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Max Power

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Most tequila is aged in old bourbon barrels. This is pretty much paying for marketing and a label. The vast majority of bourbon barrels go to MX to age tequila. We've probably all had stuff aged in these barrels and never known it. If I'm going to spend premium dollars, I'll do it on something better than Corazon.

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Oh good gracious, doesn't Brown-Forman own the company that makes those barrels? We may as well say they were designed for that World Famous Bourbon, Early Times.

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Summer has me craving tequila so I ordered ArteNom 1146 Anejo and 1414 Reposado. Seems to be a lot of good words written about these.

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Summer has me craving tequila so I ordered ArteNom 1146 Anejo and 1414 Reposado. Seems to be a lot of good words written about these.

If you read the blog, you'll know of my love for 1414. Both are solid choices.

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Your site helped me decide Max. I also used your recipes for the basic margherita and paloma. How is the ArteNom blanco?

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Your site helped me decide Max. I also used your recipes for the basic margherita and paloma. How is the ArteNom blanco?
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I keep seeing 1921 popping up. At first I was quite excited, as that used to be on my must-try list, but I suspect the NOM switch signals a very different, inferior product.

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Cool. How did you like the recipes. The recipe for a paloma is the pretty standard, but marg recipes are all over the board. Some people like a 2 to 1 ratio of tequila to lime juice, but that is a pretty hot marg even with the ice. I'll admit that I may add another splash of tequila from time to time, but I really like to taste the lime. A lot of other recipes call for more simple syrup/agave nectar, but again, I like them sour.

I was interested in finding a good basic recipe to make a more natural version instead of what you get in bars, and it worked out well. I used the ArteNom repo fresh limes and TJ's blue agave syrup (i don't currently have a blanco, waiting on K&L's Campeon selection they have hinted at). I'll probably try with a bit more agave syrup next time, and I'm going to raid my inlaws' lime tree instead of store bought. The paloma was also good, I'm looking forward to a summer filled with both cocktails.

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I keep seeing 1921 popping up. At first I was quite excited, as that used to be on my must-try list, but I suspect the NOM switch signals a very different, inferior product.

From my understanding, the first lote of stuff from NOM 1535 is very similar. I've had the NOM 1535 Reposado and it was still quite good. Tequilas are almost more dependent on lot # than NOM. I've had some that were great and some not so much from the same NOM. You never really know. Bourbon is more consistent for sure, but I find there to be more aspects in tequila to give it more complexity.

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Tequila "stash" post...a couple are open, but these are all downstairs. Will post what's upstairs soon.

NOM in brackets

Don Julio 1942 Anejo [1449]

1800 Anejo (Binny's Special Reserve) [1122]

1921 Reserva Especiale Reposado (my favorite; glad to find one bunkered) [1079]

Clase Azul Reposado (Max's rec--good one!!)--the blue & white porcelain bottle [1416]

have a Costco Anejo (1 liter bottle) downstairs, too, but didn't photo it..

Tezon Anejo [1111] not sure if bought in US or Mexico

bought in Puerto Vallarta:

Revolucion Anejo (open) [1123]

Comalteco Anejo (open) [1137]

Esperanto Anejo (open) [1109]

I'm pretty sure I was travelling with 5 bottles; I bought some at the duty free store in the PV airport. I thought Illinois didn't have a limit on how much booze you could bring in; I would just pay duty on the excess, but I had to clear Customs in Dallas on way home....Do I declare it? Or just walk through with "nothing to declare" like virtually everyone else on the plane. I was only with my son (14 yrs old at the time); didn't look too suspicious. Figured I'd be honest and pay duty on excess.

However, WAY over the limit on how much liquor you can bring into Texas. Agent not happy with me :frown:.

Said they want you to buy your liquor in Texas. I was picturing him confiscating my haul :cry:, but he let me through; didn't even pay any duty!!

:thankyousign::thankyousign::grin:

9e195ce9-a8ff-4bb9-9460-e685297f76e2_zps10f336d2.jpg

​the bottle in the bag

92ff6a0b-076c-40cd-9fcc-8aa6e1778fc8_zps981d077c.jpg

straggler, but a really cool bottle with a glass agave plant in the middle; don't know why it's blue.

c45fff80-0295-47f8-beff-fc3515f11d14_zps56c3d781.jpg

62b9e0ec-9d27-4258-be56-0b0c9f2a51b9_zps597c9469.jpg

ed203530-ec3b-4a8f-b27c-22dd8de3b62d_zps0921d8ef.jpg

1800 came in a wood box

9f50c1f8-be13-45f7-88bf-b95da9e0e629_zps4cda4cf6.jpg

Don Julio 1942 bottle (old style; they've changed it a little) shaped like an agave leaf

e19df607-8a09-4483-b275-97343cf7d36d_zps41dc0c2a.jpg

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awesome stash and some cool bottles. Not sure if you were serious about the glass agave on that one bottle but it's gotta be blue to represent the blue agave or agave azul/agave tequilana that tequila is made from.

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awesome stash and some cool bottles. Not sure if you were serious about the glass agave on that one bottle but it's gotta be blue to represent the blue agave or agave azul/agave tequilana that tequila is made from.

Blue agave. OK. I hadn't thought about it that way. I just think "agave".

but, the plant still looks green to me; that's why I questioned it.

agave_zps440fdd9d.jpeg

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Yep, tequila is made from the Blue Weber Agave species. It is green, but so is KY blue grass. Just a little more blue than others. That's a nice collection of bottles. I've had them all except for Comalteco. It's a Cofradia product that is only sold in MX. I can probably tell you what it tastes like though since NOM1137 pumps out a lot of brands and only a few have different aging methods. My rankings would be:

1. 1921 RE

2. Don Julio 1942

3. Clase Azul - for the sweet tooth if the mood is right

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post-8457-1448981931042_thumb.jpg

A photo op from about 4 months ago. Added more since then, but it's the best picture I have of all of the children. It only includes single bottles and not the bunkered ones.

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:bigeyes::shocked::yum:

wow. incredible Max. I figured you had a lot of tequila, but man that is A LOT OF TEQUILA! and not even the bunkered bottles. killer. where to start? what to drink? where to keep it all?!

I mean we've all seen the massive whiskey stashes of fellow SB'ers but it's often multiples of several bottlings, there are no duplicates here. I'd say I'm speechless but that's apparently not the case, I am however in shock and awe.

how long has this taken you?

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:bigeyes::shocked::yum:

wow. incredible Max. I figured you had a lot of tequila, but man that is A LOT OF TEQUILA! and not even the bunkered bottles. killer. where to start? what to drink? where to keep it all?!

I mean we've all seen the massive whiskey stashes of fellow SB'ers but it's often multiples of several bottlings, there are no duplicates here. I'd say I'm speechless but that's apparently not the case, I am however in shock and awe.

how long has this taken you?

The collection is now around 400 bottles without duplicates. There's about 50 bourbons and 60 scotches in there along with about 70-80 bunkered tequilas as well...that are not pictured.

I often run into the same problem of what to drink, but tequila is so complex that I really have a good choice of what fits my mood. I'm not here to bash on bourbon because I've learned a lot from this place and sometimes what suits my mood is definitely bourbon, but tequila has so many factors that can change the flavor. With tequila it's:

1. Terroir - Where is it grown/harvested - Altitude & water source

2. Age of the agave (8-12 years)

3. How is it cooked (& for how long)?

4. How is it crushed/milled?

5. Type of yeast & length of fermentation

6. Number of distillations/type of still

7. Type of barrel used

8. How long it is aged

There's so many factors that it produces drinks that you might never think are related. It can range from green and pine filled like a gin, to extremely woody like an 18+ year old whiskey. After drinking 400+ (and still having 100+ more to taste/review) I still get surprised by some of the flavors that I get.

The collection, in all honesty, has taken me about 2 years. I long enjoyed tequila before that, but in the last 2 years it has gone from 30 to 400+. People who are in the Twin Cities are welcome to join me for a tasting. sob0728 or whatever his name is on here (who I've known for 25 years) comes over often to taste whiskeys or tequilas. With all that's available, I'm always glad to share. I really enjoyed spreading the knowledge and love of this oft misunderstood spirit.

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I need to make a trip out to your neck of the woods Mr. Tequila Tourist!

Thanks for your help and the introductions made to some wonderful agave.

Edited by ChainWhip
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I need to make a trip out to your neck of the woods Mr. Tequila Tourist!

Thanks for your help and the introductions made to some wonderful agave.

If you're ever in the Twin Cities, you're welcome to stop by. Lord knows that I have enough to share. :D

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I'm very surprised that no one here likes Sangrita (I asked about it here over a year ago and didn't get a single reply). Or perhaps you just never heard of it. I recommend giving it a try, it's a very good companion to tequila IMO.

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I'm very surprised that no one here likes Sangrita (I asked about it here over a year ago and didn't get a single reply). Or perhaps you just never heard of it. I recommend giving it a try, it's a very good companion to tequila IMO.

I have tended to associate sangrita as something to drink when drinking shots of the kind of tequila that is perhaps not primarily intended for sipping. I like it fine in the right situation but it is generally not something I have when sipping a nice reposado or anejo or reposado tequila after dinner. I tend to think of these types of sipping tequila along the same lines of drinking a quality bourbon. I am not likely to drink a spicey drink not far removed from bloody mary mix with a nice pour of PHC or BTAC bourbon either!

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I'm not a fan of bloody marys or tomato juice in general. Sangrita does nothing for me. If I want something salty to cleanse the palate, I just go with corn chips.

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Seems like the only time I see Sangrita is when watching Rick Bayless. I tried it once but didn't find myself in the mood, although I think it could go well with a spicy meal, and of course it's fun to see several little glasses lined up.

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Hey Max, seeing your awesome assortment of bottles yesterday and thinking about your mention that it's pretty much a lot by lot thing made me wonder--how do you determine what to buy? Do you try get the low down on a lot first, or do you just buy a bottle and later get more from the same lot if you really liked it? (Do they even let you specify lot number when ordering online?)

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Actually though, the more authentic sangrita recipes had no tomato at all. But I did use tomato juice in my sangrita recipes that I came up with, and I enjoyed it even alongside the very high end extra-aged anejos that I loved sipping on, not just the blancos like most folks who enjoy sangrita.

Maybe I just wasn't a true tequila drinker, as I've totally switched over from tequila to bourbon (6 years ago).

So now I know why nobody replied before. :blush:

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