THE MASCOTA TEQUILA DISTILLERY
ViNOS y LICORES AZteca (NOM 1533)
When it comes to making tequila, Melly Barajas, Founder and Master Distiller of the award winning distillery; Vinos y Licores Azteca, is in a league of her own. Many tequila brands are passed down from generation to generation, but Vinos y Licores Azteca was founded in 1999, solely by Melly Barajas, wherein she created the distillery in order to fulfill her father’s wish. After seeing tequila’s Denomination of Origin of Mexico acknowledged in a European magazine, he told his daughter that he would like to have a tequila with his name on it. In an industry in which approximately only 8% of tequila producers are women, Melly created Vinos y Licores Azteca, a distillery business made up entirely of women. For the past two decades, Melly Barajas has built a growing distillery business that is now recognized worldwide.
Pictured: Melly Barajas, center, with her team of empowered women.
PARTNERSHIP
“Araceli Spirits, LLC., is thrilled to have joined forces with Melly Barajas and her distillery Vinos y Licores Azteca, (NOM 1533) in Valle de Guadalupe, in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, which is 100% owned and operated completely by women. Melly has had the chance to make a difference by providing many women with the opportunity to maintain a steady career in the art of crafting the finest 100% blue weber agave tequila in Mexico. Her ability to empower these women has earned her the name “Doña Melly” due to the impact she has made on many lives in her community.
When I initially met with Melly to discuss my idea of creating Mascota Tequila to help animals in need, she became very emotional, which made me become emotional, and then she started to beam with joy. As I soon found out during our conversation, Melly is also an animal advocate like myself, of which I had no knowledge of prior to our meeting. Melly stated that she would often drive throughout neighborhoods in her area looking for animals that were in need of help, and that she would rescue them and find homes for them. With 18 dogs of her own and a huge ranch filled with animals, I couldn’t have found a better ally. I truly believe that we were connected by a Higher Power, through Divine Intervention to help us in moving forward with our mission.” -Victoria Araceli Vann.
Pictured: Melly Barajas, Founder & Master Distiller, Vinos y Licores Azteca
MASCOTA TEQUILA VERIFIED ADDITIVE FREE!
After completing a rigorous verification process of distillery audits, lab tests and sensorial analysis throughout various stages of the tequila-making process, Mascota Tequila has been verified and is now an Additive Free Alliance, Brand Member!
Out of the thousands of tequila brands currently in the marketplace, Mascota Tequila is One out of 110 brands that are certified as additive free by Tequila Matchmaker, the leading authority on Agave Spirits.
If your tequila tastes like vanilla frosting, pancake syrup, caramel candy and is super smooth and sweet, rest assured, your tequila is loaded with additives and glycerin, which is not how tequila is supposed to taste!
A very big shout out to our distillery and our amazingly, wonderful team of women, for keeping it real, for being transparent and for making some of the best Doggone Tequila for our little brand, Mascota!!
Salud!
THE MAKING OF MASCOTA TEQUILA
The fully mature agave plants that are harvested to make Mascota Tequila, are cultivated in the highlands of Jalisco, where nature has deposited large amounts of minerals, which once upon contact with the air, begin to transform the ground, the soil, or el suelo de la tierra, into a deep, rich, red soil, giving each of the agaves a very special touch of the beautiful highlands of Jalisco. The extraordinary liquid produced for Mascota Tequila is 100% blue weber agave and it is made in five different expressions, blanco, reposado, añejo, rosa & extra añejo.
The agave piñas that are harvested for Mascota Tequila, are steam cooked for a period of 24 hours and then left to rest for an additional 24 hours, prior to crushing. Once the liquid is collected, it naturally ferments in open steel vats for roughly ten to twelve days. The liquid is then twice distilled and given a unique micro-oxygenation process, that injects tiny air bubbles into the agave distillate, which further purifies it’s rich, clean flavor. Mascota Reposado is aged for 9 months in American Oak barrels, Mascota Añejo Tequila is aged for 3 years in French & American Oak barrels and the very special Mascota Tequila Extra Añejo expression, is aged in French Oak barrels for 9 years.
The extraordinary tequila made for Mascota’s brand portfolio is confirmed to be one of the very best that the distillery has ever produced!
MASCOTA TEQUILA - Brand Portfolio 100% blue weber agave
Mascota Blanco - A crystal clear, light premium spirit. Clean, balanced taste, offers a warm and spicy flavor with herbal notes. An excellent tequila to be enjoyed neat or mixed in cocktails. (White Dog Bottle 750ml )
Mascota Reposado - Golden, straw color. Subtle nose of light wood and agave. Rich flavorful taste of baked agave, vanilla and light barrel notes that don’t overpower. A very elegant reposado with a long finish. Age: 9 months in American Oak Barrels. (Gray Dog Bottle 750ml)
Mascota Añejo - Golden amber color. Offers hints of honey, citrus, oak and cooked agave on the nose. Rich flavorful taste of caramel, oak and citrus. A very classy and refined añejo for sipping. Age: 3 years in French & American Oak Barrels. (Tan Dog Bottle 750ml)
Mascota Rosa (White/Pink Dog Bottle 750ml) Delicate aromas of fruit, honey and light oak. On the palate, agave-forward taste, floral, with soft notes of cabernet. A fine sipping tequila that is perfectly balanced. Aged for 30 days in repurposed white oak cabernet wine barrels.
Mascota Extra Añejo - Deep, dark wood color. Sweet aroma of cooked agave and buttery vanilla. Rich flavorful agave-forward taste with oak, vanilla and citrus. Aged to perfection for 9 years in French Oak barrels. (Black Dog Bottle 750ml) Not Pictured.
Mascota Tequila is distilled to the highest of standards, is additive free, and is a non diffused product.
We Celebrate & Support Women all year long!
"I would like to take this opportunity to recognize all of the beautiful women that help make Mascota Tequila possible. From the wonderful women at our ceramics factory, to our brilliant, female Master Distiller, Melly Barajas and to all of the amazing women at our distillery, I along with millions and millions of animals in need throughout the world, thank you for all that you do!
Together, we continue to move forward with our mission of helping animals by introducing Mascota Tequila to the world. Mascota Tequila is so much more than just a tequila brand, Mascota is a symbol of HOPE for animals.
Our women in Mexico work tirelessly in making this magical little tequila brand and take pride in making and filling each bottle, as they know at the end of the day, each one of these Mascota Tequila Pups represent help and hope for so many animals in need.
Mascota is very labor intensive and it is the most complicated bottle that our ceramics factory has ever produced in 104 years in business! Each bottle is handmade and then hand decorated one-by-one, and then shipped to our distillery in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. Once the bottles arrive at the distillery, our women go to work on dressing each Mascota Tequila Pup with a metal dog tag and then hand-filling each bottle individually, as our Mascota Pups will not work on a traditional bottle filler, due to the unique bulldog bottle shape.
After each bottle is filled a safety seal is applied around the head and the collar of each dog, and at that time they are ready for packaging. As every animal deserves a home, each and every one of our Mascota Bottles arrive with their own doghouse! Each doghouse is assembled one-by-one, then each Mascota Pup is zip-tied inside each doghouse to keep them safe and secure, ready for their journey from Mexico to meet all of you.
The next time you see one of our beautiful Mascota Tequila Pups, just know that from our amazing tequila to our one-of-a-kind bulldog bottles, every step of the process in creating these unique works of art have a woman’s touch, that is special and unforgettable, just like all of the women on our team! Also know that through your love and support, we are not only able to help animals, we are also helping to provide jobs for many women!
I want to thank all of the amazing and beautiful women on our team, along with women all over the world for your contributions, your love, your passion, and for making the world a much better place!"
~Victoria Araceli Vann, Founder & CEO
Mascota Tequila / Araceli Spirits
