Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/960891
48 / the tasting panel / april 2018 CELEBRATIONS T o cap off a series of industry and consumer events commemorating nearly 150 years of excellence in tequila production, Tequila Herradura celebrated the legacy of its long-established traditions at its holiday party in New York City this past December. Founded in 1870 at Hacienda San José del Refugio in the town of Amatitán, Tequila Herradura emerged as a leader in Jalisco's tequila industry shortly after its inception. The company can lay claim to some of the category's most influential innovations, including being the first distiller to release Reposado and Extra Añejo expressions in 1974 and 1995, respectively. Tequila Herradura also became the first tequila producer to employ a female master distiller when it appointed María Teresa Lara López to the role in 2009. The event, held in the Presidential Suite of the Dream Hotel Downtown in the Meatpacking District, also highlighted the Tequila Herradura Legends 2017 cocktail competition. The program saw 32 bartenders compete in eight markets nationwide, with finalists from each market traveling to Jalisco to visit the legendary Tequila Herradura Hacienda. New York finalist Kristine Serrano, who tends bar at The Astorian, a new establishment in Astoria, Queens, was also on hand to serve cocktails she created with Tequila Herradura: The Horseshoe Holi-daze with Tequila Herradura Añejo, the Naughty or Spice with Tequila Herradura Silver, and the Festivus Fashioned with Tequila Herradura's newest expression, Herradura Ultra. The release blends Tequila Herradura's Añejo with its premium Seleccion Suprema Extra Añejo, which ages for up to 49 months in American white oak barrels. "Tequila Herradura is such an historic brand and taking part in the Legends competition was amazing," Serrano told The Tasting Panel. "I pushed myself so much further because of it, and it made me think of tequila in so many different ways while getting to know the Herradura brand." The party also served to launch a new tradition for the company: As part of the "Gift of Giving a Party" sweepstakes, one lucky tequila lover won the chance to "gift" a Herradura party courtesy of the brand to ten friends. An abundance of free tequila? Not a bad way to capture the spirit of the season. Serrano served a trio of her creations—Naughty or Spice, Horseshoe Holi-daze, and Festivus Fashioned—made with three Tequila Herradura expressions. LEGENDARY DISTILLER TEQUILA HERRADURA CELEBRATES ITS LEGACY OF INNOVATION by David Ransom A Historic Hacienda Kristine Serrano, the New York finalist in Tequila Herradura's 2017 Bartender Legends cocktail competition, serves a Horseshoe Holi- daze cocktail featuring Tequila Herradura Añejo at the brand's holiday party in New York City last December. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ZACK SHOOTS