The Noble Bloggers presents: Jessica Arent
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Whatever it is that you have read or heard about tequila, chances are you have never done it in the way Jessica does. She is THAT special.
Engaging in a conversation with Jessica is anything but boring. There is just something about her that makes it fun, constructive and delicious to exchange words and ideas with this dynamic, incisive woman that has a deep passion for Latin culture and Tequila.
Jessica Arent has spent her career steeped in the Hispanic culture. Passionate about the Latin culture and experiencing roles that have taken her from television to digital marketing throughout the United States and Mexico, Jessica’s passion for Mexico runs in her blood. An accomplished writer, Mexico is where her heart lives and is the focus of her work and writing. Specializing in marketing Hispanic based products and services, Jessica will tell you there are few people in the world or places she has traveled, from Asia to Europe and in between, who compare to the Mexican culture. Building websites such as ALL ABOUT MEXICO and fostering the marketing endeavors of a number of tequila products, to name a few, Jessica sets out to inspire the world around her, one person, one relationship at a time, to know and understand the culture she calls home.
Sit back and enjoy this delicious contribution to The Noble Bloggers… just don’t blame us if you lose any calls.
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Tequila is 50 Shades of Gray
I worked for Univision television, my first time. I was a field correspondent. I was twenty something, and eager to learn. I was curious about life and naïve about the world. I was a fluent Spanish speaking Caucasian in a Hispanic world, and at the mercy of my employer to show me the ropes…….I was so young. I was so inexperienced. I was so intrigued……
The first week on the job, my boss took me to lunch. There I sat, in a darkened room, amidst rich red walls in an elegant Mexican Restaurant, letting him take the lead and show me the way. I was uncertain, and shy and awkward. He spoke to the waiter in hushed tones, and looked at me with a gentle wink and a smile…all knowing, Assured and certain. …..The first bottle arrived, and with love and deep appreciation, the bottle of Anejo was opened and poured…I am forever changed because of that moment.
Everyone talks about their first tequila experiences. Have you ever noticed that? Ask someone about tequila and their point of reference is their first time, and then all those “other” times….Welcome to 50 Shades of Tequila. It just isn’t black and white, its 50 Shades of Gray….
A sexy elixir by most standards, tequila is taboo and exciting all at once. Tequila stories run the gamut of tame to naughty, depending on the story-teller and instill a common theme of loss of inhibition, and a freedom that comes over a person when imbibing. It is sexy and alluring and whispers promises of what may come……50 shades of sexy….
Tequila is 50 shades of Romantic…..
Steeped in rich culture and history, tequila is associated best with the folklore and legends of cowboys and bandits; romance is the first point of entry for this decadent libation. What’s less known is the initial production of the fermented cactus juice dates back to the tales of the Aztecs in which “Octli” or “Pulque” was the name of the earliest tequila production offered only to nobles, royalty and warriors, and excessive intake and drunkenness was considered abuse and often resulted in death.
Tequila is 50 Shades of Uninhibited…
“Tequila makes her clothes fall off” is a common theme among those who partake. Once considered illusive and designed to specifically take the consumer from 0 to 60 in two shots flat, tequila has been historically the drink of choice for those looking to let go of inhibition and allow their inner goddess or god to come out. What better excuse for the behavior than that of “the tequila made me do it”? It is this magic elixir that inspires our primal desire to let go…..
Tequila is 50 Shades of Decadent….
While once a shooter for the purpose of drunkenness, today tequila is used in the epicurean world in a myriad of ways. Changing up such classic cocktails as The Bloody Mary, replacing vodka with tequila, for example, is indicative of a more sophisticated pallet. Desserts in which tequila is blended into sweet sauces and poured over berries for rich smoky flavor is another. Anejo, whose consumption as a sipping experience is relatively new, and inspires the warmed snifter with a cigar fireside.
Tequila is 50 Shades of Experience…..
Tequila is making headway in the market as the ever expanding and growing libation trend. While vodka was the product of choice ten years ago, the trendsetters today are choosing Tequila more frequently. The trend has changed the way we consume it. Once with salt and lime and a shot tossed back with a shudder, today tequila is being consumed with more elegance and interest. Bars that focus solely on tequila, educating consumers to the nuances and notes of the products and teaching the consumption experience is part of the draw. Included in this is the new cocktail recipes emerging in which tequila is the focal point and tequila on tap, in which special bars are built to maintain a perfectly chilled temperature of 5 degrees, and the pull of a handle emits a varietal of tequila.
Tequila is 50 Shades of Stylish….
The elegant man at the bar, is having his neat in a snifter. The hot girl on the patio is having a “cosmoquila” in a martini glass. They are the trendsetters, the stylish ones the masses set out to follow. They wear the smartest attire, are surrounded by the most interesting people and set the standards for everything from the clothes on their backs to the cars that they drive, so it makes perfect sense they are the purveyors of the best tequila’s and set the trends of their peers who aspire to be just like them.
There is nothing black and white about tequila anymore. It is not the simple 1, 2 shoot , swallow and gag experience it once was. The days of the worm in the bottle are gone, making room for products in crystal decanters, elegant bottles and partaken in beautiful Reidel glasses. Tequila is like wine. Have you ever met a wine drinker that was simple? We think not. With the innumerable varietals of the distilling processes, the infusions of flavors from oak barrels to soil, there is great complexity in tequila.
I have traveled the world, and the experience of tequila is like that of wine. The notes and specifications of the tequila products I have had are as complex if not more so, than that of wine. What makes it unique and extraordinary, is the still untapped understanding of the masses, of the values of the products being produced and the elegance and sophistication of the new tequila’s emerging into the market.
Sexy, elegant, stylish, decadent, trend setting, romantic……complex, isn’t it? There is so much more than meets the eye, and so much more between the black and the white. Ask anyone you know about “Tequila” and the first reaction you get is a glimpse of the ghost of years past, a slight shiver, goose bumps and a look of shame. It is the common denominator among most who have consumed the spirit, recalling first, and second, and third…tenth time tastes.
The reality is most of our consumption faux pas have occurred in less mature days of our lives, and tell tales that should not be shared in the most sacred of locker rooms. That was then, and this is now.
Call forward the tequila consumer today…..
Tequila is 50 Shades of inviting…..
Unlike his Neanderthal predecessor, the modern day Tequila trumpeter is savvy, sophisticated and prefers the finer things in life. He knows the difference between a cigar, and a stogie and he aspires to greatness through his image. He is the connoisseur of Tequila, like the Sommelier is to wine, and he is selective and distinctive and without a doubt, a trend setter. He is the man the women gravitate to…He is sexy, experienced and all knowing….
While trending with special interest these past thirty or so years, is the wine aficionado, today it is the “Tequila Aficionado” and he knows his products and its distinctions of good to great in every nuance of the elixir. He is the purveyor of the refined palette, and lasting impressions. He understands everything from the scent and flavor of the soil within the Agave Nectar, and the hints of flavors in the rested and long rested varieties. He can detect White Oak over French Oak. He can distinguish the smoky flavor with hints of varietal spices and flavors, from citrus to chocolate. He possesses a sex appeal like none other….
I can spot the Tequila Trend Setter in a crowd in less than 30 seconds. He stands out. He makes a statement and he is clear on what he wants. And when he takes that glass in his hand, he doesn’t lick his wrist, dump on salt and chase a gasoline shot with a lime and a kick back shiver. He savors it, swilling it in a brandy glass just at room temperature, and takes a deep breath in through his nose as he puts his lips to the glass rim gently, and sinks his nostrils into the bowl of the glass, and takes a long, languorous sip of that golden liquid. The smile of pure satisfaction telling the entire story of the experience spreading across his face makes him someone I have to meet……….
Jessica Arent
Jessica's Mexico 