Tequila Talk

@RianC Be interested in your thoughts when you crack it. It was your steer to the deal on Amazon that piqued my interest so cheers for that. Looking forward to trying it.

@Timp - will do! Not sure of the year of my bottle. Possibly 2000 or 2018 as I think I know what the 2019 looks like, and that was the one I tried in the pub. This one has column stills and tall foliage as the artwork, and you'd think the most recent bottling would come from Amazon.

@RianC Mine came through today, similar design of stills and stuff and the bottle seems to indicate it was bottled in 2019. Gonna try some tonight, no will power. Haha.

A Reposado:

The nose out shines the palate: Overall: complex cooked Agave fllavours. - balanced

Nose: vanilla, icing sugar, white pepper, baking spices, cedar, unami

palate: watery mouth feel yet, chewy flavours, cedar, simple syrup, sweet agave, complex pepper spices

Finish: long, vanilla and white pepper, mild Chile

Charro Negro: Sombra Mezcal, lime juice, and Jarritos Mexican Cola.

Thoroughly enjoyed a generous sample of Montelobos Mezcal Joven 43.2% from @RianC last night.

It was quite an eye opener to me and as advised ( by @RianC cheers mate ) I drank it alongside a pour of Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia. This really did highlight the differences and I loved the extra strength, freshness and beautiful gentle smoke of the Montelobos.

Will be definitely be acquiring a bottle soon. Cheers..

@Timp - glad you enjoyed it! I need to finish the bottle off actually so a nice reminder.

Polished off the Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia on Sat night. Not sure if I'll buy another as I thought it was expensive for 38% but still damn tasty and very quaffable. I doubt it's seen as a connoisseurs tequila by those in the know but goes to show that, if you make something appealing and tasty, folk will enjoy regardless. Perhaps I'll branch out and look for another anejo when I next get the itch though.

Wednesday was International Margarita Day, so I made a revised version of my Thai Margarita...

I have an open bottle of tequila hidden away in a very dark place. Every now and then, (very infrequently I'll add) it sees the light of day to reconnect with its friends salt, lemon and sometimes lime. There is a reason (at least for me) it has the reputation of one, two, three, floor.

Last night, my wife and I celebrated the opening of our “patio season” with celebratory Margaritas…or she did. I didn’t realize we were almost out of Cointreau. She had a Margarita and I had a generous meat pour of El Tequileño Añejo. I bought this a while back because it is “certified additive-free”. Now, I’m no expert and I don’t know which additives are used, when, why, how, and in what amount they’re used but NONE is usually better than some when it comes to additives, in my opinion. The Tequila was lovely, with a nice balance between oak, agave, and vanilla flavours. My wife found it too oaky and peppery for her taste so I picked up a bottle of Olmeca Altos Plata today because patio season means margaritas, palomas, and when I don’t drink it neat, I enjoy the occasional tequila and tonic.

Having no knowledge of tequila brands I have been talking a bit with @Victor about recommendations for a decent tequila that did not require a second mortgage. He gave me a few ideas, one being El Jimador reposada which is supposedly an underrated quality 100% agave product. Others were Corralejo reposada and Don Julio anejo. Long story short is that while El Jimador is available in Manitoba that the government monopoly that tends to our liquor needs went on strike a day later and no liquor is available in our conservative province. This week went on a 3 day motorcycle ride with a few friends(not to buy alcohol) which took us into the adjoining province Saskatchewan. Was able to buy a bottle of El Jimador and we gave it a thorough tasting. Seemed that we all liked the choice and the bottle is now gone. Checked out the online liquor vendors in Calgary after getting home and ordered a bottle each of Cimmaron reposado, El Tequileno reposado and Corralejo reposado along with three bourbons (not available here) to make up the six pack so the shipping charges were spread out making the order more affordable. Ya, I know but that's how my brain works! Thanks for the info Victor will let you know my thoughts on the others once the order arrives. I did enjoy the El Jimador a lot. It did offer a new taste at an affordable price. Will likely replace that one when the MLCC settles their labour dispute

Just a quick review from a tequila neophyte. My last comment provided a heads up on three bottles ordered from Calgary, Tequileno, Corralejo and Cimmaron all reposados. Having very limited tequila experience thought I would sample them all head to head and let the folks here know my thoughts on them. Sounded like a good idea but to be honest I don't really know what I am looking for other than good taste and a drink that would take the place of scotch or bourbon from time to time. All were 40% ABV, made from100% Weber blue agave and sampled in a copita glass after the bottles had been open for two to three weeks. So here goes: -The Tequileno pour appeared pale/pale yellow almost chardonnay wine like and it seemed to me that it had not "rested" in oak for very long probably 2 or 3 months. Just long enough to call it a reposado. No flavors of vanilla or caramel to my way of thinking. Legs were evident but reflected the 40% ABV. I am used to higher proof bourbons lately (eg. WTRB) so they were nothing special. This one tasted grassy/herbal and earthy as did the other two being sampled. The one redeeming note that I was a bit different than the others is a peppery note on the palate which continued over in the finish. I actually enjoyed this one a lot and once used to the agave flavor found myself going back to it for a happy hour dram or two. -The Cimmaron copied the Tequileno in most respects however I found that the nose had in the background an offputting smell/taste that reminded me of Bruichladdich Laddie 10. That nose/taste has been compared to baby puke in some previous reviews. While not at the forefront this will likely make it a sure thing that I won't likely buy this one again. -The Corralejo which had been recommended to me by @Victor turned out to be my favorite of the three reposados. It appeared to have been "rested" in oak for a longer period than the other two. The color was akin to a glass of ginger ale, a little darker that the first two. The nose grassy, herbal etc. but also seemed a bit sweeter than the others. A bit of vanilla and caramel was evident in the taste. Almost a fruity flavor in the mix. The only complaint on this one was the cost. While not especially expensive it came to $62.00 plus shipping so over 70 bux Cdn delivered to Manitoba. I have recently become a bourbon convert and am able to buy WTRB for $50 Cdn plus shipping. At 58.4 % ABV and kept in oak for 6 to 8 years it is a far better value. Anyway enough from me. Will likely try an anejo (Don Julio for ex.) next for comparison purposes. The popularity of tequila seems to be on the rise and that also means that prices in Canada have been going up. Not sure that a 750 ml bottle of this liquor (such as Corralejo) which has only been rested in barrels for 2 or three months is worth 70 bux (to me) and Don Julio Anejo is $100. Also going to try some margaritas on the deck if it ever warms up again.

@Jonesz "Not sure that a 750 ml bottle of this liquor (such as Corralejo) which has only been rested in barrels for 2 or three months is worth 70 bux (to me)."

I'm not going to try to convince you what value means (to you). What I will say is this, think of the total amount of time to produce different spirits.

Whiski ingredients: grain takes ~6 months, water and yeast not much, time in warehouse and evaporation are significant costs.

Tequila ingredients: agave takes more than 6 years (the better ones for sipping Tequila take >8), water and yeast similar to whisky, time in warehouse and casks is virtually nil for blanco, and relatively minimal for reposado and anejo.

Total cost is probably very similar for both but Whiski's costs come mainly after distillation, whereas Tequila needs a lot of time before distillation even starts.

Last point, in my opinion there are better ways to spend $100 on Tequila than Don Julio ;-) Look for stuff that is made using brick ovens (not autoclave), tahona (instead of roller mill), copper pot (instead of stainless steel) etc

Suggestions (may not be available in Canada): Fortaleza, Pasote, Tapatio, Siete Leguas, G4, Terralta.

Just a quick review from a tequila neophyte. My last comment provided a heads up on three bottles ordered from Calgary, Tequileno, Corralejo and Cimmaron all reposados. Having very limited tequila experience thought I would sample them all head to head and let the folks here know my thoughts on them. Sounded like a good idea but to be honest I don't really know what I am looking for other than good taste and a drink that would take the place of scotch or bourbon from time to time. All were 40% ABV, made from100% Weber blue agave and sampled in a copita glass after the bottles had been open for two to three weeks. So here goes: -The Tequileno pour appeared pale/pale yellow almost chardonnay wine like and it seemed to me that it had not "rested" in oak for very long probably 2 or 3 months. Just long enough to call it a reposado. No flavors of vanilla or caramel to my way of thinking. Legs were evident but reflected the 40% ABV. I am used to higher proof bourbons lately (eg. WTRB) so they were nothing special. This one tasted grassy/herbal and earthy as did the other two being sampled. The one redeeming note that I was a bit different than the others is a peppery note on the palate which continued over in the finish. I actually enjoyed this one a lot and once used to the agave flavor found myself going back to it for a happy hour dram or two. -The Cimmaron copied the Tequileno in most respects however I found that the nose had in the background an offputting smell/taste that reminded me of Bruichladdich Laddie 10. That nose/taste has been compared to baby puke in some previous reviews. While not at the forefront this will likely make it a sure thing that I won't likely buy this one again. -The Corralejo which had been recommended to me by @Victor turned out to be my favorite of the three reposados. It appeared to have been "rested" in oak for a longer period than the other two. The color was akin to a glass of ginger ale, a little darker that the first two. The nose grassy, herbal etc. but also seemed a bit sweeter than the others. A bit of vanilla and caramel was evident in the taste. Almost a fruity flavor in the mix. The only complaint on this one was the cost. While not especially expensive it came to $62.00 plus shipping so over 70 bux Cdn delivered to Manitoba. I have recently become a bourbon convert and am able to buy WTRB for $50 Cdn plus shipping. At 58.4 % ABV and kept in oak for 6 to 8 years it is a far better value. Anyway enough from me. Will likely try an anejo (Don Julio for ex.) next for comparison purposes. The popularity of tequila seems to be on the rise on our continent and that also means that prices in Canada have been going up. Not sure that a 750 ml bottle of this liquor which has only been rested for

@65glenfarclas I hear you on the value added to tequila re the long wait time for the agave to mature. Kind of forgot about that when submitting my last post.Thanx for jarring my old noggin. Re our selection in Canada: it is very limited. Cannot find most of those you listed but did find Fortaleza (which I have seen receiving excellent reviews). I can get that one from Alberta but it is $190. Cdn plus taxes and shipping so just a bit over $200. My pockets are not deep enough for that! I keep watching for bottles which are under a hundred bux, or $75.00 if possible and will keep your suggestions in mind. Maybe I will have to get some of my snowbird friends to shop for me while they are in the USA or Mexico this winter. Thanks for your input. Jonesz

@Jonesz I bought my only bottle of Fortaleza blanco back in 2018 for US$45. Inflation has been huge since then but my guess is it can be found for under US$65 these days which equates to ~$85. Therefore, even with Canadian spirits pricing, 200 bucks is robbery. Someone gave me a bottle of Tapatio blanco last Christmas which was sourced in Ontario (it's available at Anejo Don Mills, so bars have access to it). I think it's available in Alberta retail. Pasote was available not long ago in ON, it's probably still available in AB.

The good news for Tequila fans is that Mexican-style food/restaurants is becoming more popular in Canada (for sure in ON and AB), so it may not be long for bottles that are currently only being imported for bars/restaurants to make their way into the provincial monopoly retailers.

@65glenfarclas Yep after reading your reply found a supplier of Pasote Anejo in Alberta seems like a quality product for sure. Tahona extracted, brick oven cooking,copper pot still, no additives and ex bourbon barrels for aging. Good reviews on Tequila Matchmaker. It is $87 Cdn plus shipping and taxes so around a 100 bux to my place. Thinking I will likely include that one next time I order from my supplier in Calgary. Thanks for the advice. Will post my thoughts once tasted.

I really enjoy Fortaleza but have been having a devil of a time getting any for well over a year. Today however, when visiting a local shop to pickup the Derby release of Woodford (getting ready to make mint juleps for the race!) they had some Fortaleza. In fact I got the elusive still strength bottle. Very excited to try this!

A trio of recent purchases, one “Tequila”, in name, and two Mezcal. All three offerings are unique and not available in my broader local region. These bottles have an abv above 40%, nearly 50%. Less water is fine by me.

@paddockjudge hay pechuga! Now you're talking! Nothing like bird breast drippings in your drink! Chicken has been my favourite food all of this lifetime for me. I don't yet own any pechuga tequilas or mezcals, but one day... Love 'em!

@Victor, the Mezcaleros’ lunchtime “cheat”, preparing lunch while preparing mezcal…today’s lunch, tomorrow’s lunch, how long does that chicken hang before it stops dripping and can be eaten? Perhaps it takes a few days to become Chicken Breast Agave Jerky. Chicken DNA in every bottle of Pechuga, I like the vibe!