After making waves in the markets of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana, Maya Pistola Agavepura’s Reposado has now made it to the Kolkata markets. The agave spirit was launched with a tasting at Ping’s Cafe Orient, headed by Maya Pistola Agavepura COO Kimberly Pereira.
Before the tasting — which included Maya Pistola Agavepura’s Anejo and Joven — Kimberly went into the depths of Pistola from the growing of the plants to the creation of the 100 per cent authentic agave spirit that ensures calorie-free, cautious drinking with no hangovers.
Maya Pistola Agave’s Anejo, Reposado and Joven
Kimberly led the audience through the tasting, asking attendees to focus on colour, smell and taste — all results of Virgin American white oak, ex-bourbon and ex-wine barrels used in the distillation process. A chart listed the characteristic flavours — the earthy, spicy Joven with notes of fresh-cut grass and citrus, the darker Anejo with fruity notes and the sweeter Reposado that would taste great in a Boulevardier or Picante.
Post the tasting, cocktails like Old Fashioned and Picante made with Reposado were served and Ping’s dished out some delectable food
The SheOO speaks
My Kolkata caught up with Kimberly on the sidelines to chat about all things Pistola
My Kolkata: Congratulations on entering the Kolkata market. Why is now the right time to enter?
Kimberly Pereira: The bar scene is booming in Kolkata. The city has discerning customers who have travelled the world and experienced the cocktail culture. They have a growing appreciation for new spirits and international trends. Over the last year, we can see the progress with the cocktail bars that have come up in Kolkata. And that's what makes Kolkata so exciting because now it’s up and coming.
It’s been three years since Maya Pistola Agavepura was launched. Which cities have shown the most demand so far?
Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, has a much higher demand for an agave spirit, based on the fact that there are more bars there. In India, I would say Goa also stands out, mainly because of the strategic price point (Rs 2,985). But what’s been surprising is that the US has been very welcoming of the product as well. It’s a huge market and their demand for tequila and agave products has just shot up. They’ve been very welcoming and is one of the biggest markets we have.
What has your research shown about the alco-bev market here?
Last year, there was close to 23 crores worth of sales, I believe, in the alco-bev market, which shows strong potential. With the rise of pop-ups and cocktail bars, the culture is growing and the bar programme is getting better.
For a city that loves its cocktails, but is slow to experiment, what’s the game plan?
We have been bringing in bars for takeovers, hosting master classes, and reaching out to the trade and bartender communities. Our Reposado spirit stands out with its versatility. The beauty of this spirit is that you don’t always have to drink it in a cocktail so you could experiment with it but you wouldn’t need to. The bartender community here is very innovative. They’re travelling and exposed to industry trends and are still absorbing and trying to create their own unique experiences.
Can you walk us through the process of producing Pistola from an agave plant?
The agave plants grow in Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh) and it takes about 11-13 years for one plant to mature. The average weight of the plant is about 150-200kg, and the largest plant we have housed so far was 300kg. You yield only about eight litres from a plant that size! The entire process of distillation happens in Chittoor, after which the spirit is aged, blended and bottled in Goa. For each variant, we have a different combination of casks and that’s then distributed from Goa to registered states.
It says that it offers a hangover-free indulgence. This could be the spirit we all needed…
I think alcohol, in general, has a bad reputation for hangovers simply because either it’s spurious or there’s something added to it which causes the hangover. We eliminate this by removing the heads and the tails (the first and last part of the distillate) in our second distillation. By getting rid of the congeners, which are impurities present in the distillate that cause hangovers, only the purest part of the spirit is kept, and that is aged. If we were to add that to our spirit it would give us a lot more product at the end of it. It is a lot more money to be made but we do not do that. There are no additives, colour and flavouring. What you see is what you get. It comes straight from the barrel into the blending tank where we add de-mineralized water and we bring it down to the percentage of alcohol needed.
What has been your most rewarding experience with the brand so far?
It’s rewarding when people recognise your brand and respond positively, saying they love the product and have it in their home bar. It is incredibly validating to see your efforts in promoting the brand being appreciated. We’ve received messages from people in Canada, different parts of the US, Australia, and the Netherlands, even before our official launch. A sommelier in Finland fell in love with our product, and now it is part of his collection. Seeing people appreciate the passion you put into your work is the best part of the journey.
