Cuervo to liven up tequila sector with new launch
Jose Cuervo has launched a new white tequila in an effort to promote the category.
Clásico tequila has been released to try to fill the gap that was created by the company's withdrawal of Cuervo Blanco from the market in 2001.
Cuervo hopes Clásico will reinvigorate the tequila market. Through point-of-sale activity the company intends to encourage licensees and bartenders to use the spirit as a base in several cocktails, especially tequila and cola.
Tom Estes, who owns a string of tequila bars and was recently appointed tequila ambassador for Europe, is impressed with the product.
"I took Clásico into my bars and the positive impression from my bartenders was pretty much 100 per cent," he said.
The decision to remove Cuervo Blanco was taken as a result of the agave (the plant that is the main ingredient in tequila) shortage in Mexico in 1999.
With demand high and supply low, the company decided to protect its premium Cuervo Gold brand at the expense of Blanco.
However, after recent concerns that consumers were leaving the category and moving on to other white spirits such as vodka and white rum, Cuervo decided to launch a new product, similar to Blanco.
The company will be backing the Clásico launch by sending out training kits, which will contain training material for bartenders.
There will also be a summer advertising campaign with point-of-sale material and also press adverts in mainstream men's magazines such as GQ and FHM.
The Clásico taste test
Kirianne Green, senior brand manager for Jose Cuervo, is adamant that Clásico is a vast improvement on Blanco in terms of taste and quality. Cuervo has admitted that the old Blanco product had a somewhat harsh taste and could be improved on.
Cuervo gave me a chance to take on this "Pepsi challenge" and taste both tequilas.
Kirianne's claims ring true. Clásico is a touch sweeter and more "citrusy" than its counterpart. Essentially it is a lot easier on the tastebuds.
The reason? Kirianne said the product is in fact a blend of several tequilas, some of which had been rested in barrels for up to two months. The old Blanco had no resting time at all, resulting in what the Cuervo team described as a "metallic, harsh taste".
