Cinco all year long: Cinco de Mayo may be the leading promotional event for Mexican beverages and food, but the boom lasts 365 days

Cheers, April, 2003 by Michael Sherer

In case you haven't noticed, Latin culture is hot, so hot, in fact, that what might have appealed to only Hispanic audiences a few years a go is now mainstream. From pop icons (J-LO, Christina Aguilera) to condiments (salsa), south of the border is main street.

Perhaps nowhere is this influence more evident than in the explosive growth of Mexican restaurants in the past 10 years. Corner taquerias have boomed. Chains Americanized and popularized tacos, and burritos, exposing mainstream America to Mexican food and drink. The Margarita is arguably now the world's best-selling cocktail, Corona is the seventh biggest beer brand in the US, the leading import by a mile, and six of the top 16 imported beers come from Mexico.

Once Americans get a taste of something, we always seem to want more. The trend now is toward giving consumers a more authentic experience. Mexican restaurants now are featuring more dishes that reflect the regional cuisines of Mexico, or even regional fare here. Instead of just traditional Tex-Mex fare, menus now offer unusual preparations using high end ingredients.

More operators -- and customers -- are discovering a wide range of authentic Mexican spirits. In the same way that a previous generation explored and experimented with single malt Scotch, today's consumers are learning about tequilas and mezcals.

AGAVE COMEBACK

While a shortage of agave caused prices to rise and sales to decline for a couple of years, tequila is making a quick come-back. With the shortage beginning to ease and distilleries reserving more product for the US market, tequila volume rose more than 8 percent last year back to pre-shortage levels. Growth is expected to continue to be healthy this year.

The big brands are benefiting the most as prices ease, but the most explosive growth is in high end products like 100 percent blue agave tequilas and single village mezcals. Restaurants that may have had only a handful of brands a few years ago are building extensive lists that sell well.

Less than three years ago, for example, Garduno's Restaurants stocked what was then considered a fairly complete list of 32 tequilas, The Albuquerque-based chain, which specializes in New Mexican food, now boasts as many as 264 brands in some of its locations, Even stores in smaller markets carry more than 100 brands.

Tommy's, a famed tequila oasis and Mexican restaurant in San Francisco, built its collection of tequilas up to more than 200 from about a dozen, all 100 percent blue agave tequilas. Adobo Grill in Chicago has about 100 pure blue agave tequilas, and the list keeps growing. El Agave Restaurant, San Diego, may hold the record with 850 different brands, but they include mixtos and mezcals in addition to 100 percent blue agave tequilas.

Even non-Mexican restaurants are finding an audience for high-end tequilas. Winner of the Cheers Award for Best Independent Beer program, - DBA in New York, doesn't even serve food let alone Mexican specialties, yet carries more than 50 tequilas on its spirits list.

What are these operators doing to capitalize on consumer interest?

STAFF TRAINING AND INCENTIVES

As part of its strategy to move customers to higher end products, Garduno's places heavy emphasis on staff training, customer education, and promotion. Tequila training sessions for the staff are held quarterly in which they learn how tequila is made and what they taste like. Sales contests are held monthly, sometimes even weekly, to help promote specific brands.

Iron Cactus, Austin, Tex., spends a lot of time educating staff and managers about the 75 tequilas on its list. In his seven years in business owner Gary Manley twice has taken managers down to Guadalajara to see how agave is grown, harvested, baked and distilled.

"The best way for customers to hear about products is through the staff," said Ray Deter, a partner at DBA. "People come in expecting to try something new, and the staff can guide them to different things depending on what they're looking for."

That means making sure your staff is knowledgeable.

GUEST EDUCATION

Telling customers about the spirits they serve is nothing new for operators. Sharing tequila's history and heritage with customers naturally makes them more interested in trying products.

The hot Dos Caminos in New York, one of Steve Hanson's B. R. Guest operations, offers brief tasting notes under each of the 100-plus tequilas on its list.

DBA's tequila list includes descriptions of how tequilas are made, where they come from, and even the current status of the distillery (some of the tequilas on its list are made by distilleries no longer in business).

Tommy's promotes its "Blue Agave Club." For a $10 membership, customers receive a special card listing tequilas by category. They can attend tastings Sunday through Thursday where they can sample up to three tequilas. When they've tasted 35 tequilas, they receive a framed "Masters" diploma, a booklet and a T-shirt. Sampling another 35 tequilas and scoring 80 percent on a 70-question test earns customers a PhD diploma and different T-shirt. Those who visit a tequila distillery are given the title "Demi-God of Tequila."