We celebrate Cinco de Mayo with George Clooney’s Casamigos Tequila at Brickhouse, Hong Kong!

Here at Sassy HQ, many of us haven’t exactly had positive experiences with tequila… the harsh memory of sour lemon and overpowering salt being inhaled after the fiery liquor scorches down your throat is enough to make anyone turn off this Mexican speciality. However, after trying Casamigos Tequila when we stopped by Brickhouse in Lan Kwai Fong to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, our perception of this agave based alcohol has changed.

The kind folks at Woodside Wine + Spirits had arranged a little tequila class for us with Sam Jeveons, Founder and Director at Old Street Group and the brains behind all things beverage related at The Upper House hotel. As we sipped on welcome “Agua Fresca” cocktails (think Casamigos Blanco Tequila, watermelon, chipotle, agave nectar and cilantro) and munched on delicious nibbles from Brickhouse, Sam introduced us to Casamigos and explained that this tequila wasn’t just for shots.

Forget the salt and lime – Sam explained to us how Casamigos is meant to be sipped and appreciated like a good whiskey. We all found it slightly intimidating when we were faced with three shot glasses of tequila (a varying range of aged tequilas). However, we all honestly thought the tequila was super smooth and each one went down almost too well, especially as they were perfectly paired with the flawless Mexican fare from Brickhouse.

The lightest and least aged Casamigos tequila is The Blanco, which only rests for two months. This had a surprisingly sweeter taste than you would expect, and was clear and crisp… delicious with the guacamole from Brickhouse.

The second tequila was a golden colour, and was The Reposado – aged for seven months. This was a favourite of team Sassy as it was so soft and silky to drink, and it tasted amazing with the taco platter. We also tried the “Casamigos Margarita” cocktail which used The Reposado, lime, orange liqueur and agave nectar with ice and salt, which had a great kick to it.

Are you a fan of G&Ts? Then you’ve got to try a T&G. Yep, instead of gin and tonic, add a generous amount of Casamigos’ The Reposado or The Añejo (a 14 month aged tequila) to a glass of ginger beer. The hint of heat from the ginger mixed with this aged, oaky tequila is oh-so drinkable and ideal on a hot summer’s day. The Añejo is the most expensive out of all three tequilas, but the rich, spicy flavour is super smooth and also tastes great on the rocks. Brickhouse paired this with the Mozzarella Salad, and the crispy mozzarella ball with the jalapeño and avocado sauce was well complemented by the darker tequila.

Our night was well spent listening to Sam and learning about how tequila is made… did you know that it’s one of the “healthiest” liquors as it comes from Blue Weber agave? Yep, that trendy new superfood sweetener (although this is not an excuse to drink tequila everyday!). What’s more, unlike the typical dodgy ‘mixto’ tequila you may get in a Lan Kwai Fong bar, Casamigos only uses 100% hand-selected Blue Weber agaves, straight from the highlands of Mexico.

Oh, and did we mention that the one, the only, George Clooney and his best mate Rande Gerber (that’s Cindy Crawford’s hubby) are the creators of this premium tequila?! This award-winning tequila is so good that it doesn’t even need the super star name attached to it… but we guess if it’s good enough for George it’s good enough for us!

If you’re looking to celebrate Cinco de Mayo or if you’re determined to change your relationship with tequila (let’s face it though – it’s going to be hard to erase those blurry body-shot memories…) then we’d definitely suggest investing in a bottle or two of high-quality Casamigos tequila to share with your friends. Happy Cinco de Mayo! And always remember to drink responsibly Sassy Girls!

Casamigos tequila is available for purchase at The Bottle Shop. The Blanco is $800, the Reposado is $1,000 and the Añejo is $1,300. It’s also available to try at most cocktail bars…

casamigostequila.com