NOVEMBER 21 • 2024 | 53
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ast year, while celebrating Rosh 
Hashanah, entrepreneur and 
spirits connoisseur Greg Sobol 
realized kosher spirit options were 
limited for a proper toast. 
 There were kosher vodkas and 
whiskeys, but kosher tequila was 
hard to find — at least a quality 
kosher tequila.
Suddenly, while at synagogue, the 
idea struck him: Why not start his 
own kosher tequila brand named in 
honor of Tekiah, or the long, deep 
blast made on the shofar during the 
High Holidays?

Sobol, of West Bloomfield, grew 
up in a Mexican-Jewish household. 
His mother was born and raised in 
Mexico City and came to Michigan 
in 1970. Growing up, Sobol often 
visited his mother’s Jewish family in 
Mexico.
This blended Mexican and Jewish 
heritage, which he calls the fabric 
of who he is, inspired the story and 
development behind Tekiah Kosher 
Spirits, a premium tequila brand he 
recently launched.
The tequila is made from 100% 
blue agave, additive-free and certified 

kosher by the Orthodox Union. 
It’s produced and imported from 
Destiladora De Tequila Marava, 
Jalisco, Mexico.
Tekiah, which is being distributed 
by Imperial Beverage, will be 
available at retailers Plum Market, 
Market Square, Kakos, Total Wine, 
Pine Lake Market and Benstein 
Liquor in Metro Detroit and Ann 
Arbor as well as online. Tekiah in 
restaurants, too, Sobol said.
“I want to establish the brand 
in my hometown and my Jewish 
community,” says Sobol, who is 

affiliated with the Chabad Jewish 
Center of Commerce. “I want to 
prove the concept.”

A SMOOTH TASTE
Tekiah is launching in 2024 with a 
blanco and a reposado, two of the 
most popular types of tequila. Sobol 
plans to introduce an anejo and 
joven om 2025.
“The most pure flavor of tequila 
is blanco,” Sobol describes. “It’s what 
tequila aficionados would drink. It 
is very agave forward, a very clean 
drink and it’s amazing.”

The kosher tequila brand just launched in Michigan.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

NOSH
EATS | DRINKS | SWEETS

For a hearty L’chaim, 
here’s a fall cocktail recipe 
that Greg Sobol says can be made 
with Tekiah Spirits. Tekiah Spirits can be 
enjoyed straight, on the rocks or blended into 

a mixed drink.

TEKIAH TWINKLE 
(INSPIRED BY APPLES AND HONEY) 

1 oz. Cointreau

2 oz. Tekiah Kosher Tequila

2 oz. Apple juice or cider

Add to a shaker with ice.
Pour into a glass with a honey and sugar rim.
Top off the glass with Sobol’s Mexican 
favorite from his childhood, Sidral 
Mundet apple soda.

continued on page 54

