It’s October, which means that luxury tequila brand Clase Azul has a new Día de Muertos-themed bottle to unleash upon the world. This year marks the beginning of a new chapter for the brand after the conclusion of the Nuestros Recuerdos series last year. The latest release is called Día de Muertos Edición Limitada Trascender, and it was aged in an interesting combination of barrels that includes casks used to ferment Champagne.

The Nuestros Recuerdos series debuted in 2021 and yielded a total of five bottles (Sabores, Colores, Aromas, Música, and Recuerdos), following a very limited-edition Día de Muertos expression that was released a few years before in 2017 (this bottle set a record for being the most expensive tequila sold at auction last summer). Trascender is not the first in a new series, according to a representative for the brand, but it does mark the start of releasing Día de Muertos limited-edition bottles as standalone expressions.

Master distiller Viridiana Tinoco selected two añejo tequilas to combine for this release: one aged for 30 months in American whiskey barrels, the other for the same amount of time in casks previously used to ferment wine that would become Champagne. According to the brand, these barrels were impacted by autolysis, the process during fermentation in which yeast cells break down and release various compounds that “impart warm, buttery aromas reminiscent of toasted nuts and freshly baked bread” into the tequila. “The tequila inherits the aromatic legacy of autolysis,” said Tinoco in a statement. “The soul of the agave, a plant that embodies patience, resilience, and cyclical life, meets the memory of the wine. Together, they give rise to a spirit that celebrates a permanence that transcends time.” The official tasting notes detail aromas of pear, apple, and sourdough on the nose, followed by agave nectar, cacao nibs, and toasted walnut on the palate.

As is always the case with Clase Azul, the tequila comes in an eye-catching ceramic decanter that was hand-painted by artisans in Mexico. It features a blue and magenta glaze and 24-karat gold brush strokes along with two marigolds, all of which is meant to symbolize the soul’s transition from life to the afterworld. “For this piece, we wanted to go back to our essence, our hand-applied feathered brush strokes, to root ourselves as we honored one of Mexico’s most beautiful celebrations,” said creative director Sofía Ortiz. “With each brushstroke, the flowers come to life and transform into light, emerging against the depths of a dark blue night. This is our way of retelling an ancient story about the passage from the earthly world into the spiritual one.”

Clase Azul Tequila Día de Muertos Edición Limitada Trascender is being released in a run of 10,000 one-liter decanters, each priced at $2,000. You can find them at partner locations in Mexico, including the brand’s boutique in San José del Cabo, as well as the Loft brand home in Brooklyn, NY and other international retailers over the coming weeks.

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  Jonah Flicker

  Flicker is currently Robb Report's whiskey critic, writing a weekly review of the most newsworthy releases around. He is a freelance writer covering the spirits industry whose work has appeared in…

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