Jose Cuervo has revealed the 2022 collector’s box for its Reserva de la Familia premium small batch tequila. Created by internationally recognized Mexican artist Gonzalo Lebrija, the custom art adorns each box of Reserva de la Familia Extra Añejo. Called “the glazes”, the work depicts colors and shapes that characterize the agave landscape in different stages throughout the day.
Lebrija was selected as this year’s Reserva de la Familia artist collaborator due to his successful career in photography, video, sound, and sculpture, creating artwork that captures the aesthetic of time. His ability to generate visual projects and abstract concepts has propelled him to worldwide recognition. Lebrija often includes national Mexican icons in his artwork, including horseback riding, the use of colored papers during festivals, and tequila, to bring his concepts to life.
To create the 2022 collectors’ box, Lebrija conducted a thorough photographic study of an agave field, capturing images during different times of the day to create an extensive color palette that evokes the visual aesthetic of the agave plants from dawn to dusk. The artist then translated the palette into solid colors and shapes that screen-printed into layers to create the origami design that’s featured on each box.
Since the 200th anniversary of Jose Cuervo in 1995, Reserva de la Familia has worked with internationally recognized artists with roots in Mexico to create special collector boxes, incorporating their work into each edition, released annually. Every artist is selected by a team of art curators including CEO of the Jose Cuervo Group and Founder of Proximo Spirits Juan Domingo Beckmann, Executive Director of El Museum in New York Patrick Charpenel and Zona Maco founder Zélika García.
The tradition of Gonzalo Lebrija’s artwork is intended to pay tribute to the tequila it represents: Reserva de la Familia Extra Añejo. This award-winning pinnacle of the Reserva de la Familia collection is expertly crafted following an artisanal distillation process handed down over generations. Its layered, complex taste is the result of an elaborate aging process in new American and French oak barrels, producing a tequila with a complex mix of flavors, a rich bouquet and an ultra-smooth finish.
The 2022 box collection of Reserva de la Familia Extra Añejo is bottled at 40% ABV and is now available for purchase throughout the United States for $185. To learn more about Reserva de la Familia, head over to Jose Cuervo’s official website.
If you find yourself in Mexico and want to take a train ride across untouched Mexican countryside, the Jose Cuervo Express has been taking agave spirits lovers on day-long trips for eight years. Last year, the Tequila train upped the ante with the launch of its Elite Wagon.