Commissioned by a trader to source bottles of El Tesoro de Don Felipe and Tapatio tequila for the UK market, Dale Sklar, founder of import company Wine & Spirit International Ltd, traces the producer and travels to La Alteña distillery in Arandas in 1988. Upon arrival, he is greeted by Don Felipe Camarena, his son Carlos and his daughter, Lily -and not by a typical mariachi band!-, immediately taken to see the stills and offered fresh blanco at 55% from a cow’s horn, as it drips out the small copper pot still. Everything feels authentic, ‘old fashioned’ like a step back in time, and devoted to the liquid. There was almost immediately a shared chemistry between the Camarenas and Dale, he becomes importer of both tequilas and the relationship begins.

Flash forward to 2010, some 22 years later. El Tesoro, joint project between Mr Bob Denton and Don Felipe, is sold. Dale proposes to repeat history, this time with Don Felipe’s son, Carlos and himself. Dale has already registered a brand name, “ VillaLobos”. When pressed, Dale reluctantly admits that he was inspired during his very first trip to Mexico in 1969, when at the age of just 18, he met a beautiful Tapatía, Señorita Lupita Villalobos, one night in Guadalajara. The rest is history, but he honoured that memory by dedicating the best tequila that could possibly be made, to Lupita !
Carlos and Dale -both sons of fathers, grandfathers & even great grandfathers who spent their lives in the spirits business and learned almost all from them- unite their families to create this very unique, soft, gentle tequila.

ON-THE-NOSE:

Vanilla, caramel and almond with a hint of wood.