Whisky and, more lately gin, have been the spirits most closely associated with Scotland. UWA Tequila, a young company based in Aberdeen, hope to add a little Mexican influence to the Scottish drinks map.

Led by owners Michael Ballantyne and Ross Davidson, UWA Tequila have released the world’s first tequila to be aged in Speyside whisky casks.

The company exports top quality Speyside whisky casks to Tequila in Mexico. There, they are filled with super premium, triple distilled, 100% Blue Weber spirit.

Aged in the barrels, the spirit picks up some of the characteristics of the whisky which had previously been stored in them.

UWA Tequila: world fist

UWA’s core product line-up includes a platinum blanco – the spirit in its purest form plus a seven-month cask aged reposado. In spring next year, the company will releases a fourteen-month cask aged añejo .

This is the first time a tequila has been created by ageing it in Scotch whisky casks without combining different blends.

Michael Ballantyne, co-founder and CEO of UWA Tequila, said: ‘UWA Tequila is like nothing else on the drinks market at the moment. It’s been a long time developing everything for the brand, but we’ve put a lot of effort into producing the very best tequila with our own Scottish twist.

Napa Valley next

‘Being native Scots and knowing our whisky rather well, we simply took inspiration from the whisky industry and applied it to our tequila. Ageing in various casks gives each one a unique expression. We wanted to be the first people to do something really different in the tequila industry. Our aim is to provide artisanal tequilas aged in barrels from single malt casks, to casks that are used by some of the finest wineries in the Napa Valley.’

Ross Davidson, co-founder and COO of UWA Tequila, said: ‘We make the tequila in the same way as anyone else does. However, the fact we started out with an industry first using single malt Scotch whisky casks really does make our tequila stand out.

‘Traditionally companies use American bourbon casks for ageing tequila. We’ve taken a really innovative approach in doing something completely different to the norm.

‘Our core range has three 40% ABV products in it. We’re already looking into ageing tequila in numerous other types of casks to create really high quality, super premium, small batch tequilas. We’ll also have some extremely rare ones to follow, but we’re not revealing too much at the moment.’

The company works in collaboration with a leading Mexican tequila distiller in the town of Tequila to produce their spirits.

Whisky giants Gordon and MacPhail, and independent company Bootstrap Liquor, will take the lead on UWA’s distribution across the UK. The tequila will be available in high-end shops, independent drinks stores, and bars and restaurants. The products will soon be found in Harrods, Harvey Nichols and online at The Whisky Exchange.

The tequila retails from £55 and is now available for pre-order ahead of the products hitting the UK market at the end of November.