Salt & Lime

Why is our newest collection called Salt & Lime?

We here at Villon are the Gringo-est of Gringos.  To many Americans like us, salt and lime are often thought of as *the* accompaniment to Tequilla, long thought by these same people to be a symbol of Mexico.  As it turns out, many, and perhaps most, Mexicans who consume Tequilla do not consume it alongside salt and lime, instead favoring it neat or with coco-cola or as part of some other cocktail. The salt and lime pairing is largely a foreign concoction that attempts to mask some of the undesireable flavors of cheap Tequilla (cruda) that was historically found ouside of Mexico.  The salt taken before the Tequilla is thought to increase the saliva productions, while the post-sipping lime is meant to diminish the after taste.

We appear to be in the midst of a Tequilla (and it's closely related cousin, Mezcal) renaissance of sorts. With high quality 100% agave Tequillas readily available at affordable prices, afficianados and novices alike are beginning to enjoy Tequilla for its own merits and are forgoing the salt and lime.  But for many of us that didn't grow up drinking it the "right" way, this link is forever ingrained, and in fact somehow now seems to stand up on its own merits. For most of the year we are open minded in our approach to Tequilla, but when May 5th rolls around, there is only one way to have it for us -- pass the salt and lime.

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Author: Grant Lewis