Details
| First Name | Sophie |
| Last Name | Decobecq |
| Nickname | sophiedecobecq |
About
| Favorite phrase | "Agave you my heart. Day after day, drop after drop." |
| Title | Tequila Lover & Maker |
| Profession | Creator, producer & sole owner of Calle 23 |
| About | Sophie Decobecq is called “The Frexican”: French-born, self-raised in Mexico in the Tequila industry. She is a biochemist engineer, starting from the fields and yeasts in laboratory before becoming a tequila maker and agave lover for more than two decades now.
Sophie is the creator of tequila Calle 23, which has earned amazing awards, including the best tequila at the San Francisco spirit competition and the Chairman’s trophy at the Ultimate Spirit challenge. Her original range of Calle 23, with an iconic agave printed on the bottle, is enjoyed in the best cocktail bars around the globe, and her special edition ‘Criollo’ is in the top 5 of the world tequila aficionados. She is tiredness while sharing her love for the agave plant and every detail of the tequila production. If you can, go to a tasting with her to smell, taste and experience her very own Mexican vibes. Caution: you may want to jump to a plane or move to Jalisco right after! |
| Bio | Sophie undertook a biology degree at the eminent engineering school UTC in her native France. For her graduation project, she moved to Mexico to work at the research center of the Polytechnics Institute in Mexico City, doing experiments in fermentation with yeasts and lactic bacteria. Out of curiosity, she visited tequila distilleries in Jalisco where she was enamored by the culture, people, and scenery she encountered, not to mention the agave flavors and the spirit itself.
Having completed her program and graduating in 2000, Sophie received a job offer from her engineering school to work with a distillery in South Africa facing fermentation issues and needing a specialized person. She ended up spending a year and a half working in that agave spirit distillery, improving her knowledge of the distillation process and having the opportunity to experiment and putting theories into practice. As interest in tequila grew, Sophie left South Africa for Guadalajara, Mexico, where she began consulting for tequila distilleries. In 2003, she established her own company, and by 2005, had created her dream tequila: Calle 23, blanco, reposado, and añejo varieties. |
| More | Why “Calle 23” ?
The idea for the brand name came to Sophie when she was out celebrating with friends after tasting the sample bottles of the first batches of what was to become Calle 23. It was a special moment but a name was still lacking. Looking across the plaza of “las 9 esquinas” (9 corners) of the historical center of Guadalajara, Sophie saw the street sign ‘CALLE 23’ (Calle is pronounced ‘Kai-Yay’, meaning ‘street’ in Spanish) and thought it would be a fantastic name as a reminder that a great feeling of friendship in a vibrant place is one of the best gifts on earth. ‘Calle 23’ was born. What are Sophie’s next steps? Continuing the journey in the agave & tequila exploration: so many experiments to do, ideas to put into practice, and blind tasting to run. Get ready for new expression of Calle 23 to be released sooner and later! |
