How DeLeon (and Peligroso) Tequila Is Rolling Out With A New NOM
January 15, 2015
When DeLeon tequila was purchased by global liquor giant Diageo they decided to move production of the tequila to a new distillery. This is usually the case with tequila but not often with other spirits (except sometimes rum).
They also decided to change a few of the DeLeon products. Here's what I've been able to learn.
Moving Distilleries
DeLeon was produced at NOM 1519. It is moving to NOM 1535 (Destileria Morales) and only older products will still carry the 1519 NOM.
For more about the importance of the NOM number which indicates the company/distillery of production, check out this story I wrote for Details.com here.
NOM 1535 Destileria Morales used to produce the brand Tequila 1921, but no longer does. Diageo does not own NOM 1535 Destileria Morales.
Note that the brand Peligroso, which was also purchased by Diageo, is also moving production to NOM 1535.
Two Lines of DeLeon
DeLeon offers a Platinum (blanco), Reposado, and Anejo, plus a luxury line of Diamante, Extra-Anejo, and Leona.
The regular line will change to the new distillery: The new Platinum and Reposado are already on shelves with the new NOM, and the anejo will be released from the new NOM in summer 2015 after aging.
From the previous luxury line up:
- Leóna remains the same (though it will be made at the new distillery). According to the website: "Leóna is first aged for 2-4 months in new American oak and then rested for more than a year in fine, French sauternes casks."
- Diamante will become a joven, which means that it's an altered blanco (many luxury tequilas are launching as jovens, including Casa Dragones; this often means that older tequilas are added to blancos to soften them). This product used to be a blanco before the change.
- Extra Añejo will now be bottled at cask strength – making it the first cask-strength extra anejo tequila.
That took a few emails to sort out so I hope my fellow agave nerds find it useful!
Camper,
Thanks for the explanation. Some friends and I powered through a bottle of the Diamante recently and felt something was "off." This clears it up. Thanks for going the extra mile for everyone. I'm going to cite your findings on my site in an upcoming post.
Posted by: Tim | February 24, 2015 at 04:12 PM