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Altos Tequila sets sights on 1m case sales

Pernod Ricard is preparing to expand production of Altos as it looks to grow the Tequila into a million-case-selling brand.

Pernod Ricard is preparing to expand its distillery in Arandas, Mexico

Altos Tequila, which was developed by bartenders Dré Masso and Henry Besant alongside master distiller Jesús Hernández, first launched in 2009.

Parent company Pernod Ricard is now preparing to increase the output at its distillery in Arandas, Mexico, where Altos is produced, as it closes in on its million-case ambitions.

Pernod Ricard has installed new machinery that can quickly crush the agave used in the Tequila’s production, which will help Altos keep up with consumer demand “for the next few years”.

Christophe Prat, vice president of Pernod Ricard House of Tequila, said: “Every part of the distillery will grow; we would like to install more ovens, more fermentation vats and space to store more barrels. Every piece of the production may need to grow at some point.

Altos Tequila is produced using the tahona wheel process as well as roller mill production

“There is an incredible ambition with the brand and we see our business growing much faster than the category.

“There is a road to reach a million cases for Altos, and we’re going to hit that. We’re building our presence in the US, which is a fundamental growth market, and we have acceleration in Mexico, because it’s fair to say that we are not big enough here.”

Key to the brand’s international growth will be markets including the US, Mexico and “big centres for cocktail culture”.

Prat added: “In the rest of the world, the markets that are growing really fast are the places with growing cocktail culture, such as the UK, Australia, western Europe, Germany, Italy and Spain.”

Altos is produced from 100% Blue Weber Agave and uses both the traditional tahona wheel method of production, as well as the more modern roller mill technique. The brand produces blanco, reposado and añejo expressions.

Last week, Altos Tequila crowned Alex Black and Mackenzie Chilton of Canada the winners of its Tahona Society Collective Spirit competition.

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