A New Vodka From Patron’s Founders Is Distilled Entirely From Blue Agave

Raise a glass in a new way.

The fundamentals of distilling vodka don’t leave a ton of wiggle room, or rather, room for reinterpretation. Unless, that is, you’re Weber Ranch, which just introduced an innovative new vodka under the Round 2 Spirits umbrella.

Just how innovative? It’s distilled from 100 percent Blue Weber agave, not unlike tequila — yes, tequila, not a smooth and luxe vodka.

Unlike working with potatoes, corn or wheat, which can be grown and harvested in a matter of months, Weber Ranch instead goes the same route as tequila, using blue agave that can take as long as seven years to mature.

Why craft a vodka from the hardy yet patience-inducing plant? It doesn’t hurt that the Weber Ranch team helped create and lead Patrón

Antonio Rodriguez, Weber Ranch’s master distiller and the former production director
at Patrón Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico, called Blue Weber agave a “a special plant that creates a superior spirit, and that’s not just limited to tequila.”

Rodriguez added that his team’s new creation is “unmistakably a vodka,” but gains “subtle, smooth flavor notes of tropical fruit and citrus.”

The result is a spirit that performs well in traditional vodka cocktails, yet can pull its weight in agave-based drinks (think the paloma or the buzzed-about ranch water).

“The tremendous versatility is the real magic of this spirit,” Rodriguez said.

Patience and process are still the hallmarks of Weber Ranch production, starting with hand-harvesting (followed by distilling) in Jalisco, before making its way to the Weber Ranch distillery in Muenster, Tx.

Copper pot and column stills aid in further distillation before the spirit is filtered and bottled, aided by the use of water from the local Trinity Aquifer.

As to the sleek bottle, which boasts a more vibrant logo than most vodka bottles, it’s embossed with “F.A.C. Weber 1902,” an homage to French botanist Frédéric Albert Constanin Weber, who first cataloged Blue Weber Agave on a 1902 Mexico expedition.

Will consumers hungry for innovative spirits take to this new proposition? Time will tell, but if the popularity of tequila is any indication, there might be a market yet for an agave-based vodka (and it can be bought for a highly affordable price online at Weber Ranch now).