malinalli tequila

Tequila Aficionado Media Celebrates Día de los Muertos 2015 On The Road

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Announces Unprecedented Partnerships with Top Tequilas!

For Immediate Release!

August 26, 2015, San Antonio, TX:  Beginning October 14-28, 2015, Tequila Aficionado Media takes to the open road accompanied by top tier tequilas destined for the Windy City of Chicago to celebrate the popular Día de los Muertos remembrance holiday.

Palazzo

What began as a whimsical idea during a family RV vacation early in the spring of 2015, has turned into a monster tequila tour packed with stops at specially selected points-of-interest along the way, photo opportunities, and out-of-the-box social media marketing and promotion for tequila brands on a budget.

Initially scheduled for late August 2015, Lisa Pietsch, Tequila Aficionado mexican moonshine anejo, roger clyne, peacemakers, tequila,Media’s COO, admits that, “…the response from agave spirits brands was so overwhelmingly positive that we were compelled to move the tour dates to October to accommodate brands that wanted to come aboard.”

The change in tour dates notes M.A. “Mike” Morales, CEO of Tequila Aficionado Media, was fortunate for the participating tequila partners since, “…the end-of-year push for the spirits industry traditionally begins in October and lasts throughout the holiday season.”

Adds Pietsch, “Now, Día de los Muertos is an integral part of that celebration to Latinos and tequila aficionados alike.”

At press time, participating tequila brand partners are…

Currently, these tequila partners are scheduled to be featured on the following days of Tequila Aficionado’s Día de los Muertos Tequila Tour—

14-Oct Embajador Blanco
15-Oct Embajador Reposado
16-Oct Embajador Anejovarietals
17-Oct Lunazul Blanco
18-Oct Lunazul XAageGateImg
19-Oct Malinalli Blanco
20-Oct Malinalli Extra Anejomalinalli
21-Oct Titanium Blanco

titanium, tequila, flight of sites, tequila aficionado
22-Oct Dulce Vida 5yr Extra AnejoDulce_Vida
23-Oct Route 66 Reposado

route-66-slide11
24-Oct 1921 La Crema

la crema
25-Oct Diva Blanco

diva
26-Oct Mexican Moonshine Blanco
27-Oct Mexican Moonshine Reposado
28-Oct Mexican Moonshine Anejo

mexican moonshine anejo, roger clyne, peacemakers, tequila,

As other interested agave spirits climb aboard Tequila Aficionado’s Día de los Muertos Tequila Tour, this list and the calendar of open slots will be updated.

tequila aficionado, dia de los muertos tour, rv trip 2015
Click on map to see full route in Google Maps

For all the details on the Día de los Muertos Tequila Tour and how your agave spirit will benefit with Tequila Aficionado Media’s powerful, exclusive, out-of-the-box (and affordable!) social media brand exposure, click here .

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[Tweet “Add your agave spirit brand now by contacting Chicago@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!

Tequila Aficionado Takes to The Open Road

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On The Road Again

Unlike some tequilas, most of my moves have never been smooth–or without incident.

For the better part of 18 years, I lived in New Mexico.  After a year long stay in my home state of California, I moved my personal residence and headquarters to San Antonio, TX to helm the newly revamped Tequila Aficionado Media almost two years ago.  In all that time, I’ve spent hundreds of dollars in storage fees.

Lisa drives the RV.
Lisa drives the RV.

So, when my partner, Lisa Pietsch, suggested an RV road trip in late May/early June to get the rest of my possessions in Albuquerque, I was hesitant.

The plan was to rent a Cruise America RV and to take her two home schooled boys with us, along with the two cats, the dog, and turtle, on a 7-day trek through parts of west Texas and southern New Mexico.

Since Lisa would be doing all the driving, she would break up the trip to no more than 5 or 6 hours before stopping at a reputable and clean RV park for a day or two.  We would simply retrace our route on the return trip, as well.

donner_film_landingI’m not going to lie.  Visions of the ill fated Donner Party crossed my mind.

Apart from the usual concerns about cost and current gas prices (which Lisa will tackle in blog posts of her own), my more pressing questions were–

Could the cats get along with the dog?  Would the boys freak out without wifi?  Would we even survive the first night together in the close quarters of the RV?  Could we all just get along?

Añejo the Cat doesn't travel well.
Añejo the Cat doesn’t travel well.

Luckily, the good folks at Del Bravo tequila supplied us with bottles of their Peñsaco, Diva and Route 66 tequila to calm my nerves.  Brand Of Promise(TM) winner, JLP Craft Margaritas also came along for the ride.

#TheDreamIsReal

Undaunted (and armed with a hashtag), Lisa pursued her dream of taking the kids and experiencing part of the Desert Southwest on the open road.

After a couple of hours outside of San Antonio, we stopped for lunch and took stock of our surroundings inside the RV.  So far, the ride was quite comfy.

The Crossroads of The Texas Mountain Trail

Route 66 and Diva Tequilas.
Route 66 and Diva Tequilas.

We arrived tired and hungry at our destination, the Good Sam campground in Van Horn, TX, just in time to catch a desert sunset.

Dinner in the RV and generous pours of Route 66 reposado tequila were on the menu after a long drive.  Later that evening, the campground’s flawless wifi kept us on top of our personal and Tequila Aficionado duties.

It wasn’t until the next morning, though, that we were able to appreciate the stark beauty of this historic west Texas location.

Tequila Road Show

A short two hours or so later, we entered the El Paso, TX city limits.  Here, Lisa Pietsch and I reveal our desires for the Tequila Aficionado Roadshow that we were planning for late summer/early fall 2015.

Old Stomping Grounds

Fun with the selfie stick.
Fun with the selfie stick.

We made great time into the Duke City area and settled into the spacious Albuquerque North KOA campground in Bernalillo, NM.

Later that evening, accompanied by a full moon rising above the Sandia Mountains and some JLP Craft Margaritas, along with a celebratory cigar for me, we hopped onto the park’s wifi for a little social media fun.

 How to Shop for Your RV

With the idea of shopping for a bigger RV still fermenting, we weren’t too keen on dealing with pesky and persistent salesmen.  Lisa and I decided to take a walk around the KOA park to see what Americans were RVing in.

That’s when we ran into this beauty–

Meanwhile, Back in Van Horn…

After a couple of days in New Mexico, we mounted into the Cruise America RV and made our way back to Van Horn, TX to spend a restful two days recuperating from driving and moving some of my possessions.

Family time.
Family time.

The outpouring of well wishes and the sharing of family vacation memories from our friends and followers on social media, made us pause and reflect on our own individual family outings.

The pros of being location independent far outweighed the cons of what the open road had in store (besides rush hour traffic).

And, had we not returned to the campground in Van Horn, we would’ve missed the opportunities to bond over these gems…

Living The Dream

Stay tuned to Tequila Aficionado later this month for a special announcement about our first ever Tequila Road Show to the Windy City of Chicago and how you can come along!

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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!

Tequila Aficionado and the Sabor Latino Food Show

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sabor latinoSabor Latino, Los Angeles’ only Latin Food Trade Show reached out to Tequila Aficionado this spring and asked us if we would help them raise interest in the tequila community for this year’s show.  They offered free booths to any tequila brands who would agree to be there.  Of all the brands we know, Embajador and Don Nacho Tequilas, both ready to expand into California decided to take them up on their offer.

What Would Mike Morales Do?

table stands, sabor latino, embajador tequila, tequila aficionado
Look for Mike Morales where you see these signs!

Andres Garcia of Embajador Tequila found himself slammed at this year’s Latin Food Fest.  Embajador was such a hit with the California consumers that he couldn’t pour fast enough to keep up with demand for samples.  So, knowing that distributors will be making the rounds at Sabor Latino and looking for new products to carry, Andres asked “What would Mike Morales do?”

Then he called Mike in as his reinforcement.  Yes, Mike Morales will work trade shows.  (In case you hadn’t guessed, he loves to tell people about tequila.)

If you’re in Pasadena this week, be sure to stop by the Sabor Latino event.  The ticket price of $40 will be waived if you use Tequila Aficionado’s special code TEQ2015 when ordering your tickets.  Just go to their EventBrite Page here and use promotional code TEQ2015 to get your tickets absolutely FREE!

What is Sabor Latino?

chips, sabor latino
We’ve come a long way from simple chips & salsa!

The Sabor Latino Food Industry Trade Show will bring together members of the food and beverage industry, as well as those offering related products and services.  With Hispanics making up more than one quarter of the U.S. population, and growing, the new American culinary experience continues to demand the flavors of Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Latino inspired foods and beverages were a $9 billion market in 2012, according to consumer research firm Packaged Facts.  By 2017, that number may reach $11 billion.  What America eats and drinks is being influenced by how Latinos eat in Southern California.  This is the epicenter of Latino Food trends and innovation.

The show features exhibits, educational sessions, and cooking demonstrations with top chefs from Baja and Southern California.

A few of the companies participating this year include: Nestle, KAGRO (Korean American Grocers Association), Northgate Markets, Nutridata, Eastland Foods, Choctal Ice Cream, Mama Cheesecake, and of course, our presenting sponsor Wells Fargo.

Top chefs showcasing their recipes and techniques this include: Chef Cecilia De Castro and Chef Kiki (Flantastic).

Why Would You Take Your Tequila to a Food Show?

andres garcia, embajador tequila
Andres stands behind his family’s product.

Why wouldn’t you?  Sabor Latino was a hit in its first year and promises to be even bigger now in its second year.  Beverage and food distributors will be making their rounds looking for new products.  If your brand were planning to enter the California market, what better way to do so than to meet the distributors looking for brands at a show where Latin soul food and fine spirits are being sampled all day?

With the tagline, “El Show Que Vale la Pena,” “The Show That Matters”, Sabor Latino aims to be the Latin food industry trade show that brings together authenticity and innovation to promote a successful industry where consumer health matters. For further information contact: Lilly Rocha at 925-212-4016, lilly@saborlatinofoodshow.com, or visit: www.saborlatinofoodshow.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!