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Utah’s state-run liquor stores are limiting purchases of Patron tequila, in response to a global shortage of Mexico’s famed blue agave plant.
Customers will be allowed just one bottle of the high-end spirit per visit, Tiffany Clason, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control announced last week.
Restaurants and bars that purchase through the liquor agency’s main warehouse will be allowed two bottles per order, Clason said.
The shortage of agave — the main ingredient in tequila — has been caused by increased demand during the pandemic, Clason said, and Patron is having the most difficult time keeping up with production.
The category has grown more than 46%, Patron’s vice president of marketing told Forbes, earlier this year.
Clason said the bottle limits should only be temporary and there are still several tequila brands available on liquor store shelves — including a few from Utah such as Rabbit and Grass, from New World Distillery in Eden; Rayo from Moab Distillery; and Vida Tequila, a brand by John and Lisa Barlow of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City fame.
