If, like me, your experiences with tequila are limited to slamming down a quick shot with lime and some salt in your late teens or early 20s, then read on …
Savora Drinks is on a mission to make tequila the next premium spirit as popular as gin or vodka, having developed a mixer they believe is the perfect accompaniment to the Mexican staple.
For generations, tequila has generally been regarded as a quick shot slammed over your neck after some salt and followed by lime.
But the guys at Savora are on a mission to change that.
They have created a zesty lime and sweet agave premium mixer which they believe can transform tequila into a “sippin no slammin” spirit.
Matthew Walker said he and his co-founder, Danielle White, a former student at Dundee University, had spent 18 months experimenting to create the perfect flavour profile to lift the flavours of tequila.
And having started a crowdfunder that has been well received, they have also been working with Carnoustie engraving company, The Altered State, who are providing the glasses that come with one of their packages.
Simple serve
Matthew, 23, said: “The idea actually started at university. It began as an idea that tequila didn’t have a mixer, but people like the tequila cocktails, the margarita, your Paloma, the tequila sunrise.
“I started to question why there wasn’t a mixer offering that simple serve? I started playing around in the kitchen and eventually came up with Savora.
“Agave is the sole ingredient of all high-quality tequilas. What we have done is taken that natural flavour which is associated with tequila to try and uplift the flavours of the tequila itself.
“What we have also done is retain the familiarity of the lime juice. Everyone knows a tequila shot with lime and salt so we have taken that and gone for a long serve which retains the familiarity there.”
Altered State
In an effort to help them gain a customer base and to get the Savora message out there, a crowdfunder was launched which has proved successful.
“The support from our community has been incredible and a lot of it has just come from our social media following which we have built up over the last few years,” added Matthew.
“It has been great to collaborate with The Altered State and get some really good gifts that we can give as part of the crowfunder.
“Altered State have engraved out glasses with our logo and our name which has actually been our most popular package and has sold out. However, we do have some left in a higher-priced package.”
Cash raised from the crowdfunder will be used to continue to try and boost the profile of the Savora brand.
“What’s really important for us is the ‘Summer Sippin’ campaign and getting it out there. With restaurants reopening we want them to be able to find Savora.
“The feedback is really positive once people try it, they really love it. It’s just a case of getting it in front of people so hopefully, as the hospitality sector reopens, it will be in bars and restaurants and they will be able to try it.
“I met my co-founder, Danielle, 22, about 18 months ago and since then it has been quite intensive and it’s grown really quickly. It’s been in the works for the last two years, but more intensively for the last 18 months.”
Exciting
An online distributor has already pledged to take the brand on board and Matthew hopes this will be the first of many.
“Really excitingly we have an agreement in place with Craft 56 an online Scottish distributor of Craft Spirits and they are going to hopefully pair it with a Scottish tequila,” he revealed.
“We are trying to get it into restaurants across the UK, but primarily Scotland, including MAS Mexican in Dundee. They’ve tried it and liked it, so hopefully it will be stocked there.”
If the tequila mixer proves successful, Savora hope to turn their attention to other spirits by providing mixers to be paired with those.
Matthew continued: “What we really want to do is bring specialist mixers out for every spirit. What we see ourselves as is the go-to mixer for all premium spirits.
“We want to ensure that the flavours we choose are hand-selected to go with the flavours of the spirit. We recommend this specifically for tequila because of the lime and agave, but we do recommend it for other spirits if people don’t want to try tequila.”