There’s a moment when a spirit slips past the usual categories — when it stops being just another bottle on the back bar and starts whispering stories of oak, fire, and time. This month, that hush is coming from Mexico, where Suavecito has unveiled its new Founder’s Reserve: a limited-edition, single-barrel añejo tequila designed to lure even the most loyal whiskey drinkers into the warm, agave-lit fold.
Founded in 2008 by Bill Foss, Suavecito’s story starts like a fever dream of dusty Jalisco roads and fields of blue agave. Foss first ventured to Mexico in 2002, chasing the scent of roasted agave and the idea of creating something smoother, friendlier — a tequila that even skeptics could embrace. The result was Suavecito, a brand that’s made waves for adding 2% unfermented agave nectar to its tequila, softening the edge and eliminating that burning sensation too many bad college shots left behind. Purists might scoff, arguing that good tequila shouldn’t need a sugarcoat, but Foss has always stood by his approach.
Yet in a twist that feels as deliberate as it is bold, the new Founder’s Reserve skips that nectar entirely. Instead, it leans fully into the power of time and wood. Distilled at NOM 1424 (Destiladora de Agave Azul), a distillery known for its sustainable practices, this tequila spends 24 months resting in ex-bourbon barrels from Kentucky before a six-month finishing stint in new French oak. The result? A spirit that emerges at a robust 51–54% ABV, stronger than your average still-strength tequila and brimming with character.
Only 15 barrels exist, each one a single-barrel expression — a nod to whiskey tradition that makes the Founder’s Reserve feel like it belongs as much in a connoisseur’s glass as it does on a Mexican bar top. On the palate, it’s an intricate dance of dark and milk chocolate, roasted agave, caramel, and butterscotch, underscored by cinnamon, black pepper, and fresh-cut grass. There’s an echo of bourbon in the oak, a whisper of France in the silky tannins, but the agave — proud and true — still holds court.
This is a tequila meant to be savored slowly, on its own or over a large ice cube. But if you’re feeling adventurous, it wouldn’t be out of place stirred into an Old Fashioned or Manhattan, the kind of cocktail that turns heads and starts arguments (the good kind).
Available now at specialty retailers across the country (SRP $125), Suavecito Founder’s Reserve is more than a bottle. It’s an invitation — a chance to step outside your usual pour, to lean into something sweet, strong, and undeniably complex. For the curious whiskey drinker or the seasoned agave devotee, it’s a bottle worth chasing. For more information, head over to the official website.
