The Founder of Purisima Tequila Created a New Coffee Tequila Hybird
Last fall, spirits entrepreneur Brent Hocking introduced what might have been the most exclusive tequila release on the market: Purísima, a $400 blanco expression that you could only purchase after filling out an application at the brand’s website (and even then, no guarantees). Now he’s moved on to his next creation, Brown Sugar Cafe Mexicana, a fusion of coffee and tequila which he says is unlike anything else on the market.
Hocking founded DeLeón Tequila in 2009 and then created two products with hip-hop superstar Drake—Virginia Black whiskey in 2016 and Mod Sélection Champagne in 2018. He sold DeLeón to Diageo in 2013 and is currently the CEO of his company Mod Selector, which is behind these new spirits releases. When Purísima was released, Hocking told Food & Wine that he was not interested in starting another celebrity-backed spirits brand and instead was focused on bringing quality to a very exclusive product. Purísima is produced at NOM 1519, where DeLeon was once made, using spring water and highland agave, and Hocking says that the brand is completely additive-free (it also looks like it’s now available to purchase without filling out an application).
Purísima is also the base of the new Brown Sugar Cafe Mexicana, which offers a bit of a different take on the concept of a tequila-coffee fusion. You might be familiar with other expressions like Patron’s XO Cafe, a very popular coffee-flavored tequila liqueur that was revived a few years ago after being discontinued, similar offerings from Cantera Negra and Cazadores, or even Quintaliza’s reposado tequila that is aged in coffee barrels.
Brown Sugar is something different, however, and according to a rep for the brand, the idea was novel enough that it required the establishment of a new category with the TTB—Cafe Mexicana, a proprietary creation which took over two years to be approved. As mentioned before, the base is Purísima tequila, which is blended with single origin Mexican coffee and piloncillo (unrefined brown sugar). Some artificial flavoring and caramel color are also added. The result is a sweet, coffee-flavored spirit that is also unmistakably tequila, as the roasted agave character still manages to shine through the coffee and brown sugar notes.
Brown Sugar Cafe Mexicana will be available over the coming weeks via the brand’s website for $300 per bottle.
