[Transportation, room and board were provided to M.A. “Mike” Morales by Embajador Tequila in order to research this article. No monetary compensation was received and no guarantee of a favorable article was given by M.A. ‘Mike” Morales or Tequila Aficionado Media. This article was written by, and is the opinion of, M.A. “Mike” Morales.]
Let’s Review…
In Part 1, Embajador Tequila: Rectifying The Situation, we listed all the minor infractions that the distillery, Fabrica Santa Rosa, was charged with by COFEPRIS (Comisión Federál para la Protección contra Reisgos Sanitarios) and SAT (Servicio de Admistración Tributaria).
We also brought to light the fact that every breach was addressed within hours, and that the real delay of lifting the ban on the Embajador distillery’s operations was the bureaucratic read tape surrounding the method of documenting and tracking of raw materials and supplies.
Before we tackle this topic, however, a word about the yellow journalism popular with Mexican news agencies.
Scraping A Dead Horse
The phrase “beating a dead horse” is often used when the same story is repeated over and over again, until the subject matter becomes tiresome.
Scraping is a term used by copywriters when expounding on a press release 
that is distributed to several news agencies at once. It’s extracting pertinent information from the news release or website, sometimes copied word-for-word, without proper credit given to the original source material.
In essence, it’s stealing (plagiarism), but, it helps to keep the topic fresh and different from the rest of the reports seen on other news channels.
Making matters worse, name any reputable producer allegedly busted during COFEPRIS’ and SAT’s “Juntos Contra la Ilegalidad” (“Together Against Illegality”) blitzkrieg, and they are instantly guilty by association.
While there are many honorable news writers in Mexico (many having lost their lives, especially those reporting on narco trafficking activities), most Mexican newspapers are tabloids using this archaic, unethical and unprofessional style of reporting.
The more controversial the titles and the more alarming the descriptions, the more the reader feels like an actual eyewitness to the alleged crime, and, the more newspapers are sold.
It resulted in sensational headlines for the copywriters who, chances are, had never even set foot onto a tequila distillery, and high fives all around for COFEPRIS and SAT.
No one at the Fabrica Santa Rosa denies that they were guilty of the minor infractions they had been charged with, but, in reviewing the aforementioned articles in Part 1, you’d think the Untouchables had just captured Al Capone for tax evasion.
In true Elliot Ness fashion, there was a loophole.
But, it’s wasn’t what you thought.
The Loophole
Imagine driving across the state line and being immediately pulled over by a state trooper. When he asks you for your home state’s current registration, the smokey takes one look at your paperwork and tells you that your registration is not legally recognized by his state’s laws. He then impounds your car until you can prove that your registration is legal.
[Tweet “@EmbajadorTquila Goes On the Record.”]
That’s exactly what happened to Tequila Embajador.
After a mound of paperwork providing and proving their procedural accurateness, converting to the more approved methods of record keeping–ninety days later–the ban on Fabrica Santa Rosa was lifted and it’s back to business as usual.
Embajador Tequila Goes On The Record
In this snippet, Licenciado Cristobal Morales Hernández introduces himself as the legal representative for Tequila Embajador and the Fabrica Santa Rosa.
Lic. Morales explains that while Embajador has never suffered infractions due to the wholesomeness and quality of their tequila (in other words, it has never produced illegal tequila), the main problem was in providing proper documentation as per the normas.
[Tweet “The @EmbajadorTquila distillery was sealed but product was never destroyed”]
Morales goes on to describe that what the authorities actually did was to seal the distillery and the remaining tanks and barrels of tequila, but the product was never destroyed as is customary for the aforementioned government agencies to do during their “Juntos Contra la Ilegalidad” offensive.
The distillery was allowed to finish elaborating the tequila in all its various stages of production until the matter of the paperwork documentation was in compliance with the normas.
They were not allowed to truck out finished product, however, or to receive more harvested agave until that matter was resolved. These same conditions were enforced on all of their contracted brands, as well.
In fact, even though the method of paperwork was not in keeping with the two agencies’ guidelines, paperwork DID exist making every step of Embajador’s tequila making process traceable to the very last agave plant and liter of tequila.
Lesson Learned
Cristobal asserts that in the 90 days of the plant’s closure, the company not only met the requirements of the agencies, but exceeded their expectations throughout the distillery, particularly concentrating in the fermentation, distillation and warehouse sections of the fabrica.
Lic. Morales admits that while the agencies’ reaction to the minor infractions were considered harsh, the situation served as a wake up call to step up their game on all levels of each department to stay on par with their indisputable high quality.
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In the next segment, Embajador Tequila showcases its Framework for The Future.
[Tweet “The @EmbajadorTquila distillery is not only back in business, they’ve got BIG future plans.”]
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