The tequila market has changed a lot since 20 years ago when all you had were shots with lime and salt. Boutique tequilas have become a big business with tequila brands selling for a lot in the last five years – Cabo Wabo Tequila ($80 million), Tres Amigos ($1 billion). There is a lot to learn about tequila brands and styles. I was lucky enough to work on promoting a number of interesting brands while at Robb Report magazine – Clase Azul, Patron – and spent some time with the owner of Porfidio, Martin Grassl.

While there are lots of retail locations that sell tequila in Los Cabos, one small business with two San Jose del Cabo locations – West Coast Tequila – is committing to educating their customers not just about tequila but about the culture and opportunities that exist in Los Cabos. The owner, Dave Waterhouse first started visiting Los Cabos 16 years ago. Most of his early visits were to Cabo San Lucas and really didn’t even know that San Jose del Cabo existed – except to drive through on his way from the airport.

In 2016, as a member of WorldMark timeshares, he decided to try Coral Baja on the south edge of San Jose del Cabo. He took a cab into downtown San Jose del Cabo on a Thursday night and for the first time explored downtown. Dropped off on Blvd Mijares a block from the plaza and not knowing where to go, he saw a small tequila shop/bar on the corner and went in As a beer drinker, who enjoyed wine tastings, he admits to knowing almost nothing about tequila. There he met Edgar who convinced him to try some super anejo tequila. They became friends and he would stop in whenever he came down to Los Cabos – now staying in San Jose del Cabo exclusively. In 2018, while sitting at the bar, Edgar received a phone call and was about to run out. Dave asked him where he was going and Edgar said to meet a potential investor for a tequila store. Asking what he wanted to do, Dave told Edgar not to look any further and he would be the investor. But he didn’t want a manager, he wanted a partner, so that Edgar would have as much excitement about building the business as Dave did.

When the lease became available on the shop on Blvd Mijares, they snapped in up and on December 28th, 2018 started the process of renovating it build their brand. With parota and a live edge bar, they wanted the place to not just a retail store but a place where people could learn and experience good and great tequilas. Most of the tequila stores would let customers taste tequila in small plastic medicine cups. This was completely inconsistent with the brand that West Coast tequila wanted, now all of the tasting is done is small snifters and is free. Also going against the practice of no prices being seen on tequila and customers negotiating, West Coast Tequila puts the prices on every bottle. As Dave told me, while they want to sell tequila, it is more important to build long term loyal customers by educating them on agave spirits and this special place – Los Cabos. The renovated and branded location in downtown San Jose del Cabo opened in February of 2020 and the second location in the plaza in front of Coral Baja opened in October 2020 (with a maple slab bar that Dave brought from Oregon). Ivan is the manager of the Coral Baja location.