The making of flavor #85, May Margarita

Step 2: TEQUILA TIME. We add the tequila to our fresh-lime base.

Our tequila is from Tanteo Tequila - it’s their Jalapeño blend. See, you know how we always use local ingredients? Well sometimes we just can’t - tequila isn’t tequila unless it’s made in Tequila, Mexico, you know? BUT, we did find the next best thing - an awesome product that’s produced responsibly and founded by folks local to New York. Fits right into our Partners Manifesto. Ergo, Tanteo.

We caught up with the men behind Tanteo at their showroom in SoHo, Casa Tanteo. Over a margarita. (Okay, it was two.)

MM: What was the inspiration for starting a tequila company?
TT: We started Tanteo after my partner Jonathan and I got addicted to jalapeno margaritas in a craft cocktail bar. It’s still all about the spicy margarita, which is really catching on now. So the jalapeño infusion is our best seller of our three craft tequila infusions. 

MM: What makes Tanteo unique? The tequilas, the business model, etc.
TT: What makes Tanteo unique in our industry is our use of whole fruit maceration to infuse the tequilas. The rest of the industry uses flavors from flavor houses, the kinds of flavors that go into everything from sodas to. Food hamburgers. Tanteo uses thousands of kilos of jalapeños from a local farm. Ours is a very different approach. 

MM: Can you tell us how you ensure quality and environmental/social responsibility?
TT: We try to take care of the environment, too. We chose to make recyclable bottles, unlike the non-recyclable frosted bottles that are common in our industry. 

MM: Your showroom is rad. Can you talk about its furnishings?
TT: Casa Tanteo in Soho, Manhattan serves our office and cocktail research facility. We brought up from Mexico the furniture from an old Mexican apothecary, and it provided the centerpiece for us to manifest the Tanteo brand in the four walls.