Award-winning Mexican Moonshine rebrands as Canción Led by Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers
Flashback, summer of 1994, two lovers spend $600 on a VW Bus and ramble and rattle thousands of miles, discovering the best beaches, Mariachis, tacos, and tequila Mexico has to offer. Fast forward almost 30 years; their three kids are grown and flown, he has recorded 10 albums and been inducted into the AZ Music Hall of Fame, garnered several Billboard #1 chart positions, wrote the theme for the “King of the Hill” cartoon, founded their own music festival in a Mexican beach town where they also established a cantina, and she runs their Internationally distributed, award-winning tequila brand.
Roger Clyne, the singer/songwriter of Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers (formerly The Refreshments), writes and sings of the spirit he and his wife, Alisa, enjoyed on that trip and throughout their lives in the Southwest. Although they once tried to make their own tequila in a stone-lined pit, rigging up a still with found supplies from a ranch barn, they later approached a professional distillery and have been producing their private label since 2011. Named after one of his songs, Roger Clyne’s Mexican Moonshine Tequila is now being rebranded as Canción, the Spanish word for “song.”
The decision to change the name of the ultra-premium tequilas was made to honor the quality of their spirit and dispel the confusion over the word “moonshine.” Once corn whiskey moonshine brands emerged in the US, many mistook the tequila’s name as low-quality moonshine. It is still that same small-batch craft tequila inside the bottles. It is made in a centuries-old distillation process at an amazing modern facility called La Fabrica de Tequilas Finos (NOM 1472).
Prior to the rebrand, Canción won gold medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and became the Arizona Diamondbacks’ official tequila for three seasons. Canción is made with 100 percent Blue Agave from private farms in the valleys of Jalisco, Mexico. It is distilled twice and then filtered three times to clean out the fusil oils, aldehydes, and ketones natural in the distillation process, but guilty of contributing to that nasty headache procured the next day from cheap, less filtered tequilas. The filtration is just enough to keep the American White Oak charred bourbon barrel aging notes in the personality of their Reposado, Añejo, and Extra Añejo for tequila lovers to sip, savor and smile by enjoying neat, on the rocks or in a favorite cocktail.
The launch of the re-brand brings a bartender-friendly Blanco bottle. Alisa Clyne states, “If you take a look at a large tequila section of a liquor store, the bartender is challenged by almost every brand with great looking bottles that are difficult to handle in a busy cocktail-making shift. So I chose to take this opportunity in our rebranding to bring in a great Blanco bottle that is much easier for bartenders to create their cocktails with ease and fit the bottle into the speed rail for easier access.” Their brand is also debuting their Extra Añejo for the first time to the public. Once reserved only for a commemorative ceramic bottle that celebrated the 20th anniversary of Roger’s first major-label album as The Refreshments, “Fizzy Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy,” it will now be available at retail for the first time.
“We celebrate our community and our extended family who have been with us throughout our journey. Above all, Salud, Sip, and Sing with Canción!” – Roger & Alisa Clyne.
The Canción family portfolio offers four luxurious, award-winning tequila expressions with SRP per 750ml bottle starting at $38 for Blanco (unoaked), $48 for Reposado (rested 9 months), $58 Añejo (aged 18 months), and $120 for Extra Añejo (aged over 3 years). For more info, please visit https://canciontequila.com/.
Tasting notes include:
Blanco
– Crystal clear brilliance conspires with melon and citrus to subtly harmonize and create an alluring nose—floral agave with hints of quince and white pepper blend for a balanced encounter. The finish is smooth and enduring, leaving the palate with a warm and lustrous invitation to return.
Reposado
– Resting for 9 months in Bourbon barrels imparts a golden radiance with a viscous, buttery entry to the palate. A rhythmic balance of agave, hints of honey, and oak accents. It finishes with a smooth and smoldering crescendo.
Añejo
– Simple elegance begins with aging for 18 months in Bourbon barrels, heralding a full nose of smoky, woody notes. A silky entry to the palate finishes with a harmonious blend of sweet and dry tastes of agave, tobacco, and hints of vanilla. Perfect for sipping. Lingers with a long, silky glow.
Extra Añejo
– A celestial union of a premium bourbon barrel and agave spirit allowed it to rest and coalesce for over three years. Tequila’s legendary obsidian terroir meets American White Oak bourbon barrels’ heritage to conjure seamless notes of dry fruit, woody smoke, and hints of caramel butterscotch. The finish is an extravagant, refined experience of balance between sweet and dry in an alluring palate of agave at its best.
