Isabel’s Amor
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Third-generation restaurateur Tim Vasquez has a personal passion for tequila. And not the stuff that needs to be shot and chased with a lime wedge to be tolerated.
For the last six years, he’s dreamed about having a signature barrel of tequila to match the caliber of dishes at Isabel’s Amor, the Gilbert Sonoran restaurant named after his grandmother. This spring, Vasquez is finally seeing his vision come to life in a bottle.
Isabel’s Amor Signature Tequila makes its debut on May 1, and customers can try it in specialty cocktails or the way Vasquez prefers – either chilled or poured over a single cube and sipped.
Vasquez hand-selected the reposado, which was then aged in used Jack Daniels barrels to add caramel and vanilla notes with an ultra-smooth finish. He prefers the reposado-style over blanco- and anejo-styles, which allows the tequila to shine with a hint of oak to add to the profile.
Vasquez hopes his tequila will help people who associate the spirit with bad memories of shots taken in their youth overcome their apprehension.
“A lot of people have trust issues with tequila, but this is not the tequila you drank in high school and college and got sick on,” Vasquez says. “It’s meant to be sipped… it’s that good.”
Isabel’s Amor
Isabel’s Amor’s customers can judge for themselves. Through the month of May, they can try four signature cocktails the restaurant’s bar team crafted exclusively for the tequila’s launch and vote for their favorite. At the end of the month, the winning cocktail will join the permanent lineup on the menu.
Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, the specials are the passionfruit-forward Pasion de Isabel, the coffee-spiked Tequila Carajillo, the sparkling and sweet Raspberry Besito and the refreshing and citrus-forward Sonoran Sunset Spritz.
Vasquez’s favorite is the Pasion de Isabel, which he says perfectly highlights the tequila. His second is the Tequila Carajillo, his bar’s spin on the popular Mexican coffee cocktail.
“It’s the perfect mix of alcohol and caffeine, You’ll be ready to conquer the world,” Vasquez says with a chuckle.
Isabel’s Amor
Last fall, Vasquez and his wife and restaurant co-founder Julie Vasquez, went to the Casa Herradura distillery in Guadalajara, Mexico. After sampling its wares, they made their choice, which was bottled immediately onsite to preserve the nuances and character they fell in love with.
“We decided based on our menu, what would go with the carne asada and carnitas,” Vasquez says.
The barrel yielded 250 bottles, making it a limited release available only at the restaurant. Vasquez hopes to head back to Mexico in a year or so to procure another signature bottle, which would taste different, depending on the barrel and agave that season.
The family business started in 1972, when Vasquez’s grandparents, Isabel and Eusevio, opened Poncho’s in South Phoenix. In 1986, the legacy continued when the couple and their son George and his wife Mary, opened the first location of Someburros in Tempe. Today, there are 18 locations, including one at ASU’s Mountain America Stadium and another in Flagstaff.
Now, Vasquez and his wife are helming the family business. They opened Isabel’s Amor in 2013 to honor his Nana Isabel and carry on her legacy. She wasn’t a tequila drinker, but Vasquez believes she would approve.
“One reason this is so personal is that she put so much into the food she made. She really wanted to make sure when she ever served food to people, it was the highest quality possible. We want to put some love and quality into the tequila as much as the food we put out there,” Vasquez says. “I always want to make her proud in some way.”
Isabel’s Amor
1490 E. Williams Field Road, #101, Gilbert
