Starting October 29, Buen Vato will be available in the online store of the Swedish monopoly Systembolaget. The Tequila Blanco that revolutionized the market when it was launched in 2022 as the first in a cardboard bottle and which is today distributed in seven countries in Europe, can be purchased with just a single click by Swedish consumers.
Buen Vato was founded by the environmental engineers of AliasSmith, a company that has been working on the distribution of Mexican spirits throughout Europe since 2004. It is the result of not only a big dream, inspiring the spirits industry and consumers that it is possible to enjoy tequila in a more sustainable way, but also more than 1,500 hours of remodeling the processes and physical structure of one of its best providers with the aim of reducing its carbon footprint and improving its labor conditions. This distillery achieved the certifications required by the Swedish monopoly (Anfori BSCI) and today produces Buen Vato Tequila.
Why a paperboard bottle?
Buen Vato was born from the need to act now and find solutions to two of the industry’s biggest environmental problems: packaging and transportation.
According to the Mario Molina Center and the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), on average, Tequila with 40% alcohol volume produces 3 kg of carbon emissions (CO2e) per liter. The largest contribution to emissions comes from the consumption of fossil fuels, followed by indirect emissions from the production of glass bottles and the transportation and distribution of tequila to the consumer.
The Swedish Beverage Industry Climate Initiative (DKI), in which the Buen Vato group of environmental engineers has participated, implemented a tool to measure, monitor, and target the climate impact of the spirits industry. The results were shocking. Packaging materials (61%) and the transportation of goods (26%) are the elements with the highest emissions for beverage importers.
That’s why Buen Vato became the first tequila in the world sold in a 94% recycled cardboard bottle, with 84% fewer carbon emissions per bottle. The company also decided to bottle as close as possible to the final consumer; this measure and the lighter packaging reduce 0.52 kg/CO2 per liter of tequila. In addition, improvements to reduce carbon emissions continue, Buen Vato is working to find a biofuel alternative for production processes. The big challenge is to implement a plan to reduce the impact of fossil fuels on the distillery by up to 90% using biofuels that come from used cooking oil.
Taste and sustainability are equally important!
The purpose of Buen Vato is to reduce its carbon footprint but also to demonstrate that sustainability and good taste can go hand in hand, and that something as traditional as tequila can be innovative, without sacrificing quality.
Buen Vato Tequila is made with Agave that has matured for eight years in the chalk-rich lands of the Valley of Tequila next to the Amatitán town. The family Real, fifth-generation agave farmers, has been working the land in the same fields that their horses feed and their children play in, so they do not use excessive herbicides or pesticides. The flavor of this Agave is typical of the region, rich in sugars and citrus notes.
The Agave is cooked in a pressure cooker (autoclave) and fermented slowly without any accelerator. Distillation is performed in stainless steel stills. Since Buen Vato is on a mission to minimize environmental impact, instead of bottling it in Mexico, the tequila is transported at 55% ABV and blended at 38% in Europe, where bottling takes place. Producers have been especially careful to remove all flavor modifiers, such as glycerin and sugars, to present the real thing.
The final result is a smooth and balanced Tequila Blanco with tones of cooked agave, herbs, and hints of citrus and cucumber on the nose. Its flavor starts out relatively mild and sweet with a medium body. Finishes with a slight bitterness reminiscent of chocolate. This has slight elements of pepper but maintains the clear sweetness of agave. It is perfect to serve alone, in classic cocktails like the margarita, and why not, in creative cocktails with seasonal products, according to the Buen Vato philosophy.
Buen Vato, with its more environmentally friendly proposal and high-quality tequila, has reached consumers in Italy, Poland, Denmark, Holland, Austria, Malta, Italy, and Sweden. Soon it will also be in other markets such as Greece, Portugal, Norway, the UK, and Hungary.
