Tequila shots: tequila is famous for its consumption as a shot, but the spirit is growing as a cocktail component as well. Credit: Igor Normann / Shutterstock
July 24 celebrates the anniversary of UNESCO’s designation of pre-Columbian blue agave fields in Tequila, Mexico, from which the drink known worldwide gets its name.
The rising popularity of tequila
Recent years have seen the Mexican alcohol’s popularity explode worldwide. What was once a popular alcohol among young people garnished with salt and a lime is becoming a luxury alcohol for combinations in cocktails.
Tequila has, as of 2023, surpassed even whiskey, the American classic, in US market share, now nipping at vodka’s heels to take the top spot. While in 2021, 88 per cent of sales were concentrated in Canada, the USA, and Mexico, tequila is starting to see similar growth in market share worldwide, particularly in the UK, Australia, and Spain.
Change in marketing approach
Part of the engine behind this meteoric growth in sales is tequila’s broad appeal; in 2016, half of the volume of tequila sales were aimed at standard hard alcohol customers. Changes in marketing approaches and celebrity affiliations have boosted the status of the drink from a shot for university students to a high-class alcohol brand for mixing in cocktails.
George Clooney’s Casamigos
Most notably among these celebrities, George Clooney began small-scale production of his own tequila brand, Casamigos, in 2017. What began purely as a passion project to cater to the tastes of him and his friends. Casamigos soon began to attract attention, and by 2022, it had become one of the fastest-growing alcohol brands in the world.
Casamigos sells for anywhere between €60 and €140 per bottle, reflective of a shift in target customers. This lines up with findings from the International Wine and Spirits Records, which found that by 2026,’super-premium-plus’ brands will hold 40 per cent of the tequila market share, compared to 13 per cent in 2016.
Tequila vs. Vodka
Tequila’s growth has come at the cost of other types of spirits, most notably vodka. Vodka was and still is the world’s most popular spirit. Simple cultivation processes, due to its distillation from the hardy potato, make vodka a drink that can be produced in many places around the world. This is a stark contrast to tequila, which must be produced in one of five regions of Mexico to be considered tequila, similar to the regulations regarding what can be considered champagne.
As the trend towards high-end celebrity alcohol brands continues to grow, tequila is not the only spirit that has seen an increase in market share among customers willing to spend on quality. Ryan Reynolds became a part owner in Aviation American Gin in 2018, before it was bought up by British multinational Diageo, the same company that bought out Casamigos for €700 million just three years before. Diageo produces other famous spirits like Tanqueray Gin and Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky.
