A new premium tequila from El Paso, El Músico Tequila Blanco, made its official debut at B-17 Bombers Oyster Pub in downtown El Paso with a tasting and concert featuring the brand’s first signature artist, Latin Grammy-nominated band Making Movies.

Co-founded by El Paso natives Jaime Cabrera, Ernie Montoya, Jesse Cabrera and Rachael Wilby, El Músico Tequila Blanco is more than a spirit. The company aims to support independent musicians through artist collaborations, grants, tour support, studio time and other programs designed to help emerging artists.

At the launch, people across the Borderland had their first opportunity to experience Cabrera’s latest creation: tequila fermented while independent music plays over the liquid.

The tequila is made using what the company calls its MusiCrafted fermentation process, which incorporates independent music into production. According to Cabrera, the idea came to him after learning about a distiller who played classical music during fermentation while reading A Field Guide to Tequila: What It Is, Where It’s From, and How to Taste It by Clayton J. Szczech.

“In reading this book,” Cabrera said, “the author profiled these kinds of legendary distilleries and I read that this one Master Distiller played music during the fermentation process. He played classical music, which I thought was awesome. I want to do that, but I don’t want to do classical music. I want to use the music of emerging artists without using a shelf speaker. So, we built this special kind of harness to basically hang the speaker directly over the liquid while it’s fermenting and cranked it up, on loop for 96 hours, while the liquid is fermenting.”

Although the method draws on the idea that sound waves can influence fermentation, research into the effects of sound on the process remains limited. Proponents of similar methods have suggested that sound frequency and intensity may affect yeast activity and aroma development, potentially influencing the final spirit.

Cabrera plans to expand the method into other phases of tequila production.

“We’ll reveal that hopefully in the next year.”

The search for the company’s first signature artist to provide music for the 96-hour fermentation process involved a nationwide contest.

“It was very cool,” Cabrera said. “We got submissions from all over the country, all different kinds of genres. We asked artists to send us a little video of why they thought they would make a good signature artist. They played, sent samples of their music. When Making Movies came through, these guys were so amazing. The songwriting and performance was just incredible. The fact that they’re grinding it out, they’re like us, right? They are on the move.”

Songs from the band’s upcoming album played throughout the fermentation process for El Músico’s first release.

Bottles of El Músico Tequila Blanco were also available for purchase as the company introduced its MusiCrafted process to attendees. The event brought together the brand’s founders, musicians and members of the community, while highlighting El Músico’s mission to support independent artists.

“I’m just in awe of how people in the city have rallied around us and gone above and beyond to help,” Cabrera said. “Everybody has just gone out of their way to help us, and it just reminded me, this is what it means to be from El Paso, you know, people rallying around somebody that’s trying to build something unique and new. So we’ve been very grateful.”