Over the past five years, Clase Azul’s “Nuestros Recuerdos” series has turned memory into matter, bottling the spirit of Día de Muertos beautifully. Each limited edition project has explored a facet of the ofrenda—the altar built in Mexican homes to honor loved ones who have passed.
With the latest “Nuestros Recuerdos” edition—the brand’s fifth and final—Clase Azul closes a deeply emotional journey not with a farewell, but with a final embrace. “It’s the epilogue,” said Master Distiller Viridiana Tinoco. “A last embrace that gathers all that has been lived.”
Ritual In a Glass
Fifth edition of “Nuestros Recuerdos” by Clase Azul. Courtesy of Clase Azul.
For Tinoco, the ofrenda is not merely symbolic, it’s alive. “In Mexico, we build the altar with flowers, candles, pan de muerto, copal, photographs, and music—not only to remember, but to bring the past to life,” she says. “With this final edition, I wanted that ritual to happen in the glass: that when tasting it, the customer would feel the presence of the ones they love.”
This intention guided every step of her distillation process. To honor the relics and origins of tequila, she fused old and new methods. “I combined two types of cooking: direct fire, which gives us that ancestral touch and warm notes, and a bit of masonry oven cooking, which brings out the characteristic aroma of cooked agave,” she shared. “Then I aged the tequila in first-use American whiskey barrels for varying lengths of time and blended it to achieve balance, depth, and layers of aroma.”
The result is meant to feel human—comforting, familiar, emotional. “My intention was for the first sip of this tequila to feel like an embrace—like the warmth of a fireplace, the sweetness of cooked agave, and a gentle spice that soothes,” she said.
Memory As Universal Language
Fifth edition of “Nuestros Recuerdos” by Clase Azul. Courtesy of Clase Azul.
When Tinoco crafts a tequila, she begins not in the distillery but in her grandmother’s kitchen. “When I begin creating each spirit, I literally think of it as if I were a cooking recipe—that is, what ingredients I’m going to use; or in this case, which agave field,” she says. “During the process, I remember and literally transport myself to the past, feeling those aromas as they rise, bringing them into the present and visualizing how to materialize them in the distillate.”
That connection, to her grandmother María, is what gives this edition its soul. “My intention was to subtly convey that feeling of cooking over wood, the way my Grandmother María used to do on certain occasions,” she says. “In the end, this spirit is born from a very personal memory, but my intention is for it to be expressed in a universal language… in the end, what is personal becomes universal when we share it through the senses.”
This belief, that memory can be shared through taste, aroma, and texture, is what makes Recuerdos feel intimate yet collective. The aroma profile, Tinoco says, was “a deliberate act.” “It has a lot to do with experimentation,” she explains, “but also with knowing the notes that the barrel’s wood contributes—the level of toasting, the type of spirit it previously held, and the length of time it will take to give me that expression. I wanted this profile to trigger memory through the aromas of the season.”
Craft, Culture, and Complexity
Fifth edition of “Nuestros Recuerdos” by Clase Azul. Courtesy of Clase Azul.
A portion of the agave was cooked in a traditional pit oven, an ancestral method rarely used in modern tequila-making. For Tinoco, this technique isn’t about nostalgia, it’s about truth. “Enhancing the aromas found in the agave piña is key for me,” she says. “It has to do with a deep respect for the many years it spends growing in the soil.”
That respect leads her to experiment not for novelty’s sake, but for authenticity. “At Clase Azul, my main goal in the distillate is to find the ideal forms and techniques for the agave to express itself at its best,” she continues. “Many times, this requires more manual labor and greater difficulty—it’s not necessarily the most efficient or fastest method, but it’s what’s needed for it to have its own identity and for each edition to speak for itself.”
For Tinoco, luxury and craftsmanship are inseparable. “All of this gives the distillate complexity and refinement,” she says. “It’s 100% rooted in our Mexican culture—something unique, as it’s created with care at every stage of the process. In the end, this is what defines true luxury per se.”
A Dialogue Between Art and Spirit
Fifth edition of “Nuestros Recuerdos” by Clase Azul. Courtesy of Clase Azul.
If Tinoco’s work transforms memory into liquid, Jonathan González—Clase Azul’s Director of Creative and Innovation—turns it into form. His vision brings Recuerdos to life through design: a decanter illustrated by Erika Rivera and adorned with a golden locket ornament handcrafted by Milagros de Latón, the artisan collective that has created the series’ adornments for the past five years.
“For us, art and craft are inseparable from the spirit of tequila,” González said. “Mexican culture expresses itself through countless forms—ceramics, metalwork, textiles—each revealing a story of devotion and ingenuity. At Clase Azul, we constantly seek that balance between tradition and evolution, between heritage and innovation.”
In this edition, that balance manifests in the fusion of Rivera’s modern illustration and Milagros de Latón’s time-honored metalwork. “Bringing together a contemporary illustrator like Erika Rivera with the Milagros de Latón workshop allowed us to create a dialogue between modern artistic expression and enduring artisanal legacy,” González explained.
“That fusion reflects what Clase Azul stands for: honoring the past while reimagining it for the present.” Over fifty artisanal steps went into creating the ornament, which features obsidian, a sacred material in Mesoamerican ritual. “Every creation begins with a story,” González continued. “The obsidian locket symbolizes the portrait placed on the altar—the face of the loved one we honor. But obsidian is also a mirror; ancient Mexicans used it to reflect on life’s fleeting nature.
Pride, Joy, and Presence
Fifth edition of “Nuestros Recuerdos” by Clase Azul. Courtesy of Clase Azul.
Though Clase Azul has become a global name, González insists that its resonance comes from its rootedness. “What makes Clase Azul resonate globally is precisely our deep commitment to our culture,” he says. “Staying true to our roots—our artistry, rituals, and sense of belonging—is what gives our creations authenticity and soul. Today’s collectors seek depth and meaning, not just beauty.”
When asked to describe the emotion of “Recuerdos,” both creators turn to feeling rather than form. For González, it’s pride. “Pride in our people, our land, and our ability to transform memory into art,” he says. “Every drop of this tequila, every detail on the decanter, carries that emotion—a quiet, radiant pride in being Mexican.”
And for Tinoco, it’s joy. “For me, tequila is liquid presence,” she says. “It gathers those who are here and those we remember. It carries the joy of a toast and the pause of remembrance. In a glass, the silence of the altar and the laughter at the table coexist… that is Mexico.”
A Final Toast with Clase Azul
Fifth edition of “Nuestros Recuerdos” by Clase Azul. Courtesy of Clase Azul.
As the Nuestros Recuerdos series concludes, Tinoco hopes collectors and drinkers alike see each pour as a ritual of remembrance. “In this closing chapter, I wish that as you enjoy this tequila, you return to a very happy moment with that loved one who is no longer here,” she says. “May you feel them once again in your heart and raise a toast to what was and, above all, to what continues to inspire you today.”
After a pause, she added: “In my case, I toast to my Grandmother María, whom I miss so deeply.”
