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While the tequila industry has become famous for making bundles of money for superstars like George Clooney, it’s not exactly known as an industry that helps people at the bottom of the corporate ladder — especially women. The industry is historically run by a few wealthy patriarchal Mexican families who have been conducting business the same way for many years.
An up-and-coming brand called Tanteo, which specializes in spicy tequilas, is shaking things up with a different kind of approach. Tanteo makes its tequila at a cooperative distillery in a small Mexican town called Juanacatlán that employs mostly women and is focused on helping them get ahead and making a positive impact in the local community.
“I’ve always been interested in growing families and communities,” says Tanteo's CEO and master blender Neil Grosscup , who splits his time between the company's New York City headquarters — called Casa Tanteo — and Mexico. “I have always been passionate about hospitality in a broad sense since I was a theology major at Georgetown.”
You could say Grosscup left one spirit for another. After attending seminary to become a priest, he took a different path and moved to New York City, where he started bartending. There, he met the founders of Tanteo, got a position as an intern and worked his way up to director of operations. When one of the founders died unexpectedly, the company needed leadership to survive. At the age of 29, Grosscup stepped into the role.
“I reorganized and righted the ship by defining our mission, eliminating brands and getting costs in line,” explains Grosscup, as he whips up a jalapeño margarita at Casa Tanteo, which looks more like a hipster cocktail bar than an office, with its doors repurposed from old fermenting barrels and shelves from a 150-year-old Mexican apothecary. “I made it my own."
When Grosscup took over, the cocktail movement was in full force. Many bars and restaurants were making house-infused spicy tequilas and not doing it consistently well. Grosscup saw an opportunity to create tequilas infused with natural jalapeño, chipotle and habanero peppers that are cocktail- and margarita-friendly, but can also be sipped straight up or on the rocks.
Another goal was to be more innovative and community-oriented. "I am always seeking to do the right thing," says Grosscup. "I run my company with a set of values that my employees can share and benefit from." Tanteo joined a cooperative of about 90 farmers specializing in agave, the key ingredient in tequila, then helped them find a raw space in Juanacatlán to build a forward-thinking distillery.
The town of Juanacatlán used to be prosperous, but it was in ruins due to a denim factory closing down. "The distillery was built in this location because the co-op felt it was the right thing to do — to be an anchor to provide income for its residents and propel revitalization," says Grosscup.
Before the local distillery was built, the men of Juanacatlán were commuting to Guadalajara for work, leaving their wives behind to care for their families. But now it's a different story, thanks to the distillery's location. "Working-class families can now have two wage earners because they don’t have to commute to Guadalajara," says Grosscup. "We feel good about building something that adds value to the community and makes its residents' lives better."
Currently 80% of the distillery’s workers are women, including the head of the co-op, which is very unusual in Mexico.
“Here, everyone is important, starting from the bottom up,” says Josefina Patiño, the general manager of the distillery and one of few women in a senior-level position at a Mexico distillery.
According to Grosscup, Tanteo works with the cooperative to put an emphasis on hiring single mothers and widows. Another focus is on the basics: business integrity and producing a good product in a healthy environment. "We support ethical growing and harvesting of agave, sound bottling processes, intelligent operation-line design and a healthy work environment," says Grosscup.
Mena Jibran, Tanteo's marketing manager, says that working for a company like this feels good. "I've worked in advertising, I've had other clients," she says. "But with this job, I believe in the product and I believe in my work and I believe that I can help make a difference in someone's life in Mexico."
And according to bottling supervisor Rosalina (Rosita) Rivera, Tanteo is indeed making an enormous difference: "It has generated more positions for women, we feel confident and it helps the town and...our families."
Recipe: The Perfect Spicy Margarita
Here, Tanteo's recipe for an amazingly authentic margarita.
- 2 oz. | Tanteo Jalapeño Tequila
- 1 oz. | fresh lime juice
- 3/4 oz. | agave nectar (or simple syrup)
- Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice
- Shake well and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass
(salted rim optional) - Garnish with a lime wedge
