LONDON (AP) — Love it or hate it, tequila conjures up strong feelings in many drinkers.<\/p>\n
“Forgive us for the old memories of bad quality tequila!” jokes Antonio Rodriguez, director of production at Patrón Tequila. “We cannot hide that we come from a history when usually tequilas were not as premium as they are right now.”<\/p>\n
Deano Moncrieffe, founder of the London tequila and mezcal bar Hacha, laments, “People always blame tequila for a bad hangover when really the fact is that they probably started the night drinking wine and then beer and then champagne and then at some point, maybe 2 or 3 in the morning, someone said, let’s have tequila!”<\/p>\n
And Steffin Oghene, vice president of global marketing and sales for El Tequileño Tequila, agrees tequila used to be seen as “the party, smash-it-down, get-wasted kind of spirit.”<\/p>\n
But, he says, “Over the past 10 years, there’s been a lot of effort put into educating people and making them understand that tequila isn’t just the spirit to shoot. It’s a really complex spirit" that takes time and expertise to produce.<\/p>\n
These re-education efforts appear to be working. Tequila is one of the fastest-growing alcoholic drinks in the U.S., with consumption up by 40% over the past five years, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.<\/p>\n