Tequila Forum

[Max Power]

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?)

Consistency can be an issue, but it's generally not a huge difference. With some specific brands it is, but not for most. And most brands don't put a lot number on the bottle so it makes it tough to know for sure. So, the answer to your question is kind of difficult.

1. I try to do a little research if I can regarding the lot or generation of the bottle.

2. I look at reviews and when they are dated. Brands switch NOMs at times and that generally makes the biggest difference because it often means a new master distiller and water source (and maybe cooking/shredding method)

3. Sometimes I just buy a bottle and pray for the best.

There's not really a single answer. There's only a certain amount of research that can be done because only some online stores list or will tell you want lot you're buying. I generally buy what intrigues me and if I like it, I can buy more...especially if I find a good price.

[luther.r]

Since we're showing off tequila stashes, I had to get my beauties out for some pics.

Left to right:

-Jose Cuervo Anejo, 2004 (same juice as JCRF 2004)

-Denton Chinaco green label blanco

-Casa Noble Anejo, original "basket weave" bottle

-Casa Noble Crystal, early Vamonos bottles

-1921 blanco, leather strap bottle

-El Tesoro Paradiso, foil top bottle

-Casa Noble single barrel Anejo

-El Tesoro blancos, white label

-Tapatio Excelencia

-Tapatio Blanco signed by Carlos Camerena

-Porfidio single barrel anejo, standard and mega size bottles

-Los Abuelos blanco and anejo, known in US as Fortaleza, lote #1!

-7 Leguas D'antano

[bigtoys]

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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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.

can't argue with that ranking.

Comalteco was being sold in several "stands" throughout Puerto Vallarta. My son, who was 14 at the time, enjoyed a few tastings--since it was "OK with dad".

THAT'S A TEQUILA ARMY!!

[Max Power]

Since we're showing off tequila stashes, I had to get my beauties out for some pics.

Left to right:

-Jose Cuervo Anejo, 2004 (same juice as JCRF 2004)

-Denton Chinaco green label blanco

-Casa Noble Anejo, original "basket weave" bottle

-Casa Noble Crystal, early Vamonos bottles

-1921 blanco, leather strap bottle

-El Tesoro Paradiso, foil top bottle

-Casa Noble single barrel Anejo

-El Tesoro blancos, white label

-Tapatio Excelencia

-Tapatio Blanco signed by Carlos Camerena

-Porfidio single barrel anejo, standard and mega size bottles

-Los Abuelos blanco and anejo, known in US as Fortaleza, lote #1!

-7 Leguas D'antano

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15863[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]15864[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]15865[/ATTACH]

[RVTsteve]

picked up a couple bottles today.

First was a Campeon anejo on sale. After the recent write up on the K&L spirits blog I thought I'd give it a shot and it was the same price as the blanco. I like how light it is compared to other anejos. I love barrel influence in general but this is not your normally wood influenced aged tequila. Very subtle. I like it but I think I'll like the blanco even better with the same profile but less mellow.

I also found what my research from the sources posted here tell me is a 2nd generation 1921 NOM1079 Repo. Green wax, no pull tab, hand written Lote, San Jose, CA address. Thanks for the resources everyone, otherwise I wouldn't have known what to look for! Haven't opened it yet, but I plan to later this evening. There's another on the shelf I'll have to go back for later.

[BigBoldBully]

Lately I have started thinking about combining multiple tequilas in the same glass. I often do this sort of thing with bourbon and other spirits, but rarely tequila. Tonight, though, I mixed up a drink that included a couple that were not doing it for me on their own (Espolon repo and JC tradicional repo) and was happy with the results. But I was even happier after adding a splash of mezcal (Scorpion 1-year anejo). Now I am thinking of trying Vida and Scorpion together, with the idea that the leather and rubber notes of the Scorpion will compliment the citrus hit and other high notes of the Vida. Hopefully this is not the sort of heresy that will trigger eternal damnation.

[Max Power]

Lately I have started thinking about combining multiple tequilas in the same glass. I often do this sort of thing with bourbon and other spirits, but rarely tequila. Tonight, though, I mixed up a drink that included a couple that were not doing it for me on their own (Espolon repo and JC tradicional repo) and was happy with the results. But I was even happier after adding a splash of mezcal (Scorpion 1-year anejo). Now I am thinking of trying Vida and Scorpion together, with the idea that the leather and rubber notes of the Scorpion will compliment the citrus hit and other high notes of the Vida. Hopefully this is not the sort of heresy that will trigger eternal damnation.

[tanstaafl2]

Pretty much were cocktails live. I have had many a cocktail that mixed liquors to great success. Just think of it as a cocktail with no juice, bitters or other annoying additions!

[BigBoldBully]

Oh, there was juice. And specially shaped ice. And several other elements--you have no idea the extent of depravity. It is always nice to reconfirm that tequila folks tend to be much more open-minded than the single malt neat-or-die set. Although to be candid I have sometimes really enjoyed watching their faces contort while I pour some sort of Ardbeg into a woody bourbon, add a little mescal, then top up with juice. :bigeyes:

[Max Power]

Oh, there was juice. And specially shaped ice. And several other elements--you have no idea the extent of depravity. It is always nice to reconfirm that tequila folks tend to be much more open-minded than the single malt neat-or-die set. Although to be candid I have sometimes really enjoyed watching their faces contort while I pour some sort of Ardbeg into a woody bourbon, add a little mescal, then top up with juice. :bigeyes:

Ha. That's outstanding. I drink whiskey too and enjoy it with about 1/3 of an ice cube. Lower the temp a bit and add a little water to lower the proof from the 107-130 ones. Woodford neat is quite tasty. For me, it's all about mood. That's the biggest determining factor of what and how I drink something. The others are food and company.

[RVTsteve]

Broke into my 1921 repo I mentioned earlier. Literally broke into it as the top of the cork stuck to the wax and broke off and the rest of the cork is slowly disintegrating. I don't think I have anything that will fit the wide mouth, but so far it's okay. besides that I love the wide mouth bottle, I just stick my nose right in there and take it all in. The nose is just clean, sweet agave with a touch of wood and butterscotch. The agave carries through into the palate and takes over with a touch of peppery spice and an slightly earthy finish.

After my first taste last night I knew I had to go back for the other I saw on the shelf. Glad I now have a back up because I don't know how long this one is going to last.

[Max Power]

Broke into my 1921 repo I mentioned earlier. Literally broke into it as the top of the cork stuck to the wax and broke off and the rest of the cork is slowly disintegrating. I don't think I have anything that will fit the wide mouth, but so far it's okay. besides that I love the wide mouth bottle, I just stick my nose right in there and take it all in. The nose is just clean, sweet agave with a touch of wood and butterscotch. The agave carries through into the palate and takes over with a touch of peppery spice and an slightly earthy finish.

After my first taste last night I knew I had to go back for the other I saw on the shelf. Glad I now have a back up because I don't know how long this one is going to last.

Whenever that happens to me, I just find an empty from another bottle and use that to keep it from spoiling. 1921 repo is worth savoring for sure. Great profile and agave/barrel balance.

[Max Power]

Made margaritas with Tres Agaves Blanco last night. It can be found locally for just a shade over $20 and is great for citrus mixing and even a light sipper.

http://tequilatourist.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-88-tres-agaves-blanco.html

[brettckeen]

Tried Partida Elegante on Monday. Freaking amazing, Bubblegum cotton candy tasting awesomeness tequilla. A bourbon lovers tequilla for sure. But holy crap it's expensive.

[Max Power]

Tried Partida Elegante on Monday. Freaking amazing, Bubblegum cotton candy tasting awesomeness tequilla. A bourbon lovers tequilla for sure. But holy crap it's expensive.

I'm not a big fan of the Partida line overall, but they age things really well. The anejo is good and the Elegante is great. The blanco is really quite bland.

[compliance]

Hey Max, did you order a bottle of k&l's Fuenteseca Reserva? I'm curious to hear about that one once it comes in. I think it was a mistake for them to blend in a bunch of young tequila, but not having tasted it who knows. Just wondering what you think about it.

[RVTsteve]

Well, I know you didn't ask me, but I ordered one mostly because it's first of its kind I've heard of and I'm pretty excited about it and I've been pretty excited and waiting for it since I first read about it over a year ago.

While 4 and 7 years are younger compared to 11-21 year old tequilas I would be hesitant to call them "young" since an overwhelming amount of tequila available spends less than 1 year in wood.

Being so into and used to whiskies and other spirits aged for decades its easy to attach to ideas of age statements or 'the older the better' kind of mentality. I think including 50% of it being 11years or more in wood is a pretty incredible offering to my mind.

Also if they did single vintages I imagine I'd be tapped out at the 7 year when started pricing them.

All that said, I'm also very interested in MaxPower and anyone else's thoughts on it.

[Ejmharris]

Bought Piedra Azulejo last night. Took a little sip and seemed a little light in flavor and that is ok. I bought it to infuse jalepenos for Margaritas tomorrow night. Had one in New York and wanted to try and get close.

Mike

[tanstaafl2]

Refreshed my supply of Excellia Anejo today with a couple more bottles. Tried the Don Pilar anejo and XA thanks to the help of a fellow SBer and both are nice but since neither are available locally and the Excellia Anejo compares well to the Don Pilar XA to me at a little less cost and can be found in town I stuck with what I could find locally.

[Max Power]

Hey Max, did you order a bottle of k&l's Fuenteseca Reserva? I'm curious to hear about that one once it comes in. I think it was a mistake for them to blend in a bunch of young tequila, but not having tasted it who knows. Just wondering what you think about it.

I did not. It honestly did not sound appealing to me. Generally speaking, anything over 7 years for tequila is pretty gross...or at least it tastes nothing like agave. If I want something that tastes more like wood, I'll get a 21 year whiskey. There's a reason that tequila makers don't make many things older than 5 years. It's because it no longer tastes anything like tequila. To me, this sounded like the same thing. It very well might be delicious, but from the tasting notes, it didn't sound like something that I wanted to pay $170 for.

[Max Power]

Made my first Mexican Mojito tonight with Don Tacho. A lighter flavor than the standard mojito. Very tasty.

[ChainWhip]

Went back to Tequila tonight with Crotalo Anejo

[Max Power]

Went back to Tequila tonight with Crotalo Anejo

Always a good choice. So much going on in that one.

[timd]

I've been enjoying el destilador reposado - I can get it for $15/liter here. I think it's smooth, creamy & rich. Really enjoy this one for those mellower sipping moments or for a nice rich (non-smokey) mixed drink.

The price is ridiculously cheap for how good the bottle is. Cheaper than Camarana even...

[Max Power]

I've been enjoying el destilador reposado - I can get it for $15/liter here. I think it's smooth, creamy & rich. Really enjoy this one for those mellower sipping moments or for a nice rich (non-smokey) mixed drink.

The price is ridiculously cheap for how good the bottle is. Cheaper than Camarana even...

I've always found it to make a really good paloma as well. Definitely a good value. I've been hearing good things recently about Exotico as a cheap brand. Anyone ever had it?