No More Shots Please!

Tequila is just one of many white spirits that have been clubbed under generic nomenclature for all things ‘shots’ and made from agave. But there’s an unexplored colony of drinks beyond it.

- Gagan Sharma

A decade ago, no party ever wrapped up before a round of Tequila shots, followed by morning vows of never touching the spirit again. Those shots simply shouted: ‘Give me something cheap, that I can gulp without tasting’. Neither was there any knowledge backing the drink, nor any motivation to look beyond cheap labels. Who spent on shots anyway, right? In fact, the riff of your mid-20s angst would lose soul if you discovered that those salt-rimmed, lemon-wedged fiery liquids weren’t even pure Tequilas; definitely not the culturally-driven Mexican heritage drink for sure. But all that is finally changing now.

The pandemic helped us evolve from straight drinks to cocktails and explore new spirits. Those heavily aged, have-encyclopedic-knowledge-before approaching-me brown spirits were edged out by edgier, easier, amicable white ones. While in India it was gin, pure premium Tequilas grabbed the global pie. Since 2010, the market has doubled; it’s further growing precipitously, with premium Tequilas peaking at an 83 percent fold! There was time layered by intent that allowed us the privilege of unlearning and relearning about the drink that was never really truly befriended. But it looks like this newly discovered love for agave spirits and Tequilas is going to keep bars and imbibers spirited for a long time to come.

AGAVE : WHAT GIVES