If Aliens Drink Tequila, Then Please Abduct Me
By David Lewis |
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When 48-year-old George Harris talks about UFOs, it is pretty easy to understand how he came to produce high-end tequila.
A former military operative, Harris said he worked in several fields where he got involved in research on extra-terrestrials. (He was, understandably, reluctant to go into too much detail about his exploits, but told stories of close-encounters that resulted in dramatically boosted IQs, and other interesting and off-the-record tales.)
In terms of his fantastic tequila, however, Harris is a self-educated tequilier who, after marketing honey and other products under the 'Alien' brand, settled on tequila, which has its roots in ancient Mexican indigenous culture, whose peoples had quite a history with outer space and even extra-terrestrial visitors.
"Three-quarters of the people on the planet believe in extraterrestrial life forms," said Harris, who runs a 5,000-square-foot alien research center near the reputed site of Area 51. "So if you design something around what 3/4 of the people on the planet believe in, it's an easier sell."
And it comes in a fun bottle. The tequila is unmistakable in its iridescent alien-head shaped bottle.
Normally, silver tequilas are not interesting enough for me to address neat, but Alien was as long and complex in finish as any clear tequila I have ever had, sported a dignified amount of fruit tonality, and was as fresh and invigorating as a dew-bath in Roswell.
And, apparently, I am not the only who thinks so; at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Alien Tequila cleaned up in a blind testing.
"It was a great honor to win two gold medals as a brand new company, for a tequila that has been our passion for three years," said Harris. "It's very well-balanced, phenomenally smooth, and you don't get that burn. It's sophisticated and very complex."
Enough tequila will send anyone to outer space; you might as well take a nice saucer. As an independent liquor company, Alien is just now being distributed outside of its home planet of Nevada; Ohio is one of very few states where it's available at present. You can try it out at Char Bar, Martini's, Marcella's, and a growing number of bars and restaurants, or pick up a bottle for around $50 at select liquor stores... but expect to see the Alien invade Columbus aggressively in 2010.
Originally Published: January 1, 2010
