A SCOTS distillery has launched the first Scottish produced tequila from their premises in the Scottish Borders.
The Dark Art Distillery based in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, has launched Véspero.
The 100% Blue Weber Agave, otherwise known as Agave Tequilana, spirit has been launched on International Dark Sky week, which runs from April 2 to 8.
Véspero, which translates to Venus, was born and bottled under one of only six Dark Sky communities in Scotland, the Galloway Forrest.
The forrest covers 20% of the park and has been set aside as a central core for preservation of dark skies and wildlife, with a policy of no permanent illumination.
The brand owner, Andrew Clark Hutchison, was born in Mexico. The slogan of “Born in Mexico. Made in Scotland” was central to the launch of the Scottish spirit.
As the spirit is not distilled in Mexico, it cannot be called Tequila as Mexico have rights of provenance – place of origin.
However, the drink is made of organic 100% Blue Weber Agave, yeast and water.
The distillery has also created a ‘Scottish Margarita’ that will be rolled out across Scottish bars this month.
Mr Clark Hutchison said: “On International Dark Sky week, what better time to launch Scotland’s first ever Blue Weber Agave spirit, Véspero, which links closely to the sky’s above Kirkcudbrightshire where it is created.
“It tastes like you would imagine with our master distiller, Gerard MacLuskey, using his skill and judgement to create a Caledonian homage to Tequila with a very smooth finish.
“It is vibrant with sweet grassy and toffee notes with a cosmically smooth and warming peppery finish,” he added.
“Gone are the days of shots, salt and lemon. Our brand is premium and can be sipped over ice or as a mixed drink.”
According to Euromonitor International data, the combined Tequila and Mezcal category is set to grow from 47.2m cases in 2022 to 53.4m by the end of 2024.
