There is a tendency, when launching a new tequila, to start with the agave. The fields. The soil. The harvest. The many years spent getting everything just so. And yes, all of that matters. Particularly when the tequila in question is made from 100% Blue Weber Agave, distilled and bottled at origin in the Highland town of Jesús María, Jalisco.
But, while ticking all of the above, Bodega Suprema No. 5 starts somewhere else...
It starts with people. With the people sitting at the bar. The ones ordering the next round. The ones discovering tequila beyond a shot with salt and lime. The bartender wondering whether this is something their guests will actually order again. And, perhaps most importantly, the people who love good tequila but have until now found authentic options in India sitting rather too firmly at one end of the price spectrum.
That was the gap founder Mohnish Mehta wanted to address.
Having grown up in the US before returning to India, Mehta found himself looking for a tequila he actually wanted to drink, at a price point that felt approachable. He couldn't quite find it. So, naturally enough, he decided to make one (as you do).
The result is Bodega Suprema No. 5, a new range from Black Tiger Distilleries, created in partnership with Productos Finos de Agave in Mexico and Mansha Group in India.
And the name tells you rather a lot about what they are trying to build.
Bodega means house. Or, depending on where you are, something closer to a neighbourhood institution. A place you pop into, discover something, bump into someone and stay for a chat.
Which feels like a pretty good starting point for a drinks brand.
Because the best spirits, ultimately, are not really about the bottle. They are about what happens around it.
Three ways in
Bodega launches with three expressions: Blanco, Reposado and Añejo.
The Blanco never touches wood, putting the agave front and centre. The Reposado spends a minimum of two months in ex-Tennessee whiskey American oak, while the Añejo spends the category minimum of twelve months there.
That last detail feels important.
Bodega is not interested in leaving the tequila in barrel simply because more time sounds more impressive. Once the ageing milestone has been reached, that is enough. The aim is to let the wood add warmth and texture without drowning out the thing everyone came for in the first place: the agave.
As a Blanco girl at heart, that is where I would start.
This one is bright, fresh and agave-forward, with notes of fresh agave, mint, caramel, roasted pumpkin and cashew, but with a lovely brightness that leans into ripe stone fruit too. It is the expression that could whisk you away to the streets of Mexico if you let it . Neat, on the rocks, in a Margarita or, when my first bottle arrives, in a Toreador. Those brighter, fruitier notes feel like they will be right at home there.
If you have never had a Toreador, well, you best be fixing that pronto. (Recipe at the end. You can thank me later!)
The Reposado brings a little more roundness, with vanilla, caramel, peach, candied orange and oak spice which would lend itself to more complex serves like a Rosita, while the Añejo offers a richer, fuller palate, with notes of vanilla, golden apple, stewed apricot, citrus and oak.
Three distinct varieties, each to suit your palate, or your mood.
Thinking outside the bottle
Then there are the crates.
“What is with the crates?” I hear you ask. I did the same.
They are one of those deceptively simple ideas that make considerably more sense once you see them in action.
Brightly coloured and designed as a thoughtful brand asset, they can travel through bars, restaurants and events, catching the eye and doing rather more than simply carrying bottles. Flip one way and you have somewhere to sit. Flip it back and you have somewhere to fill.
Practical. Playful. Vibrant, and properly useful.
Which is, frankly, the sort of brand asset hospitality could do with more of.
The wider visual identity follows a similar route, drawing on the cultural exchange between Mexico and India rather than leaning into the familiar shorthand of sombreros, skulls and vintage Western imagery. The result is bright, graphic and built to stand out, which, in a busy bar or at a busy event, is never a bad thing.
The launch itself was an intimate tasting hosted by the Spill It team, keeping things grounded in knowledge, but without the marketing fluff. Just how I like it.
Gautam Gibran, who many will know from Hideaway in Goa, has now joined the Spill It team, headed up by Prithvi Nagpal and Irene. Which brings us rather nicely to the cocktail...
And then there is the cocktail
At the launch, Gautam made me a drink called Floor Is Lava.
Gosh, it was tasty.
You know those cocktails where you can identify every ingredient and admire each one individually? This was not one of those.
Instead, it was one of those drinks where the whole is somehow tastier than the sum of its parts. You couldn't quite pull the individual ingredients apart, but every sip made you want another. And then another… I got through a few.
That, for me, is where Bodega's proposition starts to become interesting for hospitality. This isn't a tequila asking to be admired from afar. It is built for back bars and dinner tables, for bartenders (yes, it fits in the rail and is easy to pour at speed) and drinkers, for neat pours and cocktails, for the person who knows exactly what they want and the person ordering tequila properly for the first time.
Premium, yes. Precious, no.
From Mexico to India, with love
For now, Bodega Suprema No. 5 is launching in Mumbai, with the 750ml bottles sitting in the INR 4,200 to INR 5,500 range, depending on the expression.
Blanco comes in at INR 4,200, Reposado at INR 4,500 and Añejo at INR 5,500.
Other markets are to follow.
And perhaps that is the nicest thing about the brand's arrival.
India's tequila drinkers are growing in number, and so is the curiosity around the category. But enthusiasm is one thing. Being able to access a well-made, authentic tequila without having to save it exclusively for a special occasion is another.
Bodega seems to understand that.
Because a good bottle can absolutely mark an occasion.
But sometimes, the people you are with are occasion enough.
Toreador Recipe
Ingredients
Serving: 1
50ml Bodega Blanco
20ml Apricot liqueur
20ml Lime Juice
10ml Simple Syrup (adjust to taste)
2 drops Saline Solution
Directions
Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake hard until chilled.
Fine-strain into a chilled coupe.
Bodega Suprema No. 5. From Mexico to India, with love.
