Agave enthusiasts were in downtown Tuscaloosa Thursday for an event you don't see here very often - a local Mexican restaurant has partnered with a Birmingham distillery to release their own signature tequila.

Jalapeño's Mexican Grill serves great food at four locations in the Tuscaloosa area and earlier this year, opened the South's largest tequila bar in a renovated space attached to their downtown diner.

On Thursday, owners Jheovanny Gomez and Justin Grimball were there to introduce the public to Ajedrez, a new tequila they've created with Dread River Distillery in Birmingham.

(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
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It's called Ajedrez, which means chess," said Grimball, a tequila pro with certifications from the Mexican government. "And what we mean is, everybody's playing checkers were playing chess by introducing our own tequila."

Grimball said he and Dread River's Head Distiller Joshua Goins already consult each other often about spirits, and it just made sense to take it a step further and collaborate on their own unique blend of tequila.

"Dread River's been around since 2019, and in the past year, we've been coming up with kind of off-the-wall creations and doing a lot of collaborations with local people," Goins said. "We already do a lot of work with Justin outside of this collaboration, so I think doing something together was bound to happen sooner or later."

(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
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Ajedrez is available in small amounts at Jalapenos in Temerson Square in downtown Tuscaloosa. Goins said a lot went into its smooth flavor, which Grimball called "Dangerously Delicious."

"We took local strawberries and we roasted them in an oven and that kind of brought out different flavor profile, then we infuse that into the agave spirit and we also rest it on a French Oak stave as well, which gives the body a little bit of color," Goins said. "It's really a well-balanced spirit. I'm really happy how it turned out."

(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
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Right now the tequila is only available at Jalapenos, and Goins said the collaborative spirit will also soon be on offer at Dread River's distillery in Birmingham.

"And I just want to say, it's the first of many - there's more coming," Goins said. "We're already thinking more, we've got more great flavors and combinations coming out soon."

For more coverage of restaurant and retail news in west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.

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