El Perro Grande: El Paso entrepreneur launches tequila brand – El Paso Inc.
El Perro Grande Tequila
Renard Johnson with El Perro Grande tequila.
Contributing Writer
Here on the border, tequila has long been a go-to spirit for a night out with friends, an after-dinner cocktail or a stiff shot. The margarita, a cocktail made with tequila, triple sec and lime, was allegedly invented at the Kentucky Club in Juárez, after all.
But now, the rest of the country is catching up, with tequila consumption on the rise by more than 40% over the past five years, according to IWSR, a market analysis company that tracks liquor sales.
With its local history and rise in popularity, El Paso businessman Renard Johnson thinks it’s time for tequila to be an ambassador for all of the good things happening in his hometown. Enter El Perro Grande tequila.
Renard Johnson with El Perro Grande tequila.
“I’ve recently found myself at events where people were enjoying tequila, and I was always left out of the conversation,” Johnson said. “As a young adult, I remember taking tequila, shooting it and getting really sick.
“A good friend of mine said, ‘You don’t drink tequila like that; you sip it.’ He bought me a good tequila with an orange slice, and I fell in love.”
Once he found his palette, Johnson began exploring the many flavors that Mexico’s blue agave plant can produce and learning the difference between tequila’s three main varieties – blanco, reposado and añejo.
Johnson is the owner of Management and Engineering Technologies Inc., or METI, and has been involved in many ventures over the years, including the development of apartments by Southwest University Park. The next logical step for the longtime entrepreneur was to launch a tequila brand.
What followed was a three-year process of trial and error, Johnson said.
First, there was learning how the business works and finding a distiller in Mexico – by definition, tequila must be produced in the state of Jalisco.
“What makes this tequila so special is we took three years to develop the flavor profile,” Johnson said.
Before it even hit the shelves, El Perro Grande Blanco won a silver medal in the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition in May. It also won an award for its unique bottle shaped like a Chihuahua.
El Perro Grande Tequila
El Perro Grande will soon be available at your neighborhood watering hole and was scheduled to hit retail shelves by the end of August.
Coming soon is a Downtown storefront where tequila lovers can pick up a bottle along with El Perro Grande merchandise. In keeping with its name and unique bottle, some of the proceeds from sales will go to the Humane Society of El Paso.
“El Perro Grande is a tequila that all El Pasoans can be proud of,” Johnson said. “I’d like for it to be in other markets, so that whether it’s New York, Miami or anyplace in the country, you’ll see that bottle sitting on the shelf and be able to tell the person sitting next to you at the bar, ‘Let me show you this bottle so I can tell you about the El Paso region.’”
El Perro Grande is a premium tequila brand that comes in three varieties. We did the hard work of trying them so readers can know what to expect before making a purchase.
Blanco: What makes El Perro Grande’s award-winning blanco so special is that it has all the bark, with less bite. The blanco has little to none of the cringe-inducing aftertaste making it a great entry for new sippers. With its strong agave taste and hints of vanilla, the blanco is a good option for an ice-cold margarita.
Reposado: This was our favorite of the three. Aged for six months, the reposado boasts versatile flavors, with a stronger vanilla profile and a hint of smokiness.
Double Añejo: Aged in Jack Daniels whiskey barrels for more than three years, the double añejo will be the final variety available on retail shelves, as the magical agave juice is still aging in barrels, soaking up all of the vanilla and brown sugar flavors. We got a preview, however, and it will be worth the wait!
Contributing Writer
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