Courtesy Una Vida tequila
Chances are you’ve made what Zach Conley calls “the tequila face.” You know: when you do a tequila shot and it burns, and your face scrunches up in the ugliest of ways. Those who associate tequila with “the face” and with lime and salt might be surprised to attend a tasting with Conley, who co-founded One Life Spirits with Bryce Lob.
Courtesy Una Vida tequila
Bryce Lob, Zach Conley
As Conley explains, if you think “hangover” when you think tequila, you’ve probably been drinking a mixto, which needs be only 51 percent agave; the remainder is sugar, water, coloring, and additives.
On the other hand, One Life's Una Vida Tequila is so smooth that salt and lime aren't necessary. The tequila's 100 percent agave, “the healthiest spirit you can drink,” says Conley.
The tequila's available in three varieties: blanco, reposado, and añejo. Gin and vodka drinkers will enjoy the blanco, while bourbon and scotch drinkers often prefer the reposado (aged for six months) and añejo (rested for at least a year). The blanco is often mixed to create frozen margaritas at such restaurants as Helen Fitzgerald’s and Billy G’s. (The tequilas also do well at Sanctuaria, Parlor, McGurk’s, and all the Syberg’s and Mission Taco locations.) Conley likes the blanco on the rocks, the reposado both on the rocks and neat, and the añejo neat.
Asked if he recommends the tequilas be sipped or mixed, Conley says, “However you want it.” He went on to explain, “We wouldn’t be very smart businessmen if we said ‘only sip,’ because the margarita is the No. 1 cocktail in the country.”
Conley and Lob launched One Life Spirits roughly a year ago. They previously worked in the tequila industry for a Denver-based company. When its distillery in Tequila, Mexico, had to stop production for nine months, the friends decided to branch out on their own. They bought one-way tickets to Mexico and interviewed five distilleries, looking for creative control—over such details as how many distillations each tequila goes through, what type of agave is used (Blue Weber), and what barrels rest the reposado and añejo (white American oak). In the first production run last year, the company produced 4,800 bottles of tequila; this year, they plan to produce about 15,000 bottles.
Courtesy Una Vida tequila
Today, Una Vida can be found in more than 400 stores and restaurants around Missouri, Kansas, and now Texas. The company's done virtually no advertising, instead relying on word of mouth—what Conley calls “liquid to lips.” In recent weeks, the tequila has made it to the shelves of several area Schnucks stores. Conley and Lob are also hosting tastings across town and beyond: at Yellowbelly in the Central West End, at retail store Intoxicology in The Grove, at Shady Gators at Lake of the Ozarks.
In the future, Conley and Lob would like to buy their own property in Mexico for a distillery and destination. Conley imagines using Missouri-made barrels to further connect the brand with their home state. The pair also wants to produce other spirits, including mescal, under one umbrella company. For now, though, Conley will continue to call stores and restaurants, asking, “Hey, wanna try some tequila?”
