LIFE BY LEXUS 24
MADE BY HAND Bigger isn’t better and the kick-back to that tired
notion starts with swapping mass-made pieces for individually crafted works. If the tipple you’re sipping isn’t being made by machines in a vast plant, why should the vessels containing it be? And if there’s a great talking point to the bottle’s story, all the better. Spending about four minutes on making just one tequila bottle may sound tedious, but it means that every Fortaleza bottle is totally unique. The same tools that were used 150 years ago are
still employed today, as Fortaleza is a small-batch, handcrafted, 100% agave tequila that comes from the town of Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico. The family- owned distillery – located on the slopes of an extinct volcano, among blue agave plants – is where fifth- generation tequila-maker Guillermo Erickson Sauza produces tequila exactly the same way his forebears did. That goes for bottle-making too. The bottles are hand-blown by third-generation glass artisans in the town of Tonala (this is done offsite, but Tonala’s only about 2km from Tequila, so all is still wonderfully authentic).
AN EYE FOR DETAIL There are more reasons you may be somewhat
annoyed to find your Fortaleza bottle has been turfed out and is now heading for the recycling centre, once the tequila’s been enjoyed. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that each bottle is hand-painted and, since each one’s also unique, it’s one person’s job to try to fit one of three different cork sizes into it before the actual bottling process can start. If none of them fit, the bottle’s smashed and put back into the fire for another try. Oh, the frustration! But tequila eventually does meet bottle and the finishing touch is a piña (agave heart)-shaped stopper. What could be more appropriate than that? The actual spirit (40% volume alcohol) is mid- to
rich gold in colour, with a nose of caramel, cinnamon and nutmeg, and flavours ranging from soft agave honey to newly turned soil, with wood sugars and spice throughout. The finish is of bracing minerals and hints of baked agave. So savour every drop.
Fortaleza Tequila (R750-R1 300 per bottle) is available
from selected premium liquor stores countrywide.
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