Justin Timberlake's Tequila to make UK debut

He's known for bringing sexy back, and now singer-turned-actor Justin Timberlake is bringing his popular 901 Tequila brand to the UK via a hook-up with London-based drinks distributor Hi-Spirits. The 40% abv triple-distilled silver Tequila will be available in select shops, restaurants and bars with an RRP of £32.85 for a 700ml bottle.

Co-founded in 2009 by Justin Timberlake and Kevin Ruder, 901 is produced by Destileria Santa Lucia from a 60-year-old recipe. Triple-distilled from 100% Blue Weber Agave from Jalisco in Mexico, 901 Tequila is produced in small batches and was awarded a Double Gold medal at the 2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

“901 Tequila has been extremely well received by our distributors, cocktail experts and most importantly, consumers during our first four years in the American marketplace. We look forward to continuing to build the brand with Hi-Spirits in the UK,” said Kevin Ruder, president of 901.  

Dan Bolton, managing director of Hi-Spirits, said he was “delighted” to be bringing 901 Tequila to the UK. “Justin Timberlake’s deep respect for the heritage and quality of Tequila has led to the development of a premium spirit that has a wide appeal,” he said. The Tequila is named after the area code of Justin’s hometown of Memphis.

Justin Timberlake creates wedding cuvée

Adding another string to his already well-adorned bow, in addition to singing, dancing and acting, newlywed Justin Timberlake has proved a dab hand in the cellar, creating a bespoke red blend from Sonoma County to be served at his wedding to Hollywood starlet Jessica Biel in southern Italy last month.

As reported on db.com, the Timberlake-Biel wedding cuvée – 2009 Blue Ocean Floor – was blended from Alexander Valley Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition to being poured at the $6.5m reception, the wine was given as a gift to guests, including hip-hop producer Timbaland, who recently got in on the celebrity drinks act with a sparkling liqueur called LeSutra.

Jesse Katz, winemaker at Lancaster Estate in Alexander Valley, and a snowboarding buddy of both Justin and Jessica, made two barrels of the wine to mark the occasion. Trousersnake has been following 28-year-old Katz’s career progression with interest. A winemaker to watch, prior to Lancaster Estate, he made wine at California cult estate Screaming Eagle.

Timberlake played an important part in the blending process for Blue Ocean Floor and provided the artwork for the label, produced by Ellen Riendeau of Soda Rock Studios. A keen drinks enthusiast, Timberlake also has own ultra-premium Tequila brand, 901, made from triple distilled 100% blue agave and named after the area code of the singer’s hometown of Memphis. 

Dan Aykroyd, Crystal Head vodka

I was lucky enough to meet the legend that is Dan Aykroyd this week, who was in town to promote the UK launch of his Crystal Head vodka, which has sold an impressive two million bottles since its launch in 2008. I caught up with The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters star at the American Bar at The Stafford Hotel to find out the story behind the skull bottle, why he chose to make a vodka over a Tequila or white rum, and whether or not he believes in ghosts.

Patrón dinner @ the Rebel Dining Society

It was with trepidation that I hoofed it to deepest, darkest Hackney last week in search of the clandestine Rebel Dining Society. Donning a pair of scandalously tight red jeans and scuffed brown suede boots in a bit to look suitably hip, having located Vyner Street and traversed it twice, number 30 eludes me. Spotting a pair of glamour pusses in fur coats and pearls looking equally lost, I join the duo and we eventually strike upon the white quilted door.

I'd been invited to a secret supper in a converted chapel by ultra-premium Tequila, Patrón, namechecked in songs by the likes of Bruno Mars and P Diddy and made famous by Tom Cruise when he orders it post car crash in the club scene in Vanilla Sky. Flirting with the stars and securing the celebrity seal of approval has helped take the brand from profits of $US75m to $US450m in a mere six years. Patrón is currently the world's number one ultra-premium Tequila, accounting for 70% of sales in the category and outselling its nearest competitor in the US by eight to one. The brand's luxury offering has done much to haul the white spirit out of the dark ages and shake off Tequila's less-than-favourable associations with cowboys and bandits, replacing it with cool, well-connected club goers.

The dinner had been put on for Patrón Social Club members – an online community of Patrón fans stretching to over 100,000, made up predominantly of affluent young professionals. Surveying my surroundings while perching on a tall black stall on a table full of fellow hacks, the rest of the room seems suitably Patrón – slick suits, expensive haircuts and shiny shoes abound. In front of us are four unopened bottles of Tequila, teasing us with their proximity. If this is some sort of willpower test, we fail spectacularly, opening the first within minutes of sitting down.

A besuited JJ Goodman, of London Cocktail Club fame, emerges and delivers an ebullient speech about the joys of mixology, whizzing through how to make the first concoction of the night: the Honey Bee Ceviche, which went wonderfully well with our scallop ceviche starters, the former bursting with citrus, the latter tasting pleasingly of the sea and resting on a textured bed of hazelnuts and fennel, much to the delight of Sadie Whitelocks and Stylist's Amy Grier (below).

Our second mixology session results in the Tamarind Sliver Fizz, made with the golden, delicious Patrón Añejo, a blend of uniquely aged Tequilas imbued with sweet honey notes and a long butterscotch finish, served with a perfectly pink but disappointingly cold loin of lamb. The third and final round has me on the shaker, mixing a super smooth Tira-Patrón Martini made with the company's latest baby: Patrón XO Cafe, a Tequila coffee-liqueur accompanied by a devilish dessert of caramelised figs, cherries and mascarpone. Before leaving the chapel, I pay a visit to the ramshackle loo, floor-to-ceiling with artwork. The featured image piqued my interest – Kate Moss through the eyes of Gauguin (after a glass or two of Absinthe) perhaps.

Tequila tasting at Wahaca Soho

My second encounter with Tequila came when I was invited to be part of a tasting panel tasked with selecting the shortlist of Tequilas for recently-opened Wahaca Soho's Tequila bar. Based in the basement of the cavernous space, the bar has a beach hut feel to it, from the bright blue walls to the pod-like wicker hanging chairs. Joining me on the panel were fellow Tequila nuts Alice Lascelles and Clint Cawood from Imbibe magazine, and beer buff Ben McFarland and partner in wine (and spirits) Tom Sandham. Before we get stuck into the plethora of Tequilas waiting expectantly on the adjacent table, we are given a strip of Blue Agave to suck on. Tasting it in its raw form, it has a wonderful malt loaf and molasses nose, like an earthy Pedro Ximenez.

Tequila is made from the agave plant, which is not a cactus as is widely (and wrongly) thought. There are over 200 varieties of agave in Mexico, but only Blue Agave is used in the production of Tequila. A beautiful turquoise colour, the plants are cut and left to steam in a brick oven for a day-and-a-half to help increase their sugar content. The juice is then squeezed out and placed in fermentation vats, where yeast is added. The spirit is double distilled before bottling, or, in the case of the Reposados and Añejos, barrel ageing.

Like wine, flavour is obtained from the oak barrels and differs depending on the amount of time spent in cask, with French oak imparting a chocolate aftertaste and American oak offering vanilla sweetness – old Bourbon barrels are becoming increasingly popular as they offer attractive smokey aromas associated with whisky. Of the 11 Tequilas we try, price isn't always indicative of quality. A large number of brands seem to be jumping on the Grey Goose bandwagon, packaging their premium Tequilas in bling bottles that wouldn't look out of place on a dressing table and charging their club-hopping customers three times the price for the privilege. Even Justin Timberlake has gotten in on the act, with his 901 brand.

Luckily for Wahaca, the panel is almost always in agreement about the top two Tequilas of each flight. The best examples are smooth and soft on the palate, with complex aromas of herbs, woody spices, vanilla, caramel and honey. Los Abuelos, meaning 'the grandfathers', stole the show. Smooth, creamy and rich, it had an elegant, alluring nose of vanilla, caramel and honey, and a lingering length that left us all craving for more of its molasses-tinged sweetness.

Unfortunately, Abuelos isn't available anywhere in the UK yet – the bottle we tried had been snuck through customs by Wahaca owner Thomasina Miers. But hopefully, with the revamping of Wachaca's Tequila list, London will soon be able to enjoy this exemplary Tequila, one of a select few spearheading the quality revolution in Mexico.

Tom Parker Bowles bacchanalia lunch at Blacks

Tequila is having a moment. Once the preserve of the Aztecs, who used to drink it an a digestif, the spirit fell spectacularly from grace, and until recently was more readily associated with cowboys, bandits and stag weekends than discerning drinkers. But with ultra premium brands like Patrón now on the market, Tequila has got the makeover it desperately deserves, and is not only cool again, but the fastest growing spirits category in the UK.

To toast Tequila's newfound success, I was invited to attend a Mexican-themed bacchanalian lunch whipped up by Tom Parker Bowles and Alberto Figueroa at Soho institution Blacks members club. Reached by descending a black steel staircase, the 18th century Georgian townhouse is modeled on the dining club created in the same spot 300 years prior by writer Samuel Johnson and painter Joshua Reynolds. Quintessentially English, Blacks is furnished with roaring fires, creaky wooden floorboards, powder blue walls, painted ladies, fraying armchairs and the odd ghost or two.

Taking my place by the roaring fire, a welcome Margarita is thrust in my hand. Noticing it contains no ice, I sheepishly ask the barman for a few cubes, to dilute the super strong concoction. Gesticulating wildly to my left is flame-haired one time Kenny Everett sidekick turned Tequila ambassador Cleo Rocos, who is so potty about the drink, she founded The Tequila Society to promote Tequila in the UK. To my right are Guardian food writer Matthew Fort and MasterChef winner and Wahaca founder Thomasina Miers, sporting a perfectly round bump.

Rescued from the fire before I begin to melt, we are ushered upstairs and asked to take our seats among the school-like wooden bench. On my table is Zeren Wilson of Bitten and Written fame, boy about town Ben Norum and Scotch eggspert David Constable. Foodie banter soon ensues. Having just been asked to be a food critic for the erotic review, Constable whips out his black notebook and begins writing sordid descriptions of our citrusy sea bream ceviche and crunchy tostadas served with lashings of luscious guacamole.

We all get in on the act and take to reading our lewd passages aloud. In need of slaking after our literary endeavours, we crack open a biodynamic Cortese from Piedmont producer Valli Unite. Golden in colour, it has a mineral core and a green fruited nose of apple and pear. After scandalously simple and pleasingly cheesy quesadillas, we move onto the main event, 'Drunken Lamb' – made tipsy by its beer marinade – served with fluffy tortillas and juicy black beans, and silky slow roast pork with Seville orange wrapped in banana leaves.

The highlight of the feast is raspberry red hibiscus and Tequila sorbet served in a modest glass goblet. Fresh, fruity and fun, the forest fruit flavours are lifted by the Tequila kick. Whilst savouring the sorbet, Tom PB emerges in a besmirched Tabasco apron and grey T-shirt. Humble as pie, he immediately defaults to thanking Figueroa, then scurries back downstairs. Catching up with him after the meal, I ask whether it's possible to do a quick video interview, but he concedes to having had one too many Tequilas to be sufficiently coherent for the camera. Disappointed, I ask him what he thinks should be served at the forthcoming royal wedding. "Cottage pie!" he exclaims. "I had it at my wedding and it's the ideal dish to serve to hundreds of people: it's simple, full of flavour and unmistakably British."

The Bathhouse: Cazadores 'día de los muertos' fiesta

I partied in a graveyard last night. Cazadores Tequila hosted an event at the Bathhouse bar in Bishopsgate churchyard to celebrate the Mexican fiesta 'el día de los muertos' – the day of the dead.

Tucked away from the bustle of the City, the Bathhouse is a hidden haunt harking back to Victorian London. Serving as a Turkish baths during the 19th century, it's now a quirky nightspot for those seeking an alternative to cookie cutter identikit clubs. Deceptively small on the outside, the venue is cavernous once you descend into its depths. Wonderfully, it has kept many of its original features, from the blue tiles on its roof to the marble bar.

On arrival I was greeted by a pair of girls in pretty dresses with skull faces. The juxtaposition of their lively outfits full of bright red flowers with their dead faces was brilliantly macabre. They offered me a Lolita cocktail - Cazadores and pomegranate with a salt rim - it was divine. I quickly moved onto the Vampiro - Cazadores with orange bitters.

Huge plates of nachos with mammoth bowls of home-made guacamole were brought in by the sexy skullstresses, theatrically carried at arms length above our heads. We were here to celebrate the day of the dead - a Mexican tradition dating back to the Aztecs, who dedicated the day to the goddess Mictecacihuatl (try saying that after a few Tequilas), known as the Lady of the Dead.

The fiesta coincides with All Souls' Day, and, rather than the spooky nature of Halloween, is seen as a chance for Mexicans to honour the deceased. During the festivities people give each other sugar skulls as gifts and graveyards are decorated with flowers while graves are turned into shrines in honour of the dead. The owner of Mestizo, a gourmet Mexican restaurant in Highgate, told me it's common for people to bring their dead loved one's favourite food, drinks and music to their graveside during the fiesta to encourage their soul to visit.

The Bathhouse had its own little shrine, with a cross centre piece made of orange marigolds, the 'flor de muerto' – flower of the dead. A nimble fingered face painter was on hand to deck us out with warpaint. I opted for the traditional black and white skull. Reading the paper on the tube home, I kept jumping at the sight of my reflection in the window – a memento mori indeed.

Tequila: don't slam it

When you hear the word Tequila what comes to mind – the worm at the bottom of the bottle? Hideous hangovers from one too many Tequila slammers? Whatever thoughts Tequila inspires, they are unlikely to live up to the refined recollections one associates with wine. Though the spirit has noble roots – Aztec royalty used to drink it as a digestif.

It was with interest and an open mind that I headed to Mexican mecca Café Pacifico in Covent Garden for a Tezón Tequila masterclass. Like Champagne or Cognac, Tequila takes its name from its appellation of origin; the town of Tequila. The spirit is made from the agave plant, which is not a cactus as is widely (and wrongly) thought. There are over 200 varieties of agave in Mexico, but only Blue Weber Agave is used in the production of Tequila.

Much like wine, Tequila production is strictly controlled, and the spirit can only be produced in five small regions around Guadalajara in northwest Mexico. The agave plant grows on volcanic soils rich in minerals and takes around 6-8 years to mature, depending on its terroir. Plants in the highlands mature more slowly than in the hotter lowlands, where the sugars ripen earlier.

A beautiful turquoise colour, the plants are cut and left to steam in a brick oven for 36 hours to help increase their sugar content. The juice is then squeezed out and placed in fermentation vats made of American oak, where yeast is added. The spirit is double distilled before bottling, or, in the case of the Reposados and Añejos, barrel ageing.

Like wine, flavour is obtained from the oak barrels and differs depending on the amount of time spent in cask. French oak imparts a chocolate aftertaste while American oak offers vanilla sweetness. Barrels can even be charred – old Bourbon barrels are becoming increasingly popular as they offer attractive sweet smokey aromas associated with Bourbon and Whisky.

There are two types of Tequila - 100% Agave Tequila (made solely from Blue Weber Agave) and Tequila, a blend that must contain at least 51% Blue Weber Agave. The final 49% can be a blend of sugarcane and corn sugar. 100% Agave Tequilas are considered superior to blended Tequilas, offering higher overall quality and purity of flavour.

Tequila is the fastest growing spirit in the UK, reflected by the emergence of The Tequila Society (www.thetequilasociety.co.uk), set up earlier this year by flame-haired comedy actress and TV producer Cleo Rocos to promote the category. Chatting to Rocos, she seemed keen to promote the spirit's slimming benefits: 'Mexican women use it to diet as it contains virtually no calories – I swear by it'.

I was advised to approach the Tequila tasting in the same way I would a wine tasting - first smelling the spirit, then giving it a swirl and allowing plenty of air in when tasting. First up was the straight-to-bottle Tezón 100% Agave Plata. As it has no contact with oak, the agave flavour really comes through, so you get lovely, gin-like herbal notes on the nose.

Moving onto the Reposado, the first thing you notice is the colour. A year in oak turns Tequila pale yellow. The nose was totally different to the Plata - with wonderful vanilla sweetness, charcoal and peaty aromas on display. The Añejo I tried was aged for two years in Bourbon barrels, giving it hints of maple and a lovely long smokey length. It was fascinating to compare the three, and witness the affects of barrel ageing. 

Last on the tasting menu was 'Diva', a pink Tequila soon to be shipped to the UK. Aged in Merlot barrels for eight months, giving it an attractive Provencal onion skin colour, the spirit was astonishingly wine-like. The nose showed fascinating Port-like flavours – raisins, prunes, sultanas, Christmas cake and chocolate, while the palate was smooth, full and feminine with a long peaty finish.

But what of the worm I hear you cry! You will never find a worm in a bottle of Tequila. They only appear in Mezcal, an almost identical spirit made from Agave potatorum. The addition of the worm has nothing to do with imparting flavour, it's more of a marketing ploy to show the spirit is strong enough to kill the worm. Producers pluck the worms from the agave plants and pop them (still wriggling) into the bottles.