Scotland Debuts Its First Take on Tequila, An 100% Blue Weber Agave Spirit Dubbed ‘Véspero’
(Photo: Dark Art Distillery)
Due to protected designation of origin laws, tequila can only be called “tequila” if it’s produced in a handful of specific Mexican states. As consumers thirst for the beloved agave spirit, however, a new generation of distillers is putting twists on the concept under slightly different names.
In comes Andrew Clark-Hutchison, a Scot born in Mexico City who heads up the Dark Art Distillery near Galloway Forest Park. Recognized as the southernmost distillery in Scotland, Dark Art recently made the leap from gin to locally-produced agave spirits.
Dubbed Véspero Blanco (bearing that distinctive accent mark you within many a tequila brand name), each bottle of the spirit proudly declares the tagline “Born in Mexico, Distilled in Scotland.”
“As the spirit was not distilled in Mexico we cannot call it tequila as Mexico owns all the rights of provenance, however, we use only organic 100% Blue Weber agave, yeast and water to make Véspero,” says Clark-Hutchison.
“It tastes like you would imagine with our master distiller Gerard MacLuskey using his skill and judgment to create a Caledonian homage to tequila with a very smooth finish, it is vibrant with sweet grassy and toffee notes with a cosmically smooth and warming peppery finish.”
Dark Art Distillery is part of a growing international movement — particularly strong within the UK — hoping to replicate the runaway success of agave spirits like tequila and mezcal.
Brands in Germany, the Netherlands and Pennsylvania have begun importing Mexican agave extract and distilling it on-site. Others have taken the concept a step further; across Australia and South Africa, upstarts are planting agave en masse, betting big on a locally-produced spirits boom that could come to fruition in the next five to ten years.
For the time being, however, efforts like these comprise drops in the bucket. While the United States imports some 338 million liters of tequila annually, runner-up markets like Germany, Spain, France and the UK import between 5-10 million liters.
In other words, agave spirits haven’t caught on internationally quite like they have in the US. Over time, brands like Véspero might change the sentiment.
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