African Tequila Revisited

Stolen from iAfrica.com

Blue agave on mission to US, Canada Posted Tue, 01 Feb 2005

The producers of blue agave spirit are undertaking an export and investment mission to Canada and the United States next week to conclude trade agreements and to seek business partnerships ahead of launching into the lucrative North American market.
A delegation from Agave Distillers — including board chair Keith McLachlan — will visit Vancouver, Los Angeles and Houston from February 6 to 14, to finalise export agreements and to seek further investment and distribution partners for its blue agave spirit, bottled here as Agava Silver and Agava Gold.

Agave Distillers has its headquarters in Cape Town.

With a shortage of tequila worldwide, international interest in the South African product has been growing, said McLachlan on Tuesday.

He said the company was currently concluding a deal with a major UK distributor to export 13 500 litres (1500 cases) of his product per month and would finalise similar export and distribution deals in Vancouver, Los Angeles and Houston during the upcoming mission.
We can produce 150 000 litres a month

McLachlan added that his company was preparing to invite shareholders, both local and foreign, to invest in Agave Distillers' anticipated international success.
Capital Commitments, a venture capital specialist organisation based in South Africa, had been contracted as corporate advisors, company secretary and issuing house to facilitate the involvement of the investment public.

"We will be offering the opportunity to invest in a new business with a unique product in great demand that is not being manufactured anywhere else outside of Mexico and which has proved itself to have almost unlimited potential," said McLachlan.

Agava Distillers operates a distillery in Graaff Reinet, about 600km east of Cape Town, where the Blue Agave Americana plant grows in abundance.

McLachlan said the distillery had capacity to produce up to 150 000 litres of spirit each month, enough to meet large export demands. "We believe that in the next five to ten years, South Africa could become a major contender in the international market, competing with the (leading) Mexican (tequila) products."

"Due to the regulations pertaining to origin, only Blue Agave Spirit produced in the Jalisco Province of Mexico can be called tequila. Our product is a Blue Agave Spirit produced from the Blue Agave Americana which is a close relative to the Blue Agave Weber found in Mexico from which tequila is made," said McLachlan.