Denton Fest
Prior to 1982, the only puro tequilas that were readily available in the United States were, Herradura and Sauza Hornitos. But Robert Denton and Marilyn Smith changed all that, and in turn, are very much responsible for the world wide popularity of tequila today.
After spending a several years in the liquor industry working for a few brands, including Ketel One, they decided to branch out on their own. While Robert was on the business side of the entire operation, it was Marilyn that was on the creative side. After tasting Caliente tequila, Marilyn knew that this was their next project. They flew down to Tamaulipas and developed a personal and business relationship with the Gonzalez family, and started importing Caliente and Chinaco tequilas. Both brands came from the same distillery (Tequilera la Gonzaleña NOM 1127) and were crafted by master distiller German Gonzalez. Chinaco was available as a reposado, añejo, and a 4 year añejo, (and later on a muy añejo) while the Caliente only came as a blanco.
While promoting the Chinaco line at the trade shows and at any bar that they happened to be in, Bob and Marilyn were also the first to use the brandy snifter for sipping tequila. While common place now, back then that was HUGE! Tequila was always served in a shot glass, and nothing more. Hanging out at a bar during a trade show in Chicago in the mid 80’s, they met one of the executives from Sauza tequila, and Marilyn proudly showed off her brandy snifter filled with Chinaco añejo to him. Needless to say, a few months later they saw a Sazua ad featuring, you guessed it, a brandy snifter.
In the late 80’s, Chincao stopped exporting to the US, so Robert and Marilyn went down to Guadalajara to find their next project. Knowing that they wanted tequila that was made in very small batches, distilled in small copper stills, and had an añejo that was a minimum of 2 years old, they met a lot of people and tasted even more tequila. It wasn’t until they got to meet the Camarena family and taste their product that they knew that they had found what they were looking for. Long story short, Bob and Marilyn built a personal relationship with the entire Camarena family before any business decisions were made. Once they decided to move forward on the project, a name had to be chosen, and the one they settled on was El Tesoro de Don Felipe. The first shipments of El Tesoro came over in late 1989 or early 1990, and came in the following profiles; Silver (which was the first brand to use that term, and also caused an uproar with the governing body that oversaw the production of tequila at that time. They then renamed it Plata but encountered the same situation), Reposado, Añejo, and Muy Añejo (and surprise, surprise, that term caused a problem too).
While there was some love for El Tesoro, Bob and Marilyn reintroduced Chinaco in 1993 to the delight of many a tequila lovers! Of which, many of those tequila fans were wine makers from California. Knowing the grape gave them a better understanding of the agave and a huge appreciation for what the Gonzalez and Camarena family were crafting. In fact, many wine makers would celebrate the end of their harvest with Chinaco and El Tesoro!
Robert and Marilyn are officially no longer involved with the importing and distribution of tequila (or any other liquor) these days, they still remain close friends with the Gonzalez and Camarena families. And for a lot of tequila lovers out there, the Chincao and El Tesoro that was imported by Robert and Marilyn, is considered to be some of finest tequila ever! On February 27 2011, about 18 tequila aficionados came together at La Pinata inSan Jose, CA to celebrate those tequilas and our very special guests, Robert and Marilyn, and properly named - Denton Fest
In order to attend Denton Fest, one needed to bring an unopened Denton Import bottle to share with the party. And for the evenings drinking pleasure, we had the following tequilas (from left to right); Chinaco "teardrop" blanco, reposado, & añejo. Chinaco "green label" blanco, "red label" reposado, "green label" añejo, and 4 year añejo. Caliente blanco, El Tesoro "artisan" silver, "white label" silver, reposado, añejo, "a very dark" añejo, and 2 different Paradisos - one bottle from the first batch, and one from the second, as well as a Chinaco 4 year añejo that was not in this picture.. Out of 16 bottles, I tasted 14, and was only able to get tasting notes on 12. Even though I was only doing 1/2 oz pours, it was a little difficult to devote the proper time that a tequila like this needs when you've got 20 other great tequila people to talk to, and by the 6th glass, it was too difficult to keep focus. In a nutshell, I'd say that 11 of the 12 I tasted were gloriously amazing!!! Not only do I wish I could have spent days with each bottle, but I wish I could have bathed in them!!!Special thanks to Joe Horrigan for organizing this wonderful event, to Art Guzman from La Pinata in San Jose for hosting and providing us with some really tasty food (and the coffee is amazing too!), and to everybody who shared their special bottle. But most importantly, a very special "thank you" to Robert and Marilyn for not just coming all the way from their home inMichigan, but for finding us these great tequilas, and for the stories they shared. They are truly, a special couple, and I feel blessed to have spent some time with them. Thank you!
After spending a several years in the liquor industry working for a few brands, including Ketel One, they decided to branch out on their own. While Robert was on the business side of the entire operation, it was Marilyn that was on the creative side. After tasting Caliente tequila, Marilyn knew that this was their next project. They flew down to Tamaulipas and developed a personal and business relationship with the Gonzalez family, and started importing Caliente and Chinaco tequilas. Both brands came from the same distillery (Tequilera la Gonzaleña NOM 1127) and were crafted by master distiller German Gonzalez. Chinaco was available as a reposado, añejo, and a 4 year añejo, (and later on a muy añejo) while the Caliente only came as a blanco.
While promoting the Chinaco line at the trade shows and at any bar that they happened to be in, Bob and Marilyn were also the first to use the brandy snifter for sipping tequila. While common place now, back then that was HUGE! Tequila was always served in a shot glass, and nothing more. Hanging out at a bar during a trade show in Chicago in the mid 80’s, they met one of the executives from Sauza tequila, and Marilyn proudly showed off her brandy snifter filled with Chinaco añejo to him. Needless to say, a few months later they saw a Sazua ad featuring, you guessed it, a brandy snifter.
In the late 80’s, Chincao stopped exporting to the US, so Robert and Marilyn went down to Guadalajara to find their next project. Knowing that they wanted tequila that was made in very small batches, distilled in small copper stills, and had an añejo that was a minimum of 2 years old, they met a lot of people and tasted even more tequila. It wasn’t until they got to meet the Camarena family and taste their product that they knew that they had found what they were looking for. Long story short, Bob and Marilyn built a personal relationship with the entire Camarena family before any business decisions were made. Once they decided to move forward on the project, a name had to be chosen, and the one they settled on was El Tesoro de Don Felipe. The first shipments of El Tesoro came over in late 1989 or early 1990, and came in the following profiles; Silver (which was the first brand to use that term, and also caused an uproar with the governing body that oversaw the production of tequila at that time. They then renamed it Plata but encountered the same situation), Reposado, Añejo, and Muy Añejo (and surprise, surprise, that term caused a problem too).
While there was some love for El Tesoro, Bob and Marilyn reintroduced Chinaco in 1993 to the delight of many a tequila lovers! Of which, many of those tequila fans were wine makers from California. Knowing the grape gave them a better understanding of the agave and a huge appreciation for what the Gonzalez and Camarena family were crafting. In fact, many wine makers would celebrate the end of their harvest with Chinaco and El Tesoro!
Robert and Marilyn are officially no longer involved with the importing and distribution of tequila (or any other liquor) these days, they still remain close friends with the Gonzalez and Camarena families. And for a lot of tequila lovers out there, the Chincao and El Tesoro that was imported by Robert and Marilyn, is considered to be some of finest tequila ever! On February 27 2011, about 18 tequila aficionados came together at La Pinata inSan Jose, CA to celebrate those tequilas and our very special guests, Robert and Marilyn, and properly named - Denton Fest
In order to attend Denton Fest, one needed to bring an unopened Denton Import bottle to share with the party. And for the evenings drinking pleasure, we had the following tequilas (from left to right); Chinaco "teardrop" blanco, reposado, & añejo. Chinaco "green label" blanco, "red label" reposado, "green label" añejo, and 4 year añejo. Caliente blanco, El Tesoro "artisan" silver, "white label" silver, reposado, añejo, "a very dark" añejo, and 2 different Paradisos - one bottle from the first batch, and one from the second, as well as a Chinaco 4 year añejo that was not in this picture.. Out of 16 bottles, I tasted 14, and was only able to get tasting notes on 12. Even though I was only doing 1/2 oz pours, it was a little difficult to devote the proper time that a tequila like this needs when you've got 20 other great tequila people to talk to, and by the 6th glass, it was too difficult to keep focus. In a nutshell, I'd say that 11 of the 12 I tasted were gloriously amazing!!! Not only do I wish I could have spent days with each bottle, but I wish I could have bathed in them!!!Special thanks to Joe Horrigan for organizing this wonderful event, to Art Guzman from La Pinata in San Jose for hosting and providing us with some really tasty food (and the coffee is amazing too!), and to everybody who shared their special bottle. But most importantly, a very special "thank you" to Robert and Marilyn for not just coming all the way from their home inMichigan, but for finding us these great tequilas, and for the stories they shared. They are truly, a special couple, and I feel blessed to have spent some time with them. Thank you!
As a side note. A lot of the corks were changed out because they broke while they were being opened.more pics from that evening...
Originally posted May 20, 2011
