Mexico a Go-Go

One of the interesting things that has happened since the world began to re-open after covid, has been the arrival to many a shore, of goods from unexpected places. Haute Couture Perfumes from India Homewares from Brazil and cakes from Singapore and although we know Mexico is the home of tequila we didn’t always get the authentic versions here. Mexican culture, via music art, design and gastronomy are becoming more and more popular as we learn more about this plentiful land. These countries so often seem so far away that we live in a sort of void of culture from them, and are closer at hand now more than ever, so we have plenty of opportunities to embrace and enjoy.

What helps us understand a country often is when we are presented with a collaboration, two sides of a project rather than just one. Mexico’s ultra-premium tequila, Maestro DOBEL® unveils its latest Celebrate Brilliance collaboration with Mexican craft curator Revolution of Forms and Architectural Digest Mexico’s Top 100, award-winning designers,  Liliana Ovalle,  ahead of Ovalle’s exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in October.

This collaboration is part of a programme the brand is behind that launches in the wider context of the increasing appetite for Mexican culture, design and gastronomy. Doing so helps fill our lack of understanding of a culture that is often too far to visit for many.

Inspired by the rituals traditional venues in Mexico adopt when serving cocktails, Ovalle’s designs are realised by glass artist Diego Vides Borrell and artisan collective And Jacob.  The limited edition ‘Encuentros’  cocktail-making kit comprises three handcrafted pieces using local materials; a Mexican marble jigger, a glass mixing jug and a stirrer. The fifteen sets are available exclusively at Harvey Nichols instore and online from 20th July with National Tequila Day on 24th July; the day for celebrating all Mexico has to offer in way of Tequila.

With this particular collaboration ‘Encuentros’ (‘Encounters’)  reimagines the art of cocktail making and facilitates an encounter with Mexican contemporary design and traditional materials and process and, pioneering tequila.

The designer Ovalle drew inspiration from Maestro DOBEL’s innovative approach to bridging its 11 generations of expertise by producing world-first styles of tequila. Experimenting with the tactility of glass and marble, the set reflects the transformative process Maestro DOBEL uses to turn agave into their multi-aged cristalino and smoked tequilas, Diamante and Humito. 

Maestro DOBEL selected Raffaella Goffredi, founder of Revolution of Forms, and former design head at Christie’s for her expertise in contemporary Mexican craft, to help identify the design talent for this year’s collaboration. As a pioneer in traditional craft methods, Ovalle was an obvious choice.

London-based Revolution of Forms commissioned Ovalle to design the serving concept for DOBEL and Ovalle, in turn, recruited specialist artisans in her homeland dedicated to safeguarding traditional Mexican crafts while reinterpreting these in inventive, contemporary ways in relation to both form and function Keeping and celebrating heritage yet bringing modernity to it.

The Encuentros Jigger (the basic hourglass-shaped stainless-steel measuring device seen in a bar) is made from South Mexican Negro del Sur marble, sourced from Guerrero, Chiapas. It was hand-carved by the family of eight brothers who form the artisan collective And Jacob: an innovative, architectonic take on a classic bar jigger.

Encuentros Glass Mixing Jar is smoky, black ombré glass mirrors how the tequila leaves the jug on pouring and nods to the hot ovens which bake the agave. The organic imperfections and flow of the black colouration could only be obtained by the expert artistry of glass blower Diego Vides Borrell.

Encuentros Glass Stirrer is inspired by the coa, a special hoe used for harvesting agave, and tipped with silver, also made by Vides Borrell.

The limited edition set invites us all to enjoy Mexican craftsmanship and connoisseurship with friends at home.  The fifteen sets are available exclusively at Harvey Nichols instore and online from 20^th July ahead of National Tequila Day on 24^th July.

Now should you wish to enjoy a cocktail may we recommend this maestro Maestro DOBELÒ Diamond Tequila Gimlet

Ingredients:50ml Maestro DOBEL®DiamanteÔTequila

20ml Lime Cordial

5ml Fresh Lime Juice

5ml Fresh Lemon Juice

5ml Light Agave Nectar

Glassware: Chilled Stir all ingredients together for up to 8 seconds before straining into a glass

Garnish: Lime Peel

Find out more about Dobel Here The set is available exclusively here at Harvey Nichols

.Cent Magazine London, Be Inspired;Get Involved