From test cricket to top shelf – Adam Gilchrist enters the spirits game with El Arquero
Adam Gilchrist’s post-cricket career has taken a spirited turn. With El Arquero, the former Australian wicketkeeper is bringing a long-held passion for tequila to life. Crafted in Mexico using time-honoured methods, the additive-free drop is a bold but measured entry into a rapidly evolving spirits landscape.
Adam Gilchrist tasted a lot of success across the duration of his illustrious cricket career, but if there’s one thing that the world-class gloveman has savoured more than sporting victory, it’s probably tequila.
The silky spirit has been a point of passion for the record-breaking wicketkeeper for decades – a love that has only deepened since hanging up the gloves in 2008. As the craft-spirit scene has evolved, artisanal tequilas have become more commonplace on bottle shop shelves. Much like his days behind the bails, Gilly rarely lets one slip by him.
“When I’ve previously travelled around the world, I’ve always been interested in just trying them and seeing what they’re like,” Gilly reveals.
“Like most, I had the bad tequila experience when I was far too young, but I found a way back to better quality tequila through my adult life, as more interesting brands have made their way down into the market in Australia.”
Having a crack at starting his own tequila brand was a notion that Gilly has entertained for around a decade. Last October, Gilly finally stepped up to the crease and announced the debut of El Arquero – a premium, additive-free tequila crafted in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico.
“About four years ago my wife Mel told me to either put up or shut up – that was the green light for me,” says Gilly, with a laugh.
But how does one actually start a tequila brand? To do it properly, the way Gilly envisioned, he’d need some help putting the wheels in motion.
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“[The first step was to] see if there’s anyone gullible enough to come on the journey with me, and I fortunately found some willing and able partners,” Gilly explains.
Those partners turned out to be his wife Mel, his long-time manager Stephen Atkinson, his best friend John Eastham, Dan Fitzgerald (founder of Fourth Wave Wine) and Eddie Brook from Cape Byron Distillery. Together, the group came to an agreement on the guiding principles of the El Arquero brand, from its origins to its composition.
“There were a couple of non-negotiables,” Gilly reveals. “First, it had to be authentically produced in Mexico with traditional methods. I didn’t want to grow agave here and do it here – I wanted to maintain that history and heritage. Second, it had to be additive-free.”
Armed with the framework of a business model and a name, the crew journeyed to Mexico, with a mission to find a distiller who could help them realise their vision.
“We found a consultant over in Jalisco, Guadalajara,” says Gilly. “They teed up meetings with about eight distilleries. We told them our story. We learned their stories. After a tough elimination process – because all their juice tasted brilliant – we landed on one to partner with.”
Enter the Banuelos family, the operators behind Destiladora de Los Altos – a third-generation, small-batch distillery in Arandas boasting more than 50 years of highland tequila production. The family’s proven record, deep respect for the land and meticulous distilling process made them the ideal collaborator.
“They had no idea who I was – I was just Joe Blow turning up,” recalls Gilly. “I think what convinced them was just our genuine passion about what we were trying to achieve and aspiring to.
Subscribe for updates“They could see a desire to craft something authentically and traditionally, and uphold everything that their whole life revolves around.”
With production underway, the team refined the El Arquero brand and what it stood for, honing in on a cultural commonality that would unite the twin origin points of the spirit.
“It was the sun,” says Gilly. “I’ve spent my whole life chasing the sun, playing cricket, so it seemed like the perfect focal point. Outdoor lifestyles, beaches, fiestas, barbecues, and the reliance on the sun for farming. The bottle says ‘People of the Sun’ around the bottom.”
El Arquero launched with two tequila varieties in its range – a blanco and a reposado (an añejo will be added to the range later this year). Both are crafted from 100 percent Blue Weber agave, the piñas of which are harvested at peak ripeness before being slow-cooked for 72 hours – a process that converts starches to sugars – then crushed to extract the rich agave juice.
The juices then ferment in stainless steel, undergoing malolactic fermentation to soften acidity and preserve sweetness. El Arquero’s blanco is an unaged expression that is lightly oak-rested, while the reposado is aged for five months in ex-American oak bourbon barrels.
Where the blanco is smooth and crisp with a bright herbaceous aroma, the reposado boasts a bold richness, with layers of vanilla and caramel. Neither drop features added sugars, flavours or colourings – both are perfect for mixing into cocktails, poured over ice or sipping neat. Like Gilly’s own multi-tool skillset in the cricket arena, El Arquero is designed to be a versatile addition to the home bar cart.
“I think people in the Australian market don’t think of tequila as a sipping spirit, but premium tequilas can be sipped, they can be mixed, they can be shaken, stirred, whatever you want,” says Gilly.
Since launch, El Arquero has been picked up by several national wholesalers. You can also expect to see the tequila appearing at independent bars, restaurants and boutique bottle shops across Queensland over the coming months.
After a decade of dreaming and planning, seeing El Arquero on shelves is still a pinch-me moment for Adam Gilchrist, who’s been in his fair share of big-time situations. Though he’s not putting himself in the way of pitch-scorching heaters, he’s not forsaking his history of keeping entirely. These days, his mission is all about keeping the good times going.
“El Arquero means ‘the keeper’ in English, which is a subtle throw to my past, but we hope it’s more about the keeper of the spirit – the keeper of good times,” explains Gilly.
Click here to find your nearest El Arquero stockist.
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