House of Rare Reposado

Many tequila brands come from ‘horse and ranch’ families who have been agave farmers or tequila producers for decades. These brands are passed down through multiple generations, preserving family traditions, practices, and flavor profiles.

There are also mavericks and renegades—individuals who pursue their passion for creating tequila despite having no prior history in the industry.

Miguel Ortiz fits the ‘maverick’ type, however, his innovation and experience with aging spirits puts him in a highly experienced category of brand owners. And now, Miguel has created the brand House of Rare, which may confuse connoisseurs who have seen the name on the bottles of other well-known brands for many years.

Although technically a new brand, House of Rare’s previous history can be summed up as a barrel-curation and aging company.

Many years earlier, Miguel had fallen in love with Scotch whisky during his time in London and brought that fascination back to Mexico, where he honed the craft of barrel aging using rare, hard-to-work-with, and difficult-to-source casks.

The RAREcask series of collaborations with brands like Cascahuín, Arette, Atanasio, and Real Matlatl mezcal have created highly sought after and loved expressions—one of the most recent being the Cascahuín RAREcask Calvados Añejo.

Next, Miguel took House of Rare into new territory by becoming a full brand with a house lineup of tequila expressions. Setting up shop at Herencia de Agaves (NOM 1648) gave House of Rare a small but highly efficient distillery using agave from the surrounding fields in El Arenal, Jalisco.

Location is an important factor in the brand’s flavor. The local volcanic soil and rock-filtered water give the agave from El Arenal a distinctive minerality, creating enjoyable vegetal and herbal notes alongside a mild sweetness. These complex flavors pair well with the Pedro Ximénez (PX) sherry casks used for the new six-month-aged reposado.

It may be a new brand, but their incredible barrel-aging experience empowers House of Rare to confidently use expensive and exceptional barrels early in the brand’s core offerings.

This new reposado is a perfect example of how a maverick like Miguel Ortiz is bringing something different to the industry, where innovation is the new tradition.

Nose: vanilla / oak / hint of wine (raisin) / cooked agave / herbal / pear / hints of orange (citrus) / earth / black tea / bell pepper / hint of honey / tobacco / molasses / orange blossom / minerals

Taste: agave / grape and raisin / oak / hint of vanilla / pepper / tobacco / cooked agave / hint of pear / orange peel / black tea / herbs / bell pepper / molasses / minerals / salt

Finish: medium viscosity coats the palate well but then has a quick finish leaving some sweetness and grape notes on the final swallow / the sip starts with a dryness but then ends with a wet finish (very interesting) / a touch of tobacco and harsh oak tend to remain on some finishing sips