We’ve had a special place in our hearts for the unsung heroines and muses in tequila for a very long time. After reading Ilana Edelstein’s The Patron Way, Mike & I felt it was time someone brought other women’s stories to light – and what better place to do that than at the leader in tequila information since 1999 – Tequila Aficionado.
It all began with Tequila Boss Ladies and grew from there. This series has grown over the years to include sotol, mezcal and agave spirits so there is still more to come! In the meantime, you can catch up on the entire series to date.
From Babes to Boss Ladies
The contributions of women who create some of the amazing spirits we enjoy, direct production and distillation, support educational efforts, own brands we love, and otherwise contribute to the tequila industry are often overlooked beyond the 80’s throwback bikini-babe marketing efforts of behind-the-times brands. (Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, but when women make 80% of the buying decisions in America today, don’t you think brands would be better served by changing their marketing approach with the times?)
Catch Up With The Series
Click on the links below to visit our ongoing series and explore some of the amazing contributions made by women in today’s tequila industry:
Meet Cleo Rocos, Co-star of BBC TV Kenny Everett Show, author of the “Gourmand Prize” winning book “The Power of Positive Drinking”, West End Producer and is the creator of award winning AquaRiva® Tequila.
In 2009 Cleo was honoured with a prestigious award by the tequila industry in Mexico. She decided to create AquaRiva® Tequila as she could not find a premium, smooth 100% agave tequila at an affordable price. Cleo’s 100% Agave AquaRiva® Tequila range is made from hand-selected eight-year-old Blue Weber agave plants and volcanic spring water from the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico.
Cleo spent over 11 months working with a master blender in Mexico, to create the 3 profiles of AquaRiva® Premium Tequila. She gives master classes in tequila and is a spirits judge. Cleo wanted to minimise the burn often found in tequila and leave the warmth and agave flavours. It’s a very long process to get right, reducing the burn and also reducing the methanol to a very, very low level, so really reducing the hangover people experience.
The label is an image of a couple dancing on the wing of an airplane. Cleo commissioned a 17-year-old art student who she met on the subway to paint the original.
AquaRiva® Tequila can be sipped and savoured as a short drink. It is perfectly balanced for cocktail enthusiasts and bartenders. Cleo has developed AquaRiva® Organic Agave Syrup, already in use in bars, restaurants and clubs Nationwide, enabling drinkers to enjoy sugar-free, reduced calorie versions of all cocktails such as Margaritas, Cosmopolitans and Mojitos etc.
Online:
Website http://aquariva.co.uk/home.html
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AquarivaTequila?ref=hl
Twitter https://twitter.com/cleorocos1
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8D7jzM3NgZKHgG5gjpkSwQ
Sipping Off The Cuff™
Sipping Off The Cuff™ began as an audio podcast in 2006 and is Tequila Aficionado’s first and longest running tequila review program.
Sipping Off The Cuff is broadcast every Friday (and occasionally Tuesdays) on YouTube and TequilaAficionado.com. If you are a Tequila, Mezcal or Sotol brand owner and would like your product(s) reviewed on an upcoming episode of Sipping Off The Cuff(TM), please contact Mike@TequilaAficionado.com.
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Learn all about tequila from field to glass and then get paid to share your love of agave spirits with others! Buy Them Both Now!
Meet Cleo Rocos, Co-star of BBC TV Kenny Everett Show, author of the “Gourmand Prize” winning book “The Power of Positive Drinking”, West End Producer and is the creator of award winning AquaRiva® Tequila.
In 2009 Cleo was honoured with a prestigious award by the tequila industry in Mexico. She decided to create AquaRiva® Tequila as she could not find a premium, smooth 100% agave tequila at an affordable price. Cleo’s 100% Agave AquaRiva® Tequila range is made from hand-selected eight-year-old Blue Weber agave plants and volcanic spring water from the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico.
Cleo spent over 11 months working with a master blender in Mexico, to create the 3 profiles of AquaRiva® Premium Tequila. She gives master classes in tequila and is a spirits judge. Cleo wanted to minimise the burn often found in tequila and leave the warmth and agave flavours. It’s a very long process to get right, reducing the burn and also reducing the methanol to a very, very low level, so really reducing the hangover people experience.
The label is an image of a couple dancing on the wing of an airplane. Cleo commissioned a 17-year-old art student who she met on the subway to paint the original.
AquaRiva® Tequila can be sipped and savoured as a short drink. It is perfectly balanced for cocktail enthusiasts and bartenders. Cleo has developed AquaRiva® Organic Agave Syrup, already in use in bars, restaurants and clubs Nationwide, enabling drinkers to enjoy sugar-free, reduced calorie versions of all cocktails such as Margaritas, Cosmopolitans and Mojitos etc.
Online:
Website http://aquariva.co.uk/home.html
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AquarivaTequila?ref=hl
Twitter https://twitter.com/cleorocos1
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8D7jzM3NgZKHgG5gjpkSwQ
Sipping Off The Cuff™
Sipping Off The Cuff™ began as an audio podcast in 2006 and is Tequila Aficionado’s first and longest running tequila review program.
Sipping Off The Cuff is broadcast every Friday (and occasionally Tuesdays) on YouTube and TequilaAficionado.com. If you are a Tequila, Mezcal or Sotol brand owner and would like your product(s) reviewed on an upcoming episode of Sipping Off The Cuff(TM), please contact Mike@TequilaAficionado.com.
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Learn all about tequila from field to glass and then get paid to share your love of agave spirits with others! Buy Them Both Now!
Actress, comedienne, narrator, pop music collaborator, singer, producer, writer, world traveler, radio announcer, book author, and tequila brand owner. Those are just a few of Cleo Rocos’ credentials.
Best known for her years as a sidekick on the BBC’s beloved Kenny Everett Television Show, she is often compared to Lucille Ball for her beauty, wit and business acumen.
Her circle of friends range from kings of comedy, queens of countries, princes of industry, and girls of spice.
Learning from a prized friend and mentor, Tomas Estes (Tequila Ocho), she established The Tequila Society in the UK, and launched her own AquaRiva tequila in 2012.
This Tequila Boss Lady pulls no punches when it comes to 100% agave tequila. Here, she shares her views on our customary handful of questions.
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TA: How would you describe your experiences as a woman in a primarily male dominated industry? What are the challenges you face when dealing with the male dominated Tequila Industry?
CR: Everyone assumes that because Tequila is a male dominated industry that I would have to face challenges. I love men and working with them. I have always been treated with great respect and my thirst for knowledge willingly nurtured by everyone that I have met.
In fact in 2009 I was recognized by the CNIT with a coveted award, presented to me at the annual Dia del Tequilero, in Guadalajara. A great honour.
I love the people in the tequila industry. I spend a lot of time in Mexico and I have never encountered any negative experiences as a woman.
The tequila industry is cool and some of the coolest people in it are older than your grandparents and can show you how to really party.
It is well recognized that people live long and happy lives in this industry.
TA: How have you been able to change things within the Tequila Industry?
[Tweet “@cleorocos1 encourages giving 100% agave #tequila another try. @AquaRivatequila”]
CR: I have been able to change things extensively in the UK, turning around the negative misconceptions by relentlessly explaining the dramatic difference between mixto and 100% agave tequilas and encouraging people to actually give tequila another try.
I actively get the tequila message out to a much wider audience through my career in television.
I appear on many TV and radio shows, write articles and give interviews explaining the truly exquisite experience of a well crafted 100% Agave Tequila.
TA: What do you see as the future of women working within the Tequila Industry?
CR: If you are a woman who can bring something to the tequila industry and have a real passion for it then there are great opportunities as there are equally for men.
Most people are not aware that women have a more sensitive and accurate palate than men. It is a fact of nature. Many more women are now top tasting and spirits profile experts throughout the wine and spirits industries.
TA: What facets of the Tequila Industry would you like to see change?
CR: The most important facet to change is to implement legislation demanding the clear labeling Mixed Tequila [mixto] as “MIXED” or even “Tequila FLAVOURED.”
Mixed tequila is generally only 51% agave tequila and not the “real deal.”
[Tweet “@cleorocos1 Mixed tequila is only 51% agave tequila–not the real deal. @AquaRivatequila”]
This lack of label clarity is highly confusing for the new consumer and detrimental to the tequila industry.
The experience of drinking “Mixed” Tequila is why most people think that they hate tequila.
It is unfair to the producers of 100% Agave brands to have to constantly battle to re-educate consumers due to this lack of label clarity.
TA: Do you approve of how tequila brands are currently marketing themselves?
CR: Each brand obviously has their own marketing strategy. We all know that good 100% agave tequila is to be sipped and enjoyed.
The versatility of this incredible (100% agave) spirit is having a profound influence on cocktails globally and is now the favourite spirit of top bartenders.
I do not agree with promoting rounds of inferior mixed tequila shots to customers to shoot down in one go. This gives Tequila a bad reputation.
I always warn against any drink having to be consumed ice cold or in one go. No one needs to drink like that unless they are going to have a limb removed without an anesthetic.
TA: Is there anything you’d like to say to women who may be contemplating entering and working in the Tequila Industry in one form or another?
CR: I have been very welcomed and totally embraced by the Tequila Industry.
I have created my own multi award winning brand, AquaRiva Tequila and I have only experienced good will and encouragement all the way.
If you have a true passion, a desire for knowledge and to work with this glorious spirit, there are no barriers.
I love working in this industry. It’s crammed with enthusiastic people, family traditions and amazing characters.
The tequila industry is very much a way of life but not as you know it.
[Tweet “@cleorocos1 The tequila industry is very much a way of life. @AquaRivatequila”]
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Learn all about tequila from field to glass and then get paid to share your love of agave spirits with others! Buy Them Both Now!
We’ve had a special place in our hearts for the unsung heroines and muses in tequila for a very long time. After reading Ilana Edelstein’s The Patron Way, Mike & I felt it was time someone brought other women’s stories to light – and what better place to do that than at the leader in tequila information since 1999 – Tequila Aficionado.
