Yeyo Tequila Blends Rum Casks and Classical Music in Latest Single Barrel Release

(Photo: Yeyo Tequila)

Yeyo Tequila is expanding its additive-free catalog with a duo of rum-finished single-barrel expressions.

The Jalisco-based distiller recruited Colombian white oak rum casks — rather than the industry standard ex-whiskey or bourbon casks — for its new Traditional and Tropical Edition reposados. While the traditional barrels previously held just one type of rum, the tropical barrels had been used to hold five different rums sourced from local distilleries.

Yeyo produced only 14 barrels of each expression, totaling 999 cases that’ll hit the market in June. On the palate, the brand says aficionados can expect flavors of caramel, vanilla, coconut, cinnamon and nutmeg. The suggested retail price has been set between $69.99 and $79.99.

Like all spirits produced at the Feliciano Vivanco y Asociados distillery, Yeyo is fermented to the tune of Mozart. 190 hours of Mozart, to be exact.

The oft-discussed Mozart effect was first coined in a 1993 study that purported increased IQ and spatial reasoning among those who listened to classical music. The theory — often dismissed as pseudoscience — has purportedly been used to treat everything from ADHD to dyslexia in the decades since.

According to Yeyo, the effect unlocks new depths of harmonious flavor within its spirits.

“This unique approach is based on the belief that the yeast’s expression of aroma is enhanced by the influence of sound frequency and intensity. The result is a relaxed and refined tequila, with a touch of musical elegance,” Yeyo said in a news release for its previous single-barrel reposado last year.

Yeyo is not the first distiller to adopt the melodious method. Tequila Cazadores is also a firm believer in the Mozart effect, playing the composer’s music for 24 hours a day above dozens of 8,000-gallon tanks. Cazadores ambassador Tania Oseguera remarks, “Since the yeast is alive, our master distiller believes the Mozart effect helps the fermentation process.”

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