My name is Manuel Escalante, majority owner of Escalante Spirits, LLC. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to introduce our company and more importantly our product to you. We are a small company operating out of Walla Walla, Washington specializing in Spirits Distribution, specifically our brand of Tequila, imported directly from Mexico, El Tesoro de Mi Tierra, or TMT Tequila.
My brother Juan and a friend, have worked tirelessly for almost 20 years now. Starting with 90 acres of rich red soil, in Juan’s hometown of San Isidro in Jalisco, Mexico, they began planting fields of Agave. Next, they began working to develop a unique recipe that would entice even the non-Tequila drinkers, to a sip. As the partnership grew, so did the idea. They began working with other native growers, including friends and families that live in the local towns of San Isidro and San Agustin. With the support and help of the locals and the desire to give back to the community by providing more jobs, construction of a distillery was started and began producing TMT Tequila in 2007.
In 2009, we were successful at shipping the first cases to Walla Walla, Washington. At first only for trial to test the market and potential customers’ feedback. After much enthusiasm and great reaction from those who tried it, we decided to form Escalante Spirts, LLC and begin our venture into the USA. The process took a lot of time and money. We learned from many mistakes and overcame many hurdles. One obstacle we encountered was in our initial presentation of our product. Our first trial shipment was in a basic, tall, slender bottle that did little to draw ones’ attention. So we began work designing an attractive bottle that would grab your attention from across the room. We have successfully developed, produced, copyrighted, trademarked, and registered our bottle with US Customs and Border Patrol, an arduous process to say the least.
By December of 2010, our first load arrived in Walla Walla, ready to be put on the market. We began working with Oregon and Washington. Both states present challenges for a small business to become established as well as, federal regulations for advertising, distribution and general sales of Spirits. All this again took time and money. We had a huge learning curve to overcome. For the next several years, with just a handful of close family members, we worked constantly to get the word out about our product. Still just a small company with big ideas, we searched for many ways to expand our customer base. We have even tried to partner with a larger distributer at one point throughout all of this, only to discover several of our customers became unhappy and began dropping our product. As soon as the contract expired, we went back to work, although facing an uphill battle at this point to earn back customers as well as continue to recruit new customers. We realized rather quickly that our small town appeal is what draws our customers.
Over the years, we have fine-tuned and perfected our process of re-introducing tequila to our part of the world. We find many a potential customer turned off by the unrefined processes of previous tequilas. Our technique of personalized interaction with our customers is gaining momentum. We regularly attend expos, festivals, and other venues to continue sharing our product with a vast customer base, many of whom are very surprised by our distinctively flavored ultra-premium tequila. In addition, we are regularly visiting our nearly 20 liquor stores located in the Portland, Or area, to do tasting events. We have gained in popularity recently by expanding into the Seattle area as well. From the agave fields, to the state of the art gravity flow distillery, to the specialized bottle, El Tesoro de Mi Tierra is decidedly the best of the best. Our Blanco is a smooth, artisan crafted tequila from 100% blue agave. It’s bottled immediately following distillation to allow for the un-aged flavor with a crisp, slightly sweet peppery finish. Our Reposado, is rested and aged to perfection. Also, 100% blue agave, but aged in American white oak whiskey barrels for eight months. The result is a pale, golden, smooth and silky sipper of medium weight with hints of musk and warm vanilla. TMT’s Anejo is an ultra-smooth, full bodied tequila, aged 18 months in American white oak whiskey barrels. With scents of buttery caramel and peppery spice, this 100% blue agave has just a hint of sweetness. Our newest addition to our line of tequilas is our Extra Anejo. First sold in 2015, this premium tequila is quickly gaining popularity. Aged for a full 36 months in American white oak whiskey barrels, this tequila takes on the aromas and deep smoky oak flavors of your favorite whiskey. Deep caramel undertones and full bodied, this is the perfect drink to sip while enjoying a fine cigar.
TMT Tequila is artisan grown and crafted from 100% blue agave in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. Every TMT Tequila is satisfyingly smooth, distinctly flavorful and surprisingly affordable.
