POP QUIZ: Name the oldest original North American spirit, a drink that is absolutely booming on the American market and being discovered by waves of new enthusiasts who are enticed by its quality after years of dismissing it as pedestrian.
You could be forgiven if you answered Bourbon. Certainly, that homegrown whiskey category from the United States has shot to prominence after long being written off by Scotch drinkers. But for a far older spirit that hails from this continent, you have to range south of the border to Mexico, where Tequila was first distilled some 200 years earlier than Bourbon.
The four-century-old product, which is made (mainly) in Jalisco, about 300 miles west of Mexico City, has dramatically changed its image. Long ago, it shook its reputation as an alcohol delivery system, downed repeatedly in shots by frat boys, to become a top-tier spirit savored by connoisseurs. And today the demand for high-quality Tequila has never been greater, with aficionados scouring the extra-premium end of the category, seeking out both greater purity and longer aging to improve their experience. Luxury-priced brands, many of them with star power behind them (see sidebar) are enjoying double-digit growth.
Market figures from Impact Databank (a trade publication from M. Shanken Communications Inc., the publishers of CIGAR AFICIONADO) show a soaring growth in Tequila sales with no signs of slowing. Back in 1987, the category claimed a mere 2 million cases among U.S. liquor imports. In the ensuing 10 years, that figure had tripled, and by 2007 sat at 11 million cases. In 2020, the latest year of data available, Tequila claimed a gawdy 21.2 million cases (or $6.86 billion), up 13.4 percent from 2019. The five biggest premium brands in the segment are Jose Cuervo (nearly 8 million cases), Patrón (3.2 million), 1800 (2.1 million), Don Julio (1.8 million) and Hornitos (1.7 million).
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May - June 2022-Ausgabe von Cigar Aficionado.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May - June 2022-Ausgabe von Cigar Aficionado.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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A High Steaks Game - Gallaghers restaurant, New York's oasis for carnivores, has thrived for 96 years, playing host to a colorful crowd of sports heroes, show people and classic characters
Dean Poll, the owner of Gallaghers Steakhouse on Manhattan's West 52nd Street, has to think both like a restaurateur and the curator of a museum with an entire wing of art. Only, instead of tending to European oil paintings, Poll oversees images of Old New York. I work here every day. I am thinking about the food and staff, Poll says, sitting in a corner that could be called baseball cove. Over his right shoulder are stills of Lou Gehrig and the Yankees' Murderers' Row manager Miller Huggins. Jack Dempsey is clowning, grappling with a bat also held by Babe Ruth. "To Helen Gallagher, sincerely Babe Ruth," the inscription reads. Poll gestures toward signed caricatures of Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. "So I lose, to a certain extent, the importance of what's on the walls. But the photos are the decor. They lend some hominess to the place. It's the heart and soul of this restaurant. It's not cheap decoration. The only thing missing is the cigar smoke", adds Poll, who fancies a Partagás 8-9-8 It's what this restaurant is for 96 years.
The Enforcer - Cole Hauser, who plays the tough-as-nails cowboy Rip on the hit show "Yellowstone," has been around horses since he was a little boy
Cole Hauser looks like he can kick your ass. And kicking ass is the specialty of his most famous character, Rip Wheeler from the hit series "Yellowstone." He's the show's man in black, his dark cowboy hat often coated in trail dust, shades hiding his intense eyes, black beard covering a mouth that seldom smiles. The absolute opposite of a pretty boy, he's never chatty-and when he does talk it's often with a bit of menace in his voice. He's not the kind of guy to take a back seat to anything.
Pinball Machines - "Two kind of people in this world," Ray Liotta's character says in the 1997 movie Cop Land.
"Two kind of people in this world," Ray Liotta's character says in the 1997 movie Cop Land. Pinball people and video game people." If you're 50 or older, you might fall into the former group of gamers who are enthralled by the ringing bells, snapping flippers and the captivating combination of mechanics and electronics that make pinball irresistible. While it's the ultimate Sisyphean game-the eternal (and doomed) effort to keep an 80-gram, carbon-steel ball from going down the drainfor those who love it, it couldn't be more fun.
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Cigars are meant for celebration, so when pro golfer and cigar lover Xander Schauffele was ready to unwind after winning the PGA Championship in May, he lit up.It was a time of immense relief. Despite being a marquee name in golf, with a Gold Medal and a Ryder Cup among his wins, the 30-year-old Schauffele was haunted by another distinction: the back-handed compliment of being on the list of the best golfers never to win a major. He had come ohso-close in many majors, finishing second twice, and seven times in the top 10. But in May, when his final putt-just over six feet in length-dropped for a birdie, the wait was over. He raised both arms in celebration, a huge smile spreading across his face. He was finally a major champion.
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