Shitty tequila burns your throat going down because it's shitty. Ghost Tequila burns on purpose – it's made in Mexico and infused with the infamous Ghost pepper, a native of India that at one time was the hottest pepper in the world.
I thought the flavor profile of Ghost would be something Boston people would appreciate.
The brainchild of Boston local and mixologist Chris Moran, it's set to debut in liquor stores and bars around Greater Boston. And it's doing so with an attitude.
"Our kind of people are young and hungry - make that thirsty," their marketing material boldly states. "They’re insiders that don’t mind swerving outside the lanes. They’re out ‘til 3 a.m. but make it back to morning meetings before that dickhead Randall in accounting. And when it comes to alcohol, they know when to call bullshit."
Moran was a bartender at Michael Schlow's celebrated Back Bay restaurant and tequila bar Tico for more than four years. During that time, he heard more than his share of bullshit drink orders. And got really good at making spicy margaritas.
"While working at Tico, he received quite a bit of requests for spicy margaritas, and eventually came up with his own concoction that gained quite a bit of popularity," Ghost's associate marketing manager, Nick Hasselberg, told me. "Ghost Tequila is Chris' original hand-crafted shot, reincarnated in the form of a 100 percent agave tequila infused with Ghost pepper."
The Ghost pepper, or Bhut jolokia, as Wikipedia informs me, is 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce and has a Scoville rating of more than 1 million heat units. In 2007, it was named the word's hottest pepper, though it gave that crown up before long to the Carolina Reaper, which tips the Scoville scale at 2.2 million units.
Ghost Tequila seems dead-set on disrupting a tequila industry in which seemingly every brand touts itself as small and craft or else so luxurious only the privileged few can afford to have a taste. Its brand messaging is witty and audacious, appealing to the young and ambitious, those who work hard and know what they want when it's time to loosen the tie and have a drink or two.
The white tequila is 80-proof and made in Mexico. And at about $25 for a 750 ML bottle, it's nowhere near the ticket price of other high-end competitors. If you're intrigued, you don't need to take my word for it, either. Ghost is rolling out in Massachusetts cities from Acton to Worcester. In Boston, you can find it in on-premise at bars like Coogan's, Battery Park & Lounge, Stephi’s on Tremont, Worden Hall and Yvonne's. If you want a bottle, Gordon’s Fine Wine & Liquors in DTX and the Whole Foods at Ink Block can hook you up.
"I started bartending at one of the first true tequila bars in Boston in 2011. And I had 100 tequilas behind me on the wall and no one was ready to drink them," Moran told me. "So I made one that people would like ... and remember."
You should also expect to start seeing Ghost Tequila invading your social feeds. That's because they've tapped Richard Pomes as their big-ticket brand ambassador. Pomes is the ex-Fireball Whiskey National Brand Ambassador, the man largely credited with helping propel that brand to the powerhouse status it enjoy now. He's currently bar-hopping around New Orleans, his hometown, introducing locals to the fiery goodness of Ghost. And Boston is next.
Ghost sent a bottle to the BostInno office, so I've had a taste (fine, a shot) myself. And I can honestly say it's pretty goddamn delicious. The heat from the pepper is definitely there, lingering on your palate long after it hits your stomach. But it's not overbearing. It compliments the smoothness rather than defining or disrupting it. (So, nothing like Gronk's recent run-in with hot wings.) I can see this making for an outrageously good Bloody Mary. But it drinks just as well on its own. I'm not going to come out and say Ghost is the new Fireball ... but Ghost is the new Fireball.
Here in Boston, where craft breweries are opening faster than you can count, Ghost is a nice departure from the norm, something new we can hang our hats on as a town that takes its drinking seriously.
"I designed Ghost for Boston people, so it only made sense to launch the brand here," said Moran. "Boston's on the cutting edge in a lot of ways, including what they drink. I thought the flavor profile of Ghost would be something Boston people would appreciate."
Images via the author.
