HISTORY
BIRTH AND FIRST STEPS
In the second half of the 19th century, around 1860, Rafael Reyes Rodríguez began to brew in private the now known as “MACHAQUITO ANISE”, later on 1876 he started to do it officially. His extraordinary courage, tenacity and the time he had to live in, made his triumph possible.
A COUPLE OF ANECDOTES
When he was already “someone” around Rute and the bordering towns, his regional conquer began. Being in Linares (Jaén), amid the mining’s apogee, he unloaded his mules in the inn’s yard while he sang medias granaínas happily. One of the servers heard him and broke into a run to the town room and said to the mayor that there in the yard was a muleteer who sang as the gods. Server, mayor and some councilor came back to the inn, timely to hear, without being seen, that flamenco recital. The mayor asked him to sing in a party that night, and Rafael Reyes apologized claiming that he was there to his sell his aguardiente, just to work, that he was no singer, that he was sorry but had to say no. “Your aguardiente wineskins are already sold, so please come with us and sing a song, man”. And, in fact, the mayor handed out the aguardiente wineskins among some innkeepers. The founder of Machaquito sang for them; an endearing friendship was born that lead them to be pals, the wineskins got multiplied by thousands and Linares was conquered by him with no weapons in his hands, but a cante jondo divinely interpreted.
With his first benefits and his eagerness for learning, Rafael Reyes, being the clever and smart man he was, hired two professors to give him private classes in order to guarantee himself a future by following the best strategy. He always considered training as an essential part of the potion of his distillates.
An awesome humanity in a simple earnest and formal worker and an excellent quality that will delight even the most demanding palates. As he said, “the best or nothing”.
THE BULLFIGHTER, BRAND CHANGE AND CONSOLIDATION
The wineskin yields to the carafe or demijohn and, almost at the same time, the labeled bottle, dressed the best way with the time’s commercial names.
In the dawn of the 20th century, “Machaquito” was the best rapier of all times. And, with no doubt, a great person. The grandfather, Rafael Reyes Rodríguez, asks for his artistic name for distinguishing the aguardiente that he brewed.
The bullfighters, as the sports players and the famous, were social referents; they created trends, they made fashion. The rapier and the aguardiente brewer made marketing. The brand “Machaquito” is born and, since 1892, it crowds out the other brands of the house (“Venus”, “Nueva España”,…).
By then, the aguardiente turns into aguardiente anisado and, eventually, both words come to disappear, leaving the current denomination: “ANISE”.
Our imperishable motto: The Quality in the broadest sense, “the best or nothing”. In each town, in each city, the most earnest representative is sought and the best one is hired. The personal labor is everything in those times without mass diffusion. Surprisingly, with plenty of technology, mass media and social networks, the trust in the Distributors keeps being the differentiating fact in the commercial relationships of the MACHAQUITO DISTILLERY.
SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT THE MACHAQUITO BULLFIGHTERMALAGA, A CAR AND INNOVATIVE ADVERTISING
The rail transport broadens borders, the car and some one thousand kgs truck humiliate the donkey, the mule and the cart. The grandfather created a company with his children: “Rafael Reyes e Hijos” (Rafael Reyes and Children); among them was a musician that had an idea that, certainly, emulated the cante of the grandfather at Linares.
This chore happened in Málaga: there in the brewery was a convertible car, Hudson, black, impressive; with it and a music band, he went for a ride in companion of drums and cymbals, to the beat of happy chords and popular music, handing out little Machaquito bottles all over the passable streets of Málaga. The whole Málaga got absolutely surprised and became a Machaquito fan.
THE POSTWAR AND THE EXTRA DRY ANISE.
Raul Reyes Jiménez and his musician brother, Diego, were left as the only owners. There was between eight and ten travelers that visited and encouraged sales with just their presence, among representatives and costumers.
During the postwar hard times, the dry Machaquito stopped being made when there was no optimal raw material. No Machaquito Dry Anise “less good” than the normal went ever to market.
RAFAEL REYES AND THE BEST YEARS
In 1945, Rafael Reyes Jiménez detached from his associate and got left as the only owner. He cuts the plural in “Hijos de Rafael Reyes” (Rafael Reyes children) and “Hijo de Rafael Reyes” (Rafael Reyes’ son) was left. With the administration of Rafael Reyes Jiménez, the best years of the “Machaquito Anise” came.
After his disappearance in Januray 13th, 1965, his kids: Antonio, Mª Dolores, Rafael, Manuel, José María y Jesús Reyes Roldán, took over the company. They adapt to the new times and turn the heritage into an actual company: “Hijo de Rafael Reyes, S.A.”, preserving the grandfather’s name, Rafael Reyes.
21st Century
In the current century, the shares, after several merges, got passed to Manuel Reyes Roldán, this is the third generation of the founder grandfather that gets in charge of the destinations of the company.
Currently, children and grandchildren both share, day by day, an extraordinary kind of generational league where wisdom and temperance, that are only obtained through years, get along with the youth. Demanding university education, motivation, humbleness and, overall, admiration and respect for the family heritage are the only map to continue through “the best or nothing” way, that Rafael Reyes Rodríguez began in 1860 to the rhythm of mules.
