Premium Tequila made from Certified Organic Agave: Pepe Hermosillo about Casa Noble

Casa Noble is an award-winning tequila brand known for its uncompromising quality and sustainable production. Founded by Pepe Hermosillo, an experienced Master Tequilero, Casa Noble specializes in the production of premium tequilas made from 100% organically grown Blue Weber agave from Jalisco, Mexico. The brand uses traditional methods, matures the agave for 10 to 12 years and stores its tequilas in fine French oak barrels, giving them a uniquely rich and elegant flavor profile.

We spoke to Pepe Hermosillo in an interview about the history of Casa Noble, the special features of its tequilas and the general development of tequila.

Please introduce yourself briefly: Who are you and what do you do at Casa Noble?

Pepe Hermosillo: My name is Pepe Hermosillo, I am the founder and master tequilero of Casa Noble.

How and when was Casa Noble founded? Take us back to the beginnings!

Pepe Hermosillo: I’ve grown up around tequila making my entire life, however, I founded Casa Noble in the 1990’s after my father passed away. I had the concept of creating something unique that would honor my heritage and our family legacy of making tequila, which goes back 7 generations. My family once had a historian track our lineage back centuries and uncovered figures such as Pedro Sánchez de Tagle and Cenobio Sauza, both of whom kicked off our family’s tequila making legacy. Our first bottles of Casa Noble were produced in 1997.

What is special about Casa Noble? What values does the brand represent?

Pepe Hermosillo: What makes Casa Nobe so special is how we make our tequila. We start our process by using 100% CCOF certified organic & estate-grown Blue Weber Agave. These plants are then nurtured and harvested in Tequila, Jalisco Mexico. The high-altitude of our fields mixed with the rich volcanic soil make our Blue Weber agave plants special and we tend to them for about 10-12 years before they reach maturity and we harvest them.

Once the piñas (or the hearts of the Blue Weber Agave plant) are cooked, mashed and mixed with water, we create agave nectar. The nectar is then fermented and distilled. What makes us different from other tequilas is the use of our French Oak Barrels, most tequilas are aged in American Oak barrels.

Casa Noble was one of the first to use certified organic agave. Tell us about it!

Pepe Hermosillo: Casa Noble has used certified organic agave long before the practice was popular. We’re the first tequila brand to be certified by the CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers). The CCOF is the oldest and most respected organic certification institution in the USA. As a part of our noble pursuit of making tequila, we never use chemicals in our agave fields or on the crops themselves.

We keep detailed logs of all our field activity, agave handling and our production processes. We are also one of only two brands that are both crop and process certified. At Casa Noble we also believe in giving back to the environment, so we’ve created an industry-leading composting program using only tequila production waste to give back where we can.

Casa Noble differs from many others in the way it stores its tequila. How?

Pepe Hermosillo: We differ in many ways, most of which comes down to production and finishing. While some in the tequila industry source agave from multiple places, we use estate-grown Blue Weber Agave from Jalisco and nurture the agave plants until they are 10-12 years old. Other tequila brands will start harvesting them around the 7-9 year mark to make the production process faster. We believe in honoring the slower more traditional method and allowing the plant to reach full maturity.

We also use French Oak barrels to age and finish our tequilas whereas many other tequila brands use American Oak. By using French Oak barrels we have a rich and elegant flavor profile that is super aromatic distinctive to Casa Noble’s overall flavor profile.

What products does the portfolio include?

Pepe Hermosillo: Casa Noble has a total of four products including: Casa Noble Blanco, Casa Noble Reposado, Casa Noble Añejo and Marques de Casa Noble.

What do the tequilas from Casa Noble taste like?

Pepe Hermosillo: Casa Noble Blanco: This vibrant and unaged Blanco Tequila is the origin for each Casa Noble expression and embodies the commitment to perfect the tequila-making process. Casa Noble Blanco tequila is elegant and exquisitely balanced to offer a beautiful fruit and citrus-forward expression with sweet agave & soft herbal notes.

Casa Noble Reposado: Unlike other reposados aged 4-6 months, Casa Noble Reposado is aged 364 days in new French oak barrels. The barrels are sourced from respected cooperages across France including the renowned Taransaud in Cognac & Nadalié in Bordeaux. You will experience aromas of vanilla, lemongrass and a floral bouquet. The palate and finish you will experience a long and savory essence paired with sweet cooked agave flavors and subtle notes from the barrel.

Casa Noble Añejo: While other añejo tequilas are aged for 1 year in new French oak barrels, Casa Noble Añejo is aged for 2 years. The patience of waiting the extra year produces a beautiful sipping tequila that is both complex and delicious. Most notably you will get aromas of dried fruit and spices once you open the bottle. On the palate you will get notes of toasted oak, butterscotch and vanilla with undertones of sweet agave that echo our blanco’s roots.

Marques de Casa Noble: Our limited edition tequila is skillfully blended with 9 añejos and 12 extra añejos aged 1-5 years. The artistry of this special tequila begins in the Allier region of France, where I personally select trees to create hand-crafted barrels for this expression. The barrels are first aged in the French forest for 2 years before being transported to a permeate cooperage where they toasted and aged for an additional year.

Meticulously crafted from start to finish, Marques de Casa Noble results in a smooth, complex, and exquisitely balanced spirt. When you open the bottle you will get notes of cooked agave, with a sweet vanilla essence, ripe fruit and roasted nuts. When you sip on this expression you will experience an alluringly rich and silky expression with hints of white chocolate, pecan and almond.

What is the best way to drink them? Which cocktails are they suitable for?

Pepe Hermosillo: I personally like to sip each of our tequilas neat to honor the integrity of the agave plant that shines through. However, I know not everyone likes to drink things neat, I would recommend that our blanco and reposado be used in a cocktail and our añejo and Marques de Casa Noble be preserved for neat pours. Our Casa Noble Blanco makes an excellent margarita, whereas our reposado makes for a great riff on an old fashioned.

How are the products distributed in Germany? Where are they available?

Pepe Hermosillo: Casa Noble Blanco, Casa Noble Reposado and Casa Noble Añejo are available at Volume Spirits: https://www.weinwolf.de/brands/volume-spirits.

Looking to the future: What do you have planned? How do you see the development of tequila in general?

Pepe Hermosillo: We have an exciting partnership with High West coming out later this year and while I can’t give away too many details, I can share it’s an expression that celebrates our core beliefs, commitment to quality, sustainability and creativity. In terms of the future development of tequila in general, I think the consumer demand for tequila is only going to increase.

Consumers all around the world are starting to take an interest in tequila and I think innovation will be the key to the category’s success globally. There are so many unexplored finishes and ways to push the flavor of tequila and I can’t wait to see how the category expands in the future years with experimentation.

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+++ We would like to thank Pepe Hermosillo for the open and very interesting interview! If you also have an interesting brand, then we should talk. Just send us an e-mail with the subject “about-drinks interview” to redaktion@about-drinks.com – we look forward to hearing from you! +++