Snow Queens  

The dry, rocky slopes of Jalisco, along Mexico’s west-central coast, are a natural fit for the agave plant, which grows in spiky, aloe-like clusters within farms spread out over 1,600 square miles of the country’s seventh-largest state. The region, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is about as far a cry as you can get from the snow-dolloped peaks of Aspen. But the opposite climates and landscapes—one sultry and volcanic, and the other bracing and alpine—come together in Snow Tequila, a brand that embodies the outdoorsy spirit of the luxury winter sports set.

Snow Tequila was founded by Katrina Johnson, a health and wellness professional, and Barbara Sanders, publisher of the Aspen-based luxury magazine Snow, who share a passion for skiing. “One day on a [ski] gondola, we talked about that amazing feeling of skiing down the perfect run on a powder day, and then the apres-ski experience. What would it be like to bottle that experience in a drink?” says Johnson. 

The friends began by tasting some of the top Tequila brands, whose products they had only experienced in cocktails—“which means we hadn’t truly tasted them,” says Sanders. “I was blown away. These are the leaders in the industry, but the flavor just wasn’t there.”

According to Grover and Scarlet Sanschagrin, makers of the Tequila Matchmaker app and founders of the Additive-Free Alliance, 70 percent of tequilas on the market are made with additives—from glycerin to caramel coloring, vanilla or oak extract, and sugar syrups—to improve the taste of lower-quality or immature agave and stretch beverage volume. True to Sanders and Johnson’s interest in health and wellness, they opted to partner with a distillery that ranked high on the Tequila Matchmaker list. 

They found the ideal collaborator in El Fogonero, a 26-year-old, family-run distillery. Rosita Correa, daughter of El Fogonero co-owner Jesus Correa, serves as Snow Tequila’s maestra Tequilera. For the brand’s first product, a cristalino reposado, she selected agave grown at the foot of the Volcán de Tequila, whose mineral-rich soils sparkle like snowflakes. Although Snow’s cristalino meets the criteria for Tequila, a Denomination of Origin product, the beverage maker uses the punny moniker “te-ski-la” to avoid issues with the trademarked word.

Six to eight agave piñas are needed to produce a bottle of Snow’s cristalino reposado, which is aged for six months in white oak barrels and retails for $90. A smooth Tequila, it has citrus and almond notes and an outdoorsy crispness that evokes mountain living. The freshness makes for an excellent sipping drink, as well as a base for cocktails, such as a wintry Mexican hot chocolate or a spritz with fruit juice and club soda. When it comes to food, Sanders says, “It’s so versatile. It’s amazing with oysters, with pasta, with meat. It’s easy drinking and not so intense that you have to plan around it.”

Snow Tequila is a women-owned operation in the United States, but even in Jalisco, Correa is supported by a female staff. “We love the atmosphere when we visit,” says Johnson. “This is a very male-dominated industry, but when we go to the distillery, there are women doing the bottling and labeling, with music playing and lots of camaraderie.” 

It inspired Snow’s founders to go through the complex process of getting their Women-Owned Business certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). “It’s one thing to say we’re female-owned and operated, but we really wanted that certification,” says Sanders. “We’re very proud of it.”

In February, Snow Tequila will launch their latest product, an unaged Blanco ($50) that the founders describe as an exceptionally smooth sipping tequila. They’re unveiling a new bottle design—a sculpture-like, frosted glass triangle engraved with a snowflake, and topped with asymmetric mountain peaks that can be removed and displayed bartop. They also plan to expand into the European market, and in Q2, they will introduce two ready-to-drink canned cocktails, the Snow Spritz (with elderflower, lime, and soda water) and the Margajito, a margarita-mojito hybrid.

With 3,000-plus Tequilas currently on the market, Sanders and Johnson know they have a lot of competition. Johnson explains, “It comes down to being really selective and staying true to our mission: to not cut any corners and to bring the cleanest, most elevated experience to the market.”