Frambuesa
Find Hiatus Tequila at all Huse Culinary Restaurants
Hiatus A Tequila on the Rocks
From Helicopters to Tequila
Hiatus
noun - a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.
I admit it, I am a tequila girl. Always have been and always will be. I’ve graduated from the days of Jose to Patron and from Patron to this new brand, Hiatus. Tequila is my go-to drink, especially on a hot summer day and even more so these days with my love for the FeverTree sparkling grapefruit soda that pairs well with tequila and a splash of lime… trust me and just try it.
Speaking of Hiatus, I recently was able to sit down with Kristopher DeSoto one of the founders of Hiatus Tequila to deep dive into why he left his career of selling high-end helicopters to creating a tequila that for him represented the Mexican tequila he craved.
A quick background on DeSoto. Kristopher grew up in Texas and spent his youth traveling to Mexico including living there as an adult for eight years where he was able to experience tequila as a culture. He learned quickly how to savor different types of agave, mezcal and tequila eventually leading to a path of being a purist with the spirit. Living four hours outside of Tequila (tequila has to come from this specific region to be called tequila), he familiarized himself with understanding the region, the growing process, the bottling process and what makes good tequila.
When he left Mexico for Brooklyn, New York tequila was popping up everywhere with tequila bars with top shelf tequila and mezcal providing Kristopher with an opportunity to journey back to his love for Mexican tequila. Unfortunately that quest fell flat quickly realizing that the tequila in America was made specifically for the American palate - one of added preservatives and sweetness which was not authentic to Mexican tequila. It was nothing like what he was use to tasting and it simply wasn’t good. After trying way too many bad tequila products he decided he could create something better while bringing the authentic culture with it.
EI: Why did you launch Hiatus?
KD: We launched in 2018 because I wanted to create a better product from the place that it should come from with the actual people who produce it. I want to invite you look into the bottle and to see the culture and the authenticity of the product - Tequila is one of the most regulated spirits in the world and a multiple year process with importing and exporting. It has been quite the journey over the past few years.
EI: I am very curious about the name Hiatus - Why Hiatus?
KD: Naming the brand has to be the most complicated process. My intent was to find a word that was similar in english and Spanish and nothing was jumping out at me. The name could make or break everything and I was on a thin budget and was dreading hiring an agency. I woke up on my 39th birthday and was tired of the same old routine. I left aviation selling helicopters and wanted to do something impactful, fun and I randomly got a call from a friend who said where have you been, I haven’t seen you out and about and I said you know I’ve been on a hiatus and immediately I pulled up the name to see if it was out there. It seemed so perfect. It is an escape, a break, a change in state of being and state of mind. It is about taking a step back and finding some space and something important to you - Asking yourself, where do I want to spend more time and what do I care about. I want to be the brand that takes you to that place you want to go in your mind and the brand can to be part of that journey. We want you to do that when you are drinking tequila.
EI: After opening the bottle of Hiatus blanco I took a shot and was crazy excited with how smooth it was and realized at that moment I should have drank it neat. Thoughts?
KD: (Laughs) You can shoot it all day, you can bath in it, you can do whatever you like with it. I even splash it behind my ears from time to time.
EI: Tell me about the aging process - Is it the aging and filtration process that is the sweet spot for a good tequila?
KD: Our blanco is the heart and soul of our brand. For me getting the blanco correct is key. If you don’t have a good blanco to start with, the journey will be hard. We slow everything down and source ripe agave (takes up to 9 years to mature) that has the right sugar content and flavor. We want to have a solid blanco that isn’t hidden with other ingredients. Reposado (rested) is a blanco that needs to be aged between 2 and 12 months. It is about the alcohol connecting with the oak in the barrels where the flavor comes into play. We do it for 6 months - Our Añejo (aged) is our blanco that is aged for 1 year. We want it to taste like tequila and not the barrel so we age the Anajo for the minimum amount of time. We also use used whiskey and bourbon barrels to age our tequila. We are not trying to be a bourbon or whiskey, we want to be tequila and we want to taste like tequila.
EI: Tell me about tequila verses 100% agave tequila.
KD: There are two types of tequila. If it just says tequila on the bottle that means it is not 100% agave - it can be 51% agave tequila and 49% of something else from sugar cane. They are a mix of two different types of alcohol and can be exported legally in bulk. What we produce with Hiatus is 100% agave tequila and it has to say it on the label. Being 100% agave tequila means it has to be bottled in the same distillery produced.
EI: Why is important for you to say you are gluten free?
KD: Often times with other brands additives are used to speed up the process of tequila or other spirits and many those additives have some sort of gluten in them. As proof that we do things properly, slow everything down and do not use additives and we are certified gluten free. We are also kosher certified to show that we are clean and up to par.
EI: Does responsible harvesting practices play a part in your company?
KD: The agave plant takes a very long time to mature. We don’t use pesticides. It is an extremely manual process to harvest. It is all done by hand. The farmers physically have to manually cut the plant down with an 18 pound tool. We have very good control over the practices. Our distillery owns 50% of the land we use and we only use three other estates that are farmed. This allows us to work with ethical companies who take care of the waste and their employees. We reuse the waste, fiber and meat as fertilizer and this allows us to control our own eco system. It is an extremely important part of our process and the culture.
EI: How do you give back?
KD: We are active in the New York City area community with giving back to personal charities and are open to supporting good causes. We are involved and working on a national partnership with Best Friends Animal Society who raise money for animal wellness and help with super adoptions for local animal shelters. We have a dog who is rescued from one of these events.
About Hiatus
In the course of his extensive travels in Mexico DeSoto noticed that the most sought-after tequilas south of the border were often different from those found on U.S. shelves, with "more robust and expressive" flavors and aromas and no additives, what he calls "natural tequila.” When he first launched the brand in the U.S. in 2018, he immediately garnered the attention of several high-profile spirit industry veterans, such as Wes Henderson, the Co-Founder of Angel’s Envy. Mr. Henderson, who is an expert in premium craft spirits, and a close friend of DeSoto’s, will sit on the Advisory Board. Additional Board members include; Tim Brown, former Nestlé Waters CEO, the Huse family, owners of the historic Indianapolis based steakhouse, St. Elmo, and Danny McDonald, one of New York City’s best-known restaurateurs and long-term friend to many on the Hiatus team. Based on the advise of Huse family— Hiatus expanded to Indiana and has continued to be one of his most exciting and vast launches. In Indianapolis, you can find Hiatus at over 100 retail locations, including Huse Culinary restaurants.
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