Our millennial thirst for throwbacks is being quenched by Tecate, the Baja, Mexico-born cerveza, as they have brought back a limited-edition retro can design. The Heineken-owned brew wants old-timers and modern beer-ists alike to “Throw Back a Throwback.”
The predominantly gold and red can is marked below the lip with, “Edición Retro.”
The taste, however, will be the same crisp lager you already know. Yes, still your pack-the-cooler cheaper beer, but a damn good option.
The vintage Tecate can has been released nationally in 12-, 18-, 24-, and 30-pack options, also in time for Tecate to fiesta for their 75th year in fridges, bars, and barbecues. But they will only be available through August 2019, making them a cool drink to enjoy on Father’s Day (June 16), enjoying the same OG packaging from your pop’s (or pop’s pop’s) heyday.
Tecate isn’t the first beer brand to go old-school. Coors Banquet released throwback cans in 2011, Narragansett Brewing Company brought back their retro can filmed in the 1975 thriller “Jaws,” and Miller Lite re-embraced their vintage design back in 2014.
“We see the Retro Can as a winning strategy to give our older consumers a blast from the past with a commemorative token.”
Tecate said their re-release is aimed just as much at modern beer lovers who dig nostalgic aesthetic. (Guilty as charged.)
“We see the Retro Can as a winning strategy to give our older consumers a blast from the past with a commemorative token,” says Oscar Martinez, Tecate Senior Brand Director at Heineken USA. “And to introduce Tecate to millennials who have had a shorter engagement with the over 70 years of our history.”
According to Tecate, beer drinkers aren’t just obsessed with old-school style, but Mexican import beer — a category that’s recently seen an 11% growth boost.
But we’re not here to talk market trends, we’re here to talk beer, and we’ll hands-down be getting a rack of this vintage Tecate over the summer. Especially since Tecate’s other new release, Tecate Titanium, didn’t hit all our sweet spots.
If you haven’t heard of Tecate Titanium, it isn’t the name of a porn star but the new IPA-strength lager Tecate released in February 2019. We’re talking 7.5% alcohol by volume, offered only in 24-ounce tallboys. (Four Loko vibes anyone?)
This is the first time since Tecate’s premiere in 1944 that the brewers have nearly doubled their alcohol per volume in a beer, boosting a standard 4.5% can. If we didn’t know better, we’d assume Tecate was rearing its eagle’s beak to break into the IPA market with more high-ABV alternatives, but after tasting Titanium we’re not sure there’s any real purpose to its creation other than flexing BDE.
Tecate blended the growing demand for Mexican Import beer with the trend of high-strength beer. And they made it cheap at approximately $2.31 a can. Speaking of the can, its design is a barbed-wire leather jacket with the sleeves cut off — it’s a Danny Trejo-esque 24 ounces with a murdered-out design stamped with the silver eagle warrior crest.
The beer is both strong and lightweight in what the company calls “that refreshing smooth but brave, noble, and audacious taste.” Upon first taste, Tecate Titanium is surprisingly sweet. The company calls this “it’s fruity touch in aroma and flavor.” In fact, the major difference between traditional Tecate and its Titanium cool cousin is this fruity flavor. We weren’t 100-percent sold on its marrying with imported malts.
If you are going to drink Tecate this summer, either play up your rebel status and go all-out Titanium, or stick with the classic and opt for a throwback can to go with your vintage flannel.
