarily blanco tequila (unaged) is blended with a whisper of añejo (the "vintage" type of tequila that is aged, up to three years, in small oak barrels).

 After she and Pittman selected their ideal lowlands property, from all of the top agave estates in Mexico’s tequila-producing regions (due greatly to the quality of the volcanic, mineral-rich soil) González Nieves herself, labored over the blend, for more than a year.

Piña

To give you an idea of the process, when harvest-time comes, the maestro tequilero, goes and hand-picks each agave-plant to be harvested, judging each on the levels of maturity and sweetness in the piña (the core of the agave, from where the juice is expressed).  By approaching his task thusly, the maestro tequilero (like his oenophilic counterparts, the Chef du Cave and Cellar Master) can better gr asp the subtle intricacies and gradations of that year’s crop.

Once the blanco is achieved, the añejo is added, under the knowledgeable eye of an aged master distiller (whom they inveigled back into the work-force from his comfortable retirement).  Then, finally, to remove the coloration, the tequila is charcoal-filtered. 

Each bottle of Casa Dragones is hand-labelled

These people are passionate about their product, and it shows.  When I asked González Nieves what she is most proud of, with regard to Casa Dragones, she replied “craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail.”  She told me that the company’s philosophy is laser-focused: to deliver only one product, their style of joven tequila, “by producing a hand-crafted, hand-finished” product.  And they’ve succeeded, with flair!

But it doesn’t end there.  Realizing that a top-shelf product requires a top-shelf presentation, they got to work on designing their ideal vessel.  So, each limited-edition bottle of Casa Dragones is hand-made of pure, lead-free crystal that is individually molded and polished into a chic decanter that is then hand-engraved using the traditional Pepita technique.  After all of this, each bottle is signed and numbered, by hand. 

A boutique tequila (bou-quila?), Casa Dragones is not available at the counter of your local five-and-dime, to be sure; but it is available at the following upscale Las Vegas establishments: Sinatra at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, CarneVino at The Palazzo, Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace, Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House at MGM Grand, and all Light Group venues.

Fancy?  Sí.  Fabulous?  Absolutamente.

Casa Dragones
Premium joven sipping tequila

Click HERE for more info 

¡Get into it!