Round 2 Spirits creates vodka from agave

Texas-based producer Round 2 Spirits has unveiled its inaugural product: Weber Ranch 1902 Vodka – a vodka crafted from Mexican blue weber agave.

Launched last year by former Patrón Tequila executives, including its founder John Paul DeJoria, the company is looking to identify ‘innovative products that aren’t being addressed by today’s brands’.

On the thought process behind Weber Ranch 1902 Vodka, which is exclusively distilled from agave, Lee Applbaum, president and chief operating officer of Round 2 Spirits, said: “Weber Ranch Vodka is one of the most groundbreaking new products created in this category, and delivers a smooth, clean flavour profile unlike our competitors, largely because of the superior-quality Blue Weber agave.

“Better ingredients are key to making a better product, and that’s absolutely true in our case.

“By volume, vodka is the largest spirits category in the US, but let’s be honest, it’s been a long time since there was any meaningful innovation or true disruption in this space. I’m not talking about trendy flavours, clever packaging, or crazy rounds of distillation – that’s just line extension, differentiation, and iteration, not true disruption.

“Our mission at Round 2 Spirits is to identify scalable spirits categories – like vodka – that are ripe for disruption. Couple that with our love and respect for agave, not to mention the rapid growth of agave spirits, and that’s when the light bulb went off that we could harness the flavourful and complex characteristics of agave to craft a superior vodka that was totally different, and truly better than anything else on the market.”

Vodka typically comes from wheat, corn, or potatoes. In this case, Weber Ranch Vodka is made from hand-harvested Blue Weber agave, from Jalisco, Mexico, where it is first distilled and then taken to the company’s Weber Range distillery in Muenster, Texas, for a second distillation – in a proprietary copper pot and column stills where it is filtered and bottled.

The company said that this second distillation, along with the addition of local Trinity Aquifer water, gives it a ‘unique’ character and a profile that ‘retains all the bright citrus notes from the agave yet creates a velvety smooth mouthfeel unlike any other vodka’.

Commenting on the advantages of crafting a vodka through the use of agave, Patrón’s former production and now Weber Ranch’s new master distiller, Antonio Rodriguez, said: “Blue Weber agave is truly a special plant that creates a superior spirit, and that’s not just limited to Tequila.

“Weber Ranch Vodka is unmistakably a vodka, but because we’re using agave, we’re able to develop subtle, smooth flavour notes of tropical fruit and citrus that make this spirit not only better for classic vodka cocktails, but it works equally well in traditional agave-based drinks like a ranch water or Paloma. The tremendous versatility is the real magic of this spirit.”

As well as tropical fruit, the vodka’s other notes are said to offer a taste that is fruity and sweet with green apple and pineapple, plus a ‘well rounded’ finish that is clean with a ‘velvety mouthful’.

Featuring an ABV of 40%, it is also 100% gluten, carb, and additive free.

Weber Ranch Vodka is available in the US for a SRP of US$27.99 per 750ml bottle.

The vodka’s name pays homage to blue weber agave and French botanist Frédéric Albert Constantin Weber, who was the first to identify the plant in 1902 during an expedition to Mexico. It is embossed with ‘F.A.C. Weber 1902’ on its custom cork-topped bottle, which is designed to have the appearance of a flowering agave.