1st November 2020, Brussels

 

For the 3^rd year in a row, à Amber Production Tequila brands wins international recognition and the highest awards at the prestigious international competition of Brussels. The two Gold Medals show great consistency, proving that the à Amber Production Tequila distillery continues to deliver the finest tequila products to tequila connoisseurs around the world.

 

“We are very happy with the results, and we remain committed to our quest to produce the finest quality tequila for our consumers – both now and in the future. ” -says Arturo Fuentes Cortes, master distiller of the à Amber Production Tequila.

 

The following tequilas were awarded with gold medals:

 

Cenote Ahumado Tequila Gold Medal

 

Villa One Reposado Tequila Gold Medal

 

 

About Spirits Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles

 

The competition is managed by the communication agency “Vinopres” with 20 years’ expertise in wine, spirits and beer competitions (Concours Mondial de Bruxelles des vins, Concours Mondial du Sauvignon, Brussels Beer Challenge). With backing from CMB, Spirits Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles has become THE international event rewarding spirits from across the globe. Whiskies, Cognacs, brandies, rums, vodkas, gins, piscos, grappas, baijius and tequilas, amongst other spirits, are assessed and classified by a panel of internationally renowned experts. Reputable judges, renowned for their ability to assess spirits are rigorously chosen for the competition. In 2019, 103 international judges spanning 28 nationalities took part, a diversity that contributes to the uniqueness of the event and greater objectivity of results.

Amber Beverage Group (ABG) appointed California-based Pacific Edge Wine & Spirits as its importer in the United States for KAH® Tequila. The agreement affirms ABG’s commitment to growing its portfolio of tequila brands after recently bringing distribution and marketing of KAH® Tequila in-house.

ABG’s Chief Marketing Officer and Managing Director USA, Pepijn Janssens, says, “We are very pleased that Pacific Edge will be representing the KAH Tequila brand throughout the USA. Joel K Beth and Rich Trachtenberg have created a unique speciality beverage Distribution Company that is widely respected by many in the industry, they also have vast experience in building brands, especially in the Tequila category.”

 

Evija Sparāne, KAH Tequila’s Global Brand Director, continues: “This is an exciting opportunity to bring this outstanding brand to the US; the key market for high-end tequilas. With consumers becoming more informed about the provenance of tequila and production methods, they are starting to appreciate the craftsmanship and unique qualities of 100% Blue Agave tequilas like KAH.”

 

KAH® is an exceptional tequila, presented in unique bottles. Created to honour Mexican people and their traditions, the bottles have an extraordinary beauty that is matched only by the outstanding tequila it contains. The product range features four expressions with each being made from hand-selected 100% Blue Agave and presented in a uniquely decorated bottle: Blanco, Reposado, Añejo and Extra Añejo.

 

KAH® Tequila has received multiple international awards for its exceptional taste and quality. KAH, which translates to “life” in the ancient Mayan language, is produced by Fabrica de Tequilas Finos in Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico which is owned by Amber Beverage Group, an international producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages.

A new copper pot still has been successfully installed at Fabrica de Tequilas Finos. It will be in addition to the 3 existing stainless steel alambiques and will increase distillation capacity by 35%. The apparatus can fit up to 6,500 liters of agave musts which will turn into Tequila during the 8 hour distillation process, giving an average of 550 liters of fresh 55% strength top quality spirit.

 

The copper pot still was chosen specifically for its ability to  deliver a different Tequila profile to the stainless steel alambiques.  By having contact with the copper, the fermented agave vapors improve the texture, flavors and aromas of  the final Tequila liquid. Copper helps to soften tequilas, making them more  creamy, full-bodied and with a richer flavor.

 

This alambique will be used for the highest quality and highest price level brands like Cenote distillation.

 

“It was not an easy job to install this equipment as it weights over 2 tons, but the result was worth it!  We now have the ability  to produce a much wider range of tequilas in our factory  and we can strengthen our position in the market as a distiller – delivering small batch top quality products for discerning tequila consumers all over the world.” – said Olegs Alainis, General Manager of the Fabrica de Tequilas Finos.

Luckily the tequila production industry was treated as an agro industry in the lockdown regulations, thus Finos and other tequila producers can continue operating. This also meant our suppliers were allowed to continue working and we are not facing any issues with limited availability of raw materials.

 

They do have to follow some specific restrictions, for example to impose social distancing between workers in agave fields and the maximum weight limit per truck is cut by half. We are strictly following all official guidelines issued by the local authorities to make sure that our employees stay safe and we can continue operations.

 

We have enforced mandatory hand washing, distance between employees, more frequent sanitization & cleaning of work stations, disinfection of footwear, mandatory use of face masks, monitoring of body temperature and all employees over 65 are asked to stay home while keeping their salary unchanged.

 

We are continuously reminding our employees of the importance of following these rules and there are reminders placed all over the factory. We must take these measures very seriously as there have been cases in the beer industry where production was shut down as they failed to follow the requirements of the maximum people allowed per shift.

 

Overall, while the total tequila production volume in Mexico is declining due to the pandemic, Finos is doing really well – we finished the first quarter of 2020 with a 30% increase in volume vs the previous year. April was another great month, with 146% increase compared to April in 2019.

Olegs Alainis, General Manager at Fabrica De Tequilas Finos, is proud to announce that an agreement with Italian production equipment supplier has been signed and in June 2020, the newest production line Cuatribloc will be installed in the factory. This will radically change the speed of production, increasing production capacity to 6 000 btls/hour – 3 times more than with the existing equipment.

 

The new Cuatribloc will produce all main brands manufactured at Fabrica: Cenote, Rooster Rojo, Zapopan, AC/DC Thunderstruck, Villa One, KAH.

 

The new production line consists of a rinser, a filler with 32 valves, a 4 head capper for plastic screw caps, a 4 head capper for “T” type caps, a CIP system, a level control system and a cap presence control system.

 

The Cuatribloc will be installed in a new warehouse, together with a labeling machine and a new conveyor system.

 

Our new equipment will enable us to keep up with the growing demand and success of our tequila brands globally, saving time and energy, and allowing us to focus on what we do best – distilling and aging top quality 100% Agave tequila – concludes Olegs Alainis.

This week, a new tequila from Fabrica De Tequilas Finos will hit the shelves in the USA market. This is a very special product from all aspects: the time it has taken to release, that it is made from Organic Agave, the age it spent in very special barrels and the gift box which was created by the famous Mexican artist Lourdes Villagomez. But most importantly, it has a very limited availability and one of the best taste profiles we have ever had in our distillery – says Alejandro Garcia, master blender of Fabrica De Tequilas Finos.
EXCEPTIONAL TEQUILA

 

Don Camilo Extra Anejo Organic Tequila is a unique and rare organic tequila, with only 94 barrels available. It is aged for more than 8 years in Kentucky Bourbon barrels, with a quality and taste profile of the finest quality. Dark brown color, full body, exceptional bouquet of exotic fruits, vanilla and oak aromas, strong firm taste, with long, yet gentle aftertaste. Every detail was carefully considered when crafting this tequila: the finest quality organic agave plants with the highest sugar content, the cold distillation process in order to preserve the best tequila flavors, the specially selected bourbon barrels, 8 long years of maturation at Fabrica de Tequilas cellars under controlled humidity, and, finally, a single-barrel cask-strength bottling. Bottled at 54% ABV it is the purest expression of 8 Years Old Extra Anejo Organic Tequila.

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The Don Camilo box was created by the famous Mexican artist Lourdes Villagomez. Each box contains a wooden chip from the barrel used in the maturing process of this tequila. We have now retired these barrels from future productions, and have gifted a small part of them to future owners of Don Camilo Extra Anejo.

 

Don Camilo Organic Extra Anejo Organic Tequila will be available at specialized alcohol shops mainly in California with the retail price starting at 99 USD per bottle.

Following the centuries old tradition to give a house a specific name, the birthplace of several premium tequilas,  Fabrica de Tequilas Finos, has gotten a new name – Casa Rooster Rojo. Together with a significant exterior facelift the distillery now looks better than ever!

An endurance race team J2-Racing and its main sponsor, the most flamboyant brand from all Amber Beverage Group’s (ABG) portfolio, the tequila category front-liner Rooster Rojo® tequila, have prolonged their fruitful collaboration and have surprised their fans by bringing to the racetrack two new Mercedes-AMG GT3 supercars.

 

“2019 marks the start of a new era for our team in the transition from Porsche to AMG. We have done everything possible to compete for the highest positions in this year’s upcoming races. We are very happy to announce that also in 2019 we will be racing together with our inspiring and strong partners from Rooster Rojo,” says one of the J2-Racing team drivers Janine Hill.

 

J2-Racing team decided to start the season in a highest class of the series. Now the team is equipped with two top-class racing technology beasts – the Mercedes-AMG GT3 – that are powered by an optimised AMG 6.3-litre V8 engine. “It’s spectacular looking car and a lot of fun to drive. Our designer did a great job, it looks like a weapon on track! We’re happy with the design, the chassis, the power, all of it. We’ve got a great package,” Janine Hill says enthusiastically after her first taste of the car.

 

“This will be an exciting year for Rooster Rojo as we will be participating all nine VLN Endurance Championship races, we will stay awake during the ADAC 24-hour race and will meet our fans and VIPs to share the love towards the life full of adventures,” says the Global Brand Director of Rooster Rojo tequila Mantas Zlatkus. “Another new fact places us right next to such industry players as Martini and Johnnie Walker – now the team is named Rooster Rojo J2-Racing team, which is another approval of our close partnership with the racing team,” says Mantas Zlatkus.

 

For the first time J2-Racing team will be entering races with two cars. One of the cars will be driven by the already known team members – John Shoffner, Janine Hill and Fabian Schiller. The second car will be driven by the very fast rising star, the famous F1 pilot Sebastian Vettel’s younger brother Fabian Vettel, joining Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje and Christopher Brück.

In November, Fabrica de Tequilas Finos completed the  second stage of its installation of solar panels, which will meet 85% of all our electrical energy needs for the production facility. 78 new panels have now been installed in addition to the existing 216 panels.  Altogether, this system will generate an average of 128 000 kwh annually, reducing our Co2 emissions by 640 tons per year.

 

The plan is to receive 100% of our energy needs from the sun in the near future, allowing our production facility to become completely independent from fossil fuel energy,  This will help to protect the environment and not harm our planet – which provides us  with those wonderful agave plants from which we produce our exceptional tequilas, – says Mr. Olegs Alainis, managing director of Fabrica de Tequilas Finos.

The J2-Racing Team’s performance at the last VLN completion can be best described with an old saying by H. Jackson Brown Jr., “Luck marches with those who give their very best”. Finally, after two harsh experiences at VLN6 and VLN7 and long hours of preparation the team has returned strong and won the first position in class and the ninth position overall.

 

“It was a good race day. The morning started a bit rough with terrible track conditions for qualifications. There were tons of big crashes everywhere; hate to see that so early. Eventually, a reasonable dry line formed and our newest team member Fabian Schiller laid down a very nice lap to grid us P1 in class,” says J2-Racing Team driver John Shoffner. “After a good start we were solid in P1 and for the rest of the race, never looked back. 150 cars entered, 142 started and 102 finished, many in a different condition than when they started. It’s the Green Hell and it eats cars for breakfast,” Shoffner described the VLN8 race.

 

“A win at VLN8 is very helpful to the psychology of why we do this. I’d like to say it’s all fun, but it’s also a lot of hard work and by a lot of people. It takes the same effort to fail as it does to win in racing, so it’s nice to be rewarded for the effort from time to time,” John Shoffner noted. “We are now focusing on the final race of the 2018 VNL season – VLN 9 that will take place this weekend. We are ready to repeat the outstanding performance and collect our third win in this season,” Shoffner concluded.

The annual The Spirits Business tequila tasting competition Tequila & Mezcal Masters 2018 experts surprised the spirits industry by recognizing the superior quality of Fabrica de Tequilas Finos and awarding eight awards to outstanding tequila brands amongst them Rooster Rojo and Cenote. No other tequila producer has received so many awards and that highlights Finos’s strong position within the tequila industry, coming on top of similar awards received in 2017 for it’s products.

 

“Our colleagues at Finos produce tequila with the highest standards of quality to satisfy our customers and to be at the forefront of the tequila industry. Our goal is to be one of the best pioneering and top quality tequila production facilities in the world, and the competition results show that we are continuing on the right track,” says Seymour Ferreira, Chairman of the Board, Amber Beverage Group.

 

Prize–winning brands are produced in Fabrica de Tequilas Finos that is known for the high quality products it manufactures. Since September 2016, the distillery has been operated by Amber Beverage Group.

 

After The Spirits Business experts tasted Fabrica de Tequilas Finos’s frontliner in tequila category Rooster Rojo, they awarded the brand two Silver medals. “It means that our Master Distiller Arturo Fuentes Cortes had the right feeling – this tequila possesses uncompromised quality and true Mexican authenticity and Rooster Rojo is definitely the brand that can represent the true spirit of Mexico,” concludes Seymour Ferreira. Overall, the jury awarded eight prizes to Fabrica de Tequilas Finos tequila brands.

 

About the distillery: Fabrica de Tequilas Finos is a tequila producer based in Tequila, Mexico. It is recognized by such brands as Don Camilo, Agave 99, Zapopan and Tonala tequilas. The distillery is located in the town of Tequila, Jalisco – close to Guadalajara, Mexico and at the foot of Tequila Hill. Amber Beverage Group is operating the distillery since September 2016.

 

About the company: Amber Beverage Group operates internationally from its head office in Riga through its production and distribution companies in Russia, Mexico, UK and the Baltics. It is the Baltic region’s leading producer, distributor, logistics provider and retailer of alcoholic beverages.

Amber Beverage Group, is continuing to develop its presence in the tequila category with the launch of Rooster Rojo® – an 100% agave premium tequila, which has been bottled and shipped to core tequila markets.

 

Following the acquisition of Fabrica De Tequilas Finos in 2016, Rooster Rojo® is an innovative new brand for Amber Beverage Group and is set to stand out from its competitors. Produced and distilled in the heart of Tequila, each bottle of Rooster Rojo® is created using 100% pure agave and filtered through Mexican silver, making a softer and smoother finish. The combination of a premium spirit along with traditional distillation methods will ensure that it is the number one choice for tequila lovers all over the world. Distribution of the brand will commence in October within leading tequila markets.

Rooster Rojo’s Global Brand Manager, Mantas Zlatkus, explains “Our aim with Rooster Rojo® was to create a premium tequila that stands out against key competitors. With the use of the Mexican ‘Rooster’ symbol, this is an ambitious new entrant within the category that not only represents the national identity of Mexico, but one that is full of fighting spirit!

 

We are looking forward to working with our partners throughout the world to create an internationally recognised tequila.”