Two Friends Set to Launch Boston’s First Tequila Company

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Boston might be a rum and whiskey-centric town, but Sinoun Kim wants to change all that. Coming this fall, Kim and her business partner, Maria Garcia, will be launching Dos Palomas, the first Massachusetts-based tequila company. To be considered a true “tequila,” all the blue agave in the distillate must be harvested in the red volcanic soils around around the town of Tequila, Mexico. So, Dos Palomas is working closely with a small family operation in Jalisco to produce an initial 5,000-bottle run of blanco tequila to be released in Boston at the end of August.

The two partners behind Dos Palomas met each other as co-workers at local software company Telerik Inc. where they bonded over their shared background as first-generation immigrants. Kim was born in Cambodia, while Garcia is a native Mexican who was raised in Arizona. The duo became quick friends and immediately began discussions about branching off and investing in the spirits industry.

“We’ve always talked about entrepreneurship and building something that was completely our own,” Kim says. “Originally, the idea was to bring tequila to Cambodia. We thought it would be an amazing idea to start that market there. But we thought long and hard, and thought, ‘we’re here. Boston is our home and there are no Boston-based tequila companies.’ So, we decided to start Dos Palomas in our own backyard.”

Kim says they’ll increase production on Dos Palomas’ blanco tequila starting in 2015. They’re also planning on introducing añejo and reposado versions of their product later next year.

“Our long-term goal is to really invest in the Jalisco community,” Kim says. “We conducted a lot of research before embarking on this and we’re really proud of the tequila. I think Boston is going to love it.”