Acre Largo Blanco

Sometimes the best ideas are the ones you weren’t looking for.

Brothers Seth and Zac Longaker had already spent nearly 30 years together as entrepreneurs. Their first company, Oddball, began in 1997 when the brothers couldn’t reliably find shoes for their large feet and decided to create their own.

Years later, while in León, Mexico developing their footwear line, somebody casually suggested putting a small bottle of tequila in the shoebox. And just like that, the idea of what would become Acre Largo tequila came to life.

An introduction led to Juan Francisco Collado, creator of Tequila 1921, followed by trips into Los Altos, and eventually Hacienda La Esperanza, today known as Hacienda El Olvido (NOM 1580).

“There was a lot of luck and serendipity in all of it,” said Seth and Zac. “We weren’t looking for any of it.”

Along the way, they developed a relationship with the López family, owners of the distillery, and maestro tequilero Enrique “Balta” Baltazar.

Rather than simply putting their name on existing tequila, Seth and Zac wanted to understand the process, taste, ask questions, and develop something they genuinely wanted to drink themselves and call their own.

The timing proved meaningful for both sides. The López family had lost Gabriel, the man who first welcomed Seth and Zac to NOM 1580, and the distillery was struggling to find its next chapter.

Meanwhile, nearly three decades in the shoe business had left the brothers searching for some renewed energy of their own, feeling their entrepreneurial curiosity had faded.

“We certainly didn’t show up thinking they needed us, and we had no idea how much we were going to end up needing them.” And that successful relationship seems to have reinvigorated both parties. Now, whenever they gather at the distillery, they have their own celebratory toast: “Amigos siempre.” Friends always.

Acre Largo Blanco begins with estate-grown Blue Weber agave harvested at six-plus years in Jesús María. The agaves are cooked in brick ovens, roller-mill extracted, and open-air fermented using a proprietary yeast blend. Distillation begins in stainless steel and finishes in copper before the blanco rests in stainless steel prior to bottling.

Nose: sweet cooked agave / hint of vanilla / earth / hint of pepper / vegetal-hint of grass / apple / banana / hint of orange citrus / bell pepper / sage / lavender / mineral

Taste: bold sweet cooked agave / vanilla / hint of earthiness / very mild cinnamon / banana / green apple / melon / tangerine / anise / spearmint / white pepper / nutmeg / mineral

Finish: medium viscosity mouthfeel coats the palate well / huge cooked agave notes jump out right away with beautiful vanilla and mild cinnamon notes providing complexity followed by some banana, anise, and citrus flavors / the back half of the sip turns up white pepper, vanilla, and spearmint notes as the final swallow ends on a sweet and refreshing finish

Somewhere during all the trips to Mexico, building new relationships, and developing a tequila brand, both Acre Largo and NOM 1580 caught a second wind by learning how they fit together.

And considering this entire adventure started with two guys trying to find shoes that fit, maybe it was just meant to be. Besides, as they readily admit, “This was never a get-rich-quick scheme. It’s probably closer to getting high on our own supply.”

This latest batch is noticeably more polished, expressive, and complete than earlier Acre Largo Blancos I have encountered, and it shows a distillery that has found its stride. If you tried an older batch and were not fully convinced, this is the one worth seeking out—or revisiting.

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