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In 2005, Tequila Partida launched with inspiration, and a name, from third-generation agave farmer Enrique Partida, who was considered a leader in his community. The brand has since grown, but maintains its agave-first mentality to this day: Partida is made from 100 percent blue weber agave and is defined by precision and purity that comes entirely from natural agave flavors and aromas.
Today, Partida is one of the world’s highest-rated tequilas. Partida claimed top honors in the 2017-2018 Ultimate Spirits Challenge according to the average scores for tequila portfolio submissions. Partida has maintained this level of excellence through the years with a commitment to preserving the fresh agave flavor at each step of the tequila-making process.
Partida uses hand-harvested, seven-to-ten-year-old blue weber agave that’s grown in red volcanic soil in the Tequila Valley. The agaves are harvested and moved within 24 hours to a stainless steel autoclave—a harvest-to-cooking process that can take other brands up to two weeks. At Partida, the fresh piñas are slowly roasted in a way that maximizes the natural agave flavors. It’s a combination of traditional techniques and modern technology, foregoing the earthen autoclaves that quickly cook agave, but can be filled with charred residue that can cloud a tequila with impurities.
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Tequila Partida further honors its agaves as a single-estate spirit. The brand cooks, mashes, ferments, distills, dilutes, and even bottles its tequila in one distillery.
The brand is among the rarified few that are certified additive-free by Tequila Matchmaker’s additive-free program. Partida joins fewer than 70 other brands and distilleries in the program, which promotes transparency in the industry through verified distillery transfer records, samples, and sensorial evaluations. This is increasingly important to a knowledgeable consumer base that knows even 100-percent agave tequilas can include up to one percent of additives like glycerin, caramel coloring, oak extracts, and sugar-based syrups that can change the final mouthfeel, aroma, and flavor of a tequila.
Alongside Partida’s award-winning and well-loved Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, Elegante, and Cristalino in its La Familia line, is a new range of tequilas: Partida Roble Fino. These expressions, known as the single malt of tequila, marry the brand’s highest-rated tequila with oak casks that were first used to age sherry and then used to age single malt Scotch whisky. The name, which translates to “fine oak,” is fitting for the luxury, sipping tequilas.
The series started after José Valdez, Partida’s maestro tequilero, first visited Scotland in 2018. Today, there are three expressions: reposado, añejo, and cristalino. Roble Fino Reposado starts with the brand’s reposado, aged for at least six months in ex-bourbon barrels, and is then aged for two additional months in the ex-single malt and ex-sherry casks. The añejo starts with 18 months in ex-bourbon barrels before spending five additional months in the casks. Roble Fino Reposado Cristalino, the first of its kind, is naturally filtered after the double aging process.
With its devotion to highlighting pure agave flavors, which results in top ratings, it’s clear why Tequila Partida has become a benchmark in the category.
