Whisquila
WHISQUILA starts out as a Rye Whiskey, made using water from the melted Ice caps of the Northern Rockies. It is then placed in new charred oak barrels, giving it the most desirable taste. Finally, it is blended with our Super Premium Tequila from Mexico, which is distilled in the highlands of Jalisco. WHISQUILA’s woody, oak aroma, and notes of spicy white peppers, tobacco hazelnut, and burnt honey are enhanced by blending our Rye Whiskey with our Super Premium Tequila, in small vats, macerated together under high temperatures to achieve the perfect blend.
Brand History
It all began in the basement bar of the Arora family’s house in Birmingham, Alabama in 2010. Chander Arora, an entrepreneur and former textile chemist, always had a dream of one day distilling his spirit.
One summer afternoon, Chander and his daughter Nina Arora were hanging around the bar discussing topics for her college final paper. At the same time, Chander started making cocktails for himself and his wife, Sodhi. That’s when the idea came to Nina about why can’t we blend two true spirits rather than dilute a vodka, tequila, or whiskey with a mixer. That was our Eureka moment!
After spending hours brainstorming and researching that night, while forgetting the time because of all the excitement, they created the boldest combination! A blend of vodka and tequila! If distilled correctly, this would be one smooth, bold, blend that everyone could enjoy.
The next step was getting an idea into reality. That’s when Chander and Nina, who were studying at Birmingham Southern College, Birmingham, AL, spearheaded the next move. Using their circle of friends, they eventually got themselves into the lab at Florida Caribbean Distillers, a distillery in Auburndale, Florida. Chander, with a background in the textile industry, came into the lab with an idea of how to properly blend these two spirits using thermal blending techniques, something that obviously cannot be done at home by merely mixing the two spirits by hand.
Because of the lack of funding for testing samples, they decided to ask for volunteers around the distillery. Come on, who wouldn’t want to sample some spirits?! They both spent over 4 weeks working on the formula until the perfect blend was created “VODQUILA”!
From there, the final thing Chander, Nina, and his son Romie Arora, who at that time was studying at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, tackled was the design of the bottle. Their goal was to make sure the bottle exemplified the unique blend. In doing so, focusing on the bottle’s aesthetics to separate the bottle design from competitors was a top priority.
Using their thermal blending technique, Chander, Nina, and Romie were able to apply this method to multiple different spirits.
