A scion to the ultra premium tequila making empire, Casa Noble, Jose “Pepe” Hermosillo was in Manila recently to spread the gospel of Mexico’s most popular export. In town for a short stint to conduct a series of master classes, Hermosillo imparted his expertise on the only USDA-certified organic tequila in the Philippines.

To date, the Casa Noble distillery line comprises Crystal, Joven, Reposado, Añejo as well as the coveted single barrel Reposado and Extra Añejo. On Hermosillo’s last evening in Manila, a Casa Noble tequila pairing dinner was co-hosted by Mexican Ambassador to the Philippines, Julio Camarena Villaseñor, at his residence to demonstrate the connective tissue between the two countries by highlighting the long-standing history of tequila and exquisite Mexican fare.

Not entirely sure what to expect from a seventh generation heir to such a world-class and multi-awarded line of luxe libations, and who literally hails from Tequila, Mexico (yes, the irony!) it was only in his punctuating his answers with a Spanish word here and there that his true Mexican roots were exposed.

In this exclusive Q&A with Philippine Tatler, Hermosillo talks about the rich historical tradition of tequila, his preferred serving suggestions and what the discerning tequila-drinking sophisticate can expect next from Casa Noble.

Philippine Tatler: Tell me, Maestro Tequilero, what brings you here to Philippines? How did this special dinner pairing at the residence of the Mexican Ambassador to the Philippines, Julio Camarena Villaseñor, come about?

Pepe Hermosillo: I am actually visiting a few cities – Hong Kong, Manila and then onto Taipei. Basically these three cities in Asia. I’ve never been to Manila before and I’m very excited to be here – it’s just a three day visit. The fun thing about the Philippines is that it is our number one market in Asia.

Global Noble [International Corp.], our distributor here, has done a fantastic job and I wanted to come and see what they’ve been doing and to really thank them for what’s been happening. But more than anything, I’ve never been to Manila, but I’ve been to Hong Kong and Taipei so I am very excited to be here.

PT: So what do you think about Manila?

PH: It’s fantastic. From my dinner last night to the restaurant we’re in now [Raging Bull Chophouse & Bar in the Shangri-La at the Fort] all my experiences have been exceptional. What’s striking to me is that every where you go and everyone one you meet, everyone is smiling. It’s very nice.

PT: What can we expect from the tequila pairing dinner this evening?

PH: Basically we are just presenting the brand. We are just trying to bring more connection to what Casa Noble is about, the history, the background, the story of what and who we are. We want to focus a little bit on our customs, how we recommend to drink it; and really the appreciation of tequila, Casa Noble tequila.

PT: Casa Noble spans seven familial generations – tell us about the brand through the years. With you at the helm for several years now, what innovations has the brand seen?

PH: Wow. There are almost 250 years worth of stories. It actually started with a woman, my great seventh-generation grandmother. Through all those years, we were involved in tequila, owning different distilleries and really being involved in the tequila process. Then 20 years ago, we wanted to do something special. We came up with Casa Noble. This represents a quality of Mexico in the way we see Mexico and how we would like to represent Mexico, which is in a very contemporary way. It’s the Mexico now.

PT: What is the difference between the Mexico of the now and the Mexico 250 years ago?

PH: The Mexico that most people see [in pop culture and tourism] is, you know, the mariachi and the charros and the very traditional donkey and all that stuff – and it’s still very much a beautiful Mexico. But the Mexico now is like how you see modern Philippines – it’s very cosmopolitan in its own way, you see beautiful architecture and you see there’s so many beautiful restaurants. It’s come a long way in terms of development, F&B and the arts and culture.

PT: So what are the customs of tequila drinking that non-Mexicans ought to know? How should one appreciate Casa Noble?

PH: One of the things about ultra premium tequilas and how we see it at Casa Noble is to enjoy neat sipping. We do everything with a lot of time and patience. The finished product, the liquid, takes a long time, starting from the plant, which takes 10-12 years to grow, to the ageing process – we’re using these beautiful French white oak barrels – which gives it this elegance and complexity. By sipping it, on one side, you are enjoying it like any other ultra premium spirit, but on the other side, you have cocktails. The cocktail culture and where it’s taken many spirits – but tequila is such a fantastic vehicle to create these cocktails with fresh ingredients that are not going to hide the spirit, but bring it out. For example, the Old Fashioned. If you make it with the Casa Noble Añejo, it gives it a twist with all these different characteristics and interesting aromas and flavours.

PT: You have experimented with and evolved the production of Casa Noble to great effect such as the triple distillation method and the use of French white oak barrels and the employment of the single barrel. How do these alter the nuances of the flavours and the consistency.

PH: Every single step is going to give me different aromas that I’m building on. Like with cooking – imagine, you’re building this beautiful dish. What we’re doing is, with the agave, we stress on letting it grow for such a long time. It’s estate-grown so we control it. That’s going to give it spice, it’s going to give it these beautiful vegetal notes. Then we cook it in traditional stone ovens, so that’s going to give it sweetness, a little smokiness in the natural fermentation. The distilleries are from the 1700s so you’re talking about 150-year-old mango and citrus trees that grow there. And it’s going to take some of that into the spirit from the triple distillation – but very slowly to really respect those aromas but take out those you don’t want. Then the French white oak is going to give you these very elegant aromas – beautiful, delicate vanillas and chocolate, almonds, hazelnut and butter. All of that combined is going to give you the complexity that you want in a spirit.

PT: So aside from the Philippines, which markets consume the most Casa Noble outside of Mexico?

PH: The US is the biggest market. Mexico is obviously very important to us but the US is a huge consumer of ultra premium tequila. The growth in the US for the past 10 years has been almost 600 per cent. It’s been great. In Asia, we’ve been doing very well with Japan and China has been a really interesting market for us as well as Singapore. In Europe, it’s the UK with London being the main market for us. And Paris. Basically we’ve been successful in the main cities so that’s where we’ve been focusing [our efforts].

PT: What is your favourite way to imbibe Casa Noble?

PH: As a Mexican, I like to sip it. You want to really enjoy it – not in a shot glass because that is going to give you a lot of limitations as you’re going to taste a lot more in a glass, or in flutes. That way you can taste more and enjoy the aromas. In the summer when it’s really hot, instead of doing a vodka tonic, what’s fresh is doing a tequila tonic. It’s very refreshing. A fresh margarita is fantastic – just add lime juice, agave nectar to either the Crystal or Reposado. The Crystal goes great with fresh black berries or blueberries. You’ll need to muddle it, add a little mint – that’s a great drink.

PT: Tequila was always meant to be sipped; why do you think along the way, the tradition got lost and tequila became this drink that kids were knocking back in shot glasses and getting massive hangovers the next day?

PH: I think that has been both good and bad for the industry. It’s been good because it got tequila recognised all over the world. Bad because of the result and what happens after all that drinking. But I think a lot of that had to do with the quality. I would think that these aren’t the best tasting tequilas so you’ll want to shoot them and shooting is a way to avoid tasting these certain tequilas. Tequila has the tendency to be an ‘upper,’ and it makes you happy. You drink a scotch at the end of the day to relax. But if you drink tequila is gets you ready for a party. Now with the education [that’s out there] and more knowledge of the complexity of the spirit, people are enjoying it in beautiful cocktails or neat.

PT: Food-wise, what is best enjoyed with Casa Noble?

PH: Mexican food. But that’s the obvious. It’s a lot of fun, though, when you’re doing pairings that bring more creativity. In New York, we used a French cheese board and did a pairing with cheeses. A lot of them were very complex but there was a nice straightforward creamy and earthy Camembert with a croissant that goes fantastic with our tequila. Then the Manchego with the Reposado goes really nice. Pecorino drizzled in a little honey with the Añejo goes fantastic.

PT: What can we expect at tonight’s dinner?

PH: Tonight will be more traditional Mexican. They wanted to maintain that.

PT: Is there a special way any of your expressions should be stored or served?

PH: Storing is not an issue as long as the bottle is completely sealed. The serving, however, is important. You want to serve it at room temperature, like the ideal temperature to serve red wine, which is almost 19 degrees Celsius or about 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Some people like it in an Old Fashion-style glass with a huge cube of ice to cool it down.

PT: Tell me about the design of the bottle and the packaging.

PH: Well it’s very contemporary Mexican. The bottle is made from traditional Mexican glass, which has those bubbles. It’s very sexy with proud shoulders. The colours have a very contemporary sense to it. Mexico does a lot of things with pewter in the arts, like dishes, displays so the [bottle] label is pewter.

PT: You have switched up the tequila production process and then you went outside of the product and co-designed flutes that would best present the libation. What’s next?

PH: What’s next is the Colección del Fundador or the Founders’ Collection. We are just launching the first edition called Alta Belleza, which means highest beauty. It’s a beautiful bottle. This is Extra Añejo, so it has been aged three or more years in our French white oak barrels but then we finish it for six months in these beautiful Taransaud barrels. The Taransaud staves are dried for five years and the wood comes from the best part of the forests in France where the trees are 500 or 600 years old. These amazing barrels give beautiful flavours and aromas and were initially used to age Cabernet wine from the To Kalon vineyard and then emptied and shipped to us. The aromas from this will range from cinnamon to chocolate and are sweet, spicy and a little fruity. We are going out to the market with only 563 bottles retailing at US$ 1,200.00 through very selected accounts around the world. Every year we will come out with different Founders’ Collections, which are things I’ve been working on for many years.