Los Angeles:

• Cochon All-Inclusive VIP event, 5 year anniversary party. Incredible selection of food and drinks, the tastiest bash  in Los Angeles. For info & tickets: http://bit.ly/15ek2MB
• Lula Cocina Mexicana will feature the Acai Margarita during May, and offer it as 5 de Mayo Special on May 5th from 7-9PM  http://www.lulacocinamexicana.com/
• The Edison: Drink feature Casa Noble Single Barrel #123 : http://www.edisondowntown.com/
• Mission Wine & Spirits: Cinco de Mayo Special Display in Store.http://www.missionliquor.com

San Diego:

• Fred’s Old Town: featuring $9 Shots and a special treat for the all organic, $10 Skinny Margaritas with Casa Noble Crystal :http://www.fredsmexicancafe.com/old-town-san-diego.html
• Miguel’s Old town featuring $8 Shots of Crystal: http://www.brigantine.com/miguels_cocina/location-old_town.html
• Old Town Mex is featuring “add a shot of Crystal” to any beer for $8, and the now famous Casa Noble Organic Margaritas for $9.95 http://www.oldtownmexcafe.com/

Chicago:

- American Junkie: $9 signature Margaritas for  5 de Mayo:http://www.americanjunkiechi.com/events-3/

San Francisco / Bay Area

• Pete’s Brass Rail and Car Wash The Danville restaurant will offer three premium tequilas, mexican food specials, and rare tequilas including Casa Noble Añejo,. Sunday, May 5, 2–5 p.m., 201 Hartz Ave., Danville, (925) 820-8281,petesbrassrail.com.
• Hecho en SF: Join us at the Ferry Plaza on May 5th for a good cause! Many local restaurants will feature food and delicious cocktails, including Darren Crawford’s tierra Fuego. All proceeds go to CUESA and La Cocina. For details: http://hechoensanfrancisco20133es2005.eventbrite.com9/
• Rita’s all 3 locations: featuring Casa Noble organic JUMBO margaritas and Casa Noble Crystal Shits combo with Tecate / Modelo Especial beers http://www.ritascafe.com/eureka.html
• La Rosa (Santa Rosa) Featuring Casa Noble Organic margaritas:  http://larosasantarosa.com/events
• Tres Hombres (Petaluma) will be featuring cocktails and shots of their singular and delicious Casa Noble Single Barrel Reposado. http://www.treshombresrestaurant.com/meet-hombres
• The Cantina Mill Valley: Featuring Casa Noble Organic Margaritas:http://thecantina.com/
• Tres (formerly Tres Agaves SF): another unique offering by Tres, featuring Their Casa Noble Single Barrel Reposado!  http://tressf.com/
• Presidio Social Club: featured shots and cocktails. http://presidiosocialclub.com/
• Pancho Villa: Featured Casa Noble cocktail: http://www.panchosfairfax.com/
• Rosa Mexicano: Features CN cocktail.http://www.rosamexicano.com/sanfrancisco/index.php?action=page&id=1976&group_id=2662
• Poquito: Featured Casa Noble cocktail http://www.poquitosf.com

NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY

• MEXICAN RADIO will feature Casa Noble’s Guitarita, a delicious margarita made with Watermelon and Casa Noble Crystal. All month of May! http://nyc.mexrad.com/
• The Virginia Hotel: Sunday May 5th Brilliant tequilas will compliment each delicious course, including Rock Shrimp Ceviche, Pork Croqueta, Pozole Soufflé, Crispy Local Flounder Veracruz Style, Chile Pot De Creme and Smoked Cinnamon Churros. Featured Tequilas include Casa Noble http://www.virginiahotel.com/specialevents.html

LAS VEGAS

• Carlos Santana Live at The House Of Blues. No better way to celebrate 5 de Mayo that listening to Mexico’s  greatest guitarist, member of the R&R Hall of Fame, and sipping a delicious Supernatural Margarita! For tickets: http://concerts.livenation.com/event/17004935E12CACC4
• Sierra Gold / PT’s: Casa Noble Cocktail Specials throughout 5 de Mayo weekend! http://sierragoldlv.com/ 

ARIZONA

• The House Old Town Brasserie @ Scottsdale: Whole Pig roast Sunday Brunch Menu, 5 Cocktails made with Casa Noble tequila, 2-7PM, live Music! http://www.thehousebrasserie.com/

BOSTON

• Salsa’s in Hingham: Casa Noble cocktail Special! http://www.salsasmexican.com/
• Rafael’s @ Hingham: Casa Noble drinks special 5 de Mayo :http://raffaelshingham.com/
• Lolita’s Boston: Features cocktail special on 5 de Mayo weekend http://www.lolitatequilabars.com/locations/boston

for more information: http://www.casanoble.com/crystal.aspx

The Gift of Taste, Online.

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Here is a list of online stores where you can find your favorite member of the Casa Noble  family of handcrafted luxury tequilas online!

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November 9, 2012.

Casa Noble Tequila & House of Blues @ Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas provided the main ingredients for a spectacular event: The Noble Places 2012 National Cocktail Competition finals. 10 of the best Bartenders in the USA came to this fantastic scenario to compete for the honors of becoming the Creator of The Supernatural Margarita, and spend some time with Carlos Santana.

The Noble Places program is part of what Casa Noble Tequila has been building as a community of select bars and restaurants where a premium is placed on quality tequila-based cocktails and great food.  Places where you can go, meet the bartender, and have them make fresh, unique and delicious specialty cocktails made with Casa Noble Tequila.  The Noble Places is somewhere you can go, meet the guys behind the bar and the cocktails they make even before you visit!

From California to Florida, Texas to Massachusetts,  a series of regional events took place to select those who would be a part of the Final Event in Las Vegas.  At the end of the month of September, our 10 finalists were ready to roll: Casa Noble featured all of them in our blog,  with short but revealing interviews about their own story and expectations for the competition.

Casa Noble flew everybody in to Las Vegas for a 2 Night stay at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Resort,  so everybody could be present  for the competition. The House of Blues Las Vegas provided a perfect venue for an intimate yet exciting event , right in front of the stage where Carlos Santana would perform for them a little after the competition, an extra incentive for our finalists. The title of  ”Creator of the Supernatural Margarita” was up for grabs, but that was not all: a original PRS guitar (yes, the ones that Carlos Santana plays himself) signed by Santana, was also at stake.

The judges for this competition had a tough time evaluating 10 incredible cocktails. Eddie Perales (Foundation Room), Andrew Economon (House of Blues) and Jose “Pepe” Hermosillo, Founder and CEO of Casa Noble Tequila watched closely as every finalist prepared and presented their cocktails. There was still one more palate to impress: Casa Noble Tequila’s family and Board Member Carlos Santana. Here are some pictures that reflect the intensity of the competitors during this final event: (more pictures coming soon!)

The final decision was not easy to make, it was regarded as a very tight competition because of the excellence level that every finalist was able to transmit and pour into each cocktail glass. However, there were outstanding cocktail recipes in this competition. So Carlos Santana adressed our competitors and announced the veredict:

J.R. Starkus,  the man behind the Bar at the  famed Las Vegas restaurant  Rick Moonen’s Seafood, was declared the Creator of The Supernatural Margarita: a combination of Casa Noble Reposado, Lime juice, spicy mango and basil.  Along with the title (an bragging rights!) came a beautiful PRS CS Signature guitar, signed by Carlos Santana, and an invitation to see him perform live on that same night’s show.  And to top it all off: a signed Casa Noble Anejo bottle.

But hold on: there is ANOTHER special award!. Dimitri Sequeira’s creation was so good that it deserved the title of El Beso Margarita, the name coming from the inspiration of Carlos Santana. This deliciously simple margarita recipe includes Casa Noble Crystal, Lime juice, Licor 43, agave nectar & orange. Dimitri runs the bar at Miami’s El Vato Bar, another gem on The Noble Places crown. His “loot” included a Latin Percussion Mini-Conga signed by Carlos Santana, a signed Casa Noble Anejo bottle, and the distinction of being called the Creator od El Beso Margarita.

With two selected cocktails, the Final Event wrap-up was a delight, with Carlos Santana dedicating words of encouragement and  praise for the amazing talent all of our finalists displayed at the competition. The best thing was still yet to come:  everybody has VIP invitations to see Santana LIVE at the House of Blues, and share with him a night that will not be easy to forget.

Our sincere and deepest gratitude to all who made this Competition such a fantastic success, and specially to our Finalists who put so much passion and creativity into their cocktails. This is all because of you guys. Ally Widlak, Nacho Cubillos, Josh Wortman, Darren Crawford, Tyler French, Chris Jamison, Vincent Cluke , Joe Valdovinos, and special congratulations to J.R. Starkus and Dimitri Sequeira for being selected as the Creators of the Casa Noble  new Signature Cocktails: The Supernatural Margarita and El Beso Margarita.

Also, very special thanks to our esteemed friends and clients where our Finalists work and play: without your support this could not have been possible.

-Roxanne’s (Los Angeles), Lion’s Share (San Diego), Tony Nik’s (San Francisco), RM Seafoord (Las Vegas), Tahona (Boulder), Jorge’s Tex-Mex (Dallas),  Untitled 111 (Chicago),    Lolita’s (Boston), Añejo (New York City), and El Vato (Miami).

THANK YOU to all of you, and see you next year!

THE CASA NOBLE FAMILY  

Hiram Trillo is a great friend of Casa Noble, and also he has collaborated many times with our brand: he is someone we consider as “part of the family” already.

His group of amazing photographers have made Education more than just a business:   they travel around the world as part of this incredible photography workshops that are fast becoming really popular among professionals and amateur photographers alike. Their SHOOTERS lighting workshops have taken place in our Barrel Room and production facilities, where they not only teach about the art of using natural light and creative flash illumination techniques to some of the leading professional photographers in the wedding and commercial photography world in Mexico and USA, but also allow Casa Noble to share that passion for beauty and perfection where images and tequila intersect.

We will talk a lot more about the beautiful work and passion of Hiram Trillo in the future, but for this week, we wanted to feature some of his images in our Noble Bloggers program,   but we warned: we have saved the best for later. This is just a sneak peak of his work. This week only, on The Noble Bloggers!

And please take the time to visit his website: http://htrillophotography.com/

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How did you get started in creating cocktails?

“My first bar gig was a saturday brunch shift at an all you can drink mimosa spot named The Dish Bistro in Denver, CO.  I went through the motions for a while until I crossed paths with a bar patron that really turned me on to putting some effort and creativity into my cocktails.  He told me some stories about what his favorite bartenders were doing and it seemed pretty exciting.  The second time he sat at my bar he brought me a bottle of orange bitters, what a guy. ”

What led you toward working with your Noble Place?

“I moved from Denver, CO to work at Lion’s Share because its in sunny San Diego and I was in love with the concept.  Game meats, craft cocktails, and a neighborhood feel.  We have a lot of fun making drinks back there.”

What is your approach (or style) towards creating cocktails?

“My approach towards crafting drinks really changes guest to guest.  I like to learn about their likes, dislikes, and boundaries, and then stretch them a bit to show them something a little bit different than they may have thought to order.”

What is that you like about Casa Noble Tequila?

“Casa Noble’s Anejo Tequila is one of my favorites on the market.  I love the presence of alcohol and vanilla up front, and the way it finishes very long with amazing chocolate notes”

What was your inspiration behind your winning cocktail?

“I just really wanted to make a cocktail that showcased the Anejo very proudly while still being approachable and relatable to the common drinker of both a Margarita and an Old Fashioned.  This drink will please a seasoned cocktail drinker and spirits taster, or someone that has never taken the time to enjoy the taste of a neat tequila”

What are you looking forward to most in going to Las Vegas?

”I am very excited for the opportunity to meet Carlos Santana.  As a musician and lover of spirits myself, I have a lot of respect for what he has done”

How did you get started in creating cocktails?

“Started at 17 years of age in Colombia, working as bar back and DJ, then moved to USA where I have spent 14 years working in clubs, restaurants and bars… I’ve been in Mixology for 5 years now,  but I just love to learn about latin culture, food and cocktails”

What led you toward working with your Noble Place?

“The owner of Jorge’s and I met while I was working at another place, and she invited me to  Jorge’s as the Bar Manager, where I’ve been for almost 4 years”

What is your approach (or style) towards creating cocktails?

“My style is all about real FLAVOR, fresh and real, and creating a balance… love working with fresh ingredients”

What is that you like about Casa Noble Tequila?

“it is my favorite tequila! First because it is Organic, but also because of the flavor profile is so unique and different. you can really feel that it is made in a special way, with so much  focus on quality”

What was your inspiration behind your winning cocktail?

“I was thinking about doing something different for Dallas, and love to use chiles: serranos, habaneros, jalapeno… but in general people dont like spicy cocktails. Then I looked into a big favorite, called Chipotle… it is a delicious margarita that combines the soft spicy and smoky flavor of chile chipotle,  very simple to make, you can drink a lot of them, and also has a very mexican-latino flavor to it!”

What are you looking forward to most in going to Las Vegas?

” I am looking forward to LEARNING  a lot from this great professionals, but also share and get to know all of them,  and of course, meet Carlos Santana!”

During the last few weeks, Casa Noble has been conducting a very special cocktail competition, one that will yield a very special surprise to the world of tequila. The search for 10 exceptional bartenders is now over, and they are ready to go head-to-head on the final event, this week.

With over 170 fine establishments currently listed on The Noble Places,  it has been an amazing adventure. We held more than 15 regional events to select our finalists.  Now, we are flying every one of them over to Las Vegas,  and spend 3 days where they will present their amazing and unique recipes in front of a panel of judges that includes none other that Carlos Santana himself. We have great surprises reserved for you on this event… that is the reason why we can’t tell you what the ultimate prize they are all competing for is, but believe us: it will be unforgettable.

We have been featuring our finalists in this blog and in our social media this last days, but in case you have missed them, we want to present them to you…So, here they are, in no particular order:

- Ally Widlak,  Tahona Tequila Bistro,  Boulder, CO.

- Dimitri Sequeira, El Vato, Miami, FLA.

- Joe Valdovinos, Roxanne’s, Los Angeles, CA.

- Josh Wortman, Anejo, New York City, NY.

- Darren Crawford, Tony Nik’s, San Francisco, CA.

- Tyler French, The Lions Share, San Diego, CA.

- Chris Jamison, Lolita, Boston, MA.

- Vincent M. Cluke, Untitled 111, Chicago, IL.

- Hernan “Nacho”Cubillos, Jorge’s Tex-Mex, Dallas TX.

- J.R. Starkus, RM seafood, Las Vegas, NV.

Please take your time to write a note for your favorite Finalist, and be sure to tune in- next week, for the result of this unique Cocktail Competition.

Salud, from The Casa Noble Team & Carlos Santana!

How did you get started in creating cocktails?

“ I got started creating cocktails primarily to expand my knowledge and increase my proficiency behind the bar.  At a certain point during my career I realized that reviving the art of making cocktails was perfect for me, allowing me to express myself creatively and dynamically.”

What led you toward working with your Noble Place?

“ My Noble Place is my favorite bar in San Francisco. Tony Nik’s Cafe is a vintage lounge in North Beach that has always been a favorite of locals and industry people.  I became good friends with the owners and staff and I have been working there for 7 years now”

What is your approach (or style) towards creating cocktails?

“ My approach to cocktails comes mainly from classic books like the Savoy Cocktail book, providing a solid foundation for proper measurements, techniques, and styles.  I have a keen eye for detail and precision, and try to create the most balanced cocktails I can.  I will spend weeks reworking one cocktail until I find that proper balance. ”

What is that you like about Casa Noble Tequila?

“Casa Noble is a fantastic expression of what premium tequila should look, smell, and taste like.  It is carefully crafted from start to finish, organic, and delicious.  What more do you need?”

What was your inspiration behind your winning cocktail?

“ My inspiration was to create a variation of the margarita that retained its original magic: Spirit, citrus, and fruit.  I expanded the spirit to include some smokey flavors from Mezcal, some Aperol for earthy, orange, and bitter flavors, and passion fruit to give it a tropical feel”

What are you looking forward to most in going to Las Vegas?

“ I’m looking forward to the Carlos Santana concert and over indulging in Casa Noble!”

How did you get started in creating cocktails?

“Like many of us coming of age and cutting our teeth in the cocktail no man’s land of the mid- to late- 90s, I became interested in the classics that were hard to find and started making them at home and at parties. Through traveling and discovering different cultures and their cuisines and spirits, I also found inspiration in the authenticity and provenance of the varied spirits. Tequila is a particularly important category that has come a long way and in many ways parallels my journey”

What led you toward working with your Noble Place?

“The owners of Añejo approached me as they were developing the concept to conduct a tequila and mezcal tasting for them. We rented a loft in midtown and I brought in about 15 different tequilas of different regions and expressions. We tasted them alone, with sangrita, in a few different cocktails and paired with a crazy variety of fun ingredients from anchovies to blue cheese to white chocolate. It was an amazing experience for us all that led to a lasting partnership. They still talk about their first experience with Casa Noble Single Barrel Reposado from that tasting.”

What is your approach (or style) towards creating cocktails?

“I generally lean towards a nod to the classics with a playful approachability that always keeps the primary spirit in mind. I try to keep cocktails simple and enjoyable.”

What is that you like about Casa Noble Tequila?

“I love that Casa Noble begins and ends with an elegant, superbly distilled tequila with personality and character from the Jalisco valley that expresses itself most proudly in the blanco, but  shines in all of the aged expressions. Most people don’t realize that there are years and years of critical development and production that go into a fine tequila before it even goes near a barrel. From the terroir, age of the agave, cooking, fermentation and distillation, there are critical stages that even the best barrel cannot fix.”

What was your inspiration behind your winning cocktail?

 “Blueberries were just coming into season, I was thinking about refreshing, summer cocktails and I was listening to the Grateful Dead with my wife. I knew I wanted a cocktail with Casa Noble Blanco and blueberry called the Mexicali Blues”

What are you looking forward to most in going to Las Vegas?

“I’m looking forward to winning! Seriously, it’s going to be an incredible thrill making cocktails for Jose and the judges at the House of Blues and an incredible honor to meet these great other bartenders from around the country who share my passion for tequila.”