Straight, No Chaser
More than two years ago, on a flight home from Mexico, Sandeep Gupta sent his wife, Riti, a text joking about creating their own tequila. Every day since, they’ve been sprinting towards that goal, doing everything from finding farmers and distillers to building a brand and, finally, rolling out their own aged tequila.
Craft spirits, as the world knows, are making a comeback. Breweries have led the scene over the past few decades, laying the foundations for locally produced quality beers. Collectively, we applauded and threw back pints in support. Distillation, the subsequent step, has enjoyed the same reception, with a significant industry blossoming over the past few years.
Locally, Top Shelf, North of 7 and Dairy Distillery have been Ottawa’s leaders, producing gin, rum, vodka and whisky. These are typically what you’d see from local producers anywhere.
But one thing you most certainly don’t see touted as a local spirit — if you’re anywhere outside of Mexico — is tequila.
The denominated production area for tequila is based around the native growing region of the spirit’s main ingredient, the spiky Blue Agave plant, which thrives around the cities of Tequila, Guadalajara and their highlands within the province of Jalisco in Mexico’s southwest. The cactus-like succulent can grow more than two metres high and is best harvested after eight years of growth for optimal flavour in the finished distilled spirit.
All of this to say that Riti and Sandeep’s dream of producing their own tequila had hiccups and hurdles unknown to distillers operating from within a single country. Nonetheless, through perseverance, the two were able to go from avid agave lovers to well-versed tequila producers. They acknowledge the amount of research and education that came with deciding to delve into distillation. Sandeep began his research on the business flight home after half joking with Riti that they should create their own.
Riti proved a quick convert to the idea. She’d always loved tequila — more in fact than Sandeep, whose full-throated enthusiasm grew more slowly. But grow it did, and soon the pair was sampling a lot of great tequilas together — without, however, ever quite having the epiphany that would tell them that tequila was their sole drink of choice.
With continuing research, his enthusiasm grew. “Remember that joke about tequila?” he says, his tone all business. “It’s a growing spirit. It’s something we’re super-passionate about. I have contacts in the industry. I can get us introduced to someone directly.”
All true. Sandeep’s work in IT security design and engineering brought him occasionally to Guadalajara and he was not only tasting tequila in its homeland, but was meeting producers and befriending those growing agave.
The proposition appealed to Riti, who loved tequila and thought they would make a dynamite business team. With her on board, they needed to find a distiller, but this brought its own challenges. Most didn’t want to make a custom tequila, but would simply offer up three finished tequilas to choose from. No need to focus on the tequila itself, the distillers felt. Branding and marketing alone would drive the product’s future.
Finding the right fit with a distiller was paramount. Sandeep and Riti knew the taste they were after, but weren’t sure of how to get there. The distillery they eventually chose was willing to adjust things until the bingo point was reached. Thus began a dream job — tasting barrels and iterations of tequila with the master distiller as the drink’s final profile was built out.
On their first few visits to the distillery, they had someone shadow them, writing down what they liked and didn’t, as they still weren’t fully comfortable in describing their ideal profile. All the little variations from barrel to barrel could have made for an entirely different tequila.
The distiller noted the depth of their commitment. While most people who start a brand only swing by a few times to sign off on the product, Sandeep and Riti were full-bore into the process, even going to Mexico to consult with long-established counterparts.
“We went back and forth a bazillion times,” Riti continues. “We knew the flavour and depth of complexity it had to have, so it was really cool for us to see other people’s reactions.” The tequila has sweet aromatics of vanilla and burnt cinnamon, alongside notes of freshly cut grass and jalapeño pepper. This was a tequila to be savoured — well-balanced and complex, not a drink to be shot back and chased with citrus and salt.
The real seal of approval came when the couple was chatting with the master distiller. The tequila was blended and being bottled. At this point, there was no turning back.
“We were having our final meeting with the master distiller, talking through things, and we noticed that he kept refilling his glass with our tequila,” Riti shares excitedly. Sitting in his distillery — knowing he had 32 years of experience, and surrounded by countless barrels and bottles of tequila — he kept opting for theirs, a true testament to their tastes.
Bottling and branding the product was the final piece in ensuring a well-packaged entity. In a lot of ways, this was as stressful as determining the final blend of the tequila. At least with building out the flavour profile, they got to taste tequilas, visit Mexico and learn more about something they were already passionate about. Branding and marketing were different beasts altogether. “Our marketing team had to pull a lot out of us because we didn’t know what we wanted it to be. We didn’t have a specific vision,” Riti begins. In some ways, the branding was more stressful than the search for the perfect tequila recipe.
The name cada día (“every day”) came to them while workshopping with Sandeep’s family. Although they can’t remember how they got to it, once they landed on it, they knew it was the one.
Though they’re full-time parents with demanding day jobs, the two have managed to somehow find time for themselves, enjoying all that life has to offer.
Celebration of life is the message the Guptas keep circling back to: appreciating every day, keeping in contact with loved ones and taking time for yourself. For them, having a sipping tequila was a part of that and the cornerstone on which they’ve built the brand. Being able to slow down and savour a little luxury is a nice reminder to treat yourself.
Building a tequila isn’t solely about what’s in the bottle, but the bottle itself and all it represents. To them, the little things are cause for celebration as much as traditionally celebrated events. Family ski days or a night dining out or hosting at home are as important as a birthday or New Year’s Eve.
Through countless meetings they were able to coax out their philosophies and lay them in the bottle. Ultimately, the brand features a stylized hummingbird, known to evoke feelings of joy and fearlessness in Mexican culture and a walnut cap, to signify strength and beauty. Then there’s the typeface for their name, deriving from Mayan symbolism.
Over the course of two and a bit years, the two have managed to move their love of sipping tequila into producing a premium spirit, through hard work, a constant juggling of the many facets of their lives and a desire to create something beautiful out of the everyday. By no means was it easy, but it’s clear they wouldn’t change a thing.
As ever with delving into the unknown, “there have been massive challenges — everything has had its share of hurdles,” Riti says. “It's been a roller coaster. But as long as it’s heading in the general direction, we’re good.”
cada día
cadadía.ca | @cadadía
Amor Y Agave
Although Riti and Sandeep enjoy tequila neat, this cocktail, which is a take on a classic Old Fashioned, highlights the tequila’s spirit and unique flavour.
2 ounces cada día tequila
1/2 ounce agave syrup*
2 dashes orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
Stir and strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with a grapefruit twist and rosemary.
*To make an agave syrup for cocktails, heat equal parts agave syrup and water on the stovetop, stirring until completely mixed.
