Sippin' tequila

dragon1952

I've always liked Patron Silver even though it gets a lot of flak for being overpriced given the quality? IDK, I really like it. The other day they had a tequila tasting station at the local Liquor Outlet and I was able to try a couple in the $150-$190 per bottle range and I can't say they were any better. Today I picked up a bottle of Siete Leguas blanco which was about $6 cheaper than the Patron and I have to say it's probably at least equal if not a tad smoother. My bargain bin choices in the past have been El Jimador and Espolon. Anybody have a favorite they'd like to share that would compare to Patron but maybe a little less $$$?

treitz3

Altos, clear is my "go-to". I have a stemmed crystal shot glass that I use exclusively for this.

I like the taste of Patron but don't like the aftertaste and never could understand or justify the price.

Tom

dragon1952

What price range is that?

rooftop59

I LOVE altos resposado for making margaritas. My favorite is tequila, fresh lemon juice, and agave nectar. Shake it 15-20 seconds until the ice crushes. It’s a little Smokey, a little tart, nice sweetness, and you still taste that clean tequila.

As for price, at least in my neck of the woods Altos is almost half price of patron silver...

treitz3

'Bout 30 to 35 per 1.75litre, depending on where you buy it.

Tom

JuanR

Don Julio makes very good Tequila...try the Don Julio 70....I think you will like it if you like Patron. Two things about Tequila, 1st - if it is not made from 100% blue agave then it's not 100% Tequila, 2nd Original Tequila comes from Jalisco Mexico, this region is known for growing the Agave plants and making the BEST Tequila in the world. If you want to splurge a little more then go for the Don Julio 1942...but start with the 70, it's priced around $50-60 per bottle.

dragon1952

Yeah, I'm totally hep to tequila. I would never even consider a mixto :^ / Strictly 100% agave silver/blanco for me. The reposado and anejo aren't my thing. I haven't tried the Don Julio but it has piqued my interest from the reviews. This Siete Leguas is really, really good though and at $44 a pop on sale I would buy it over the Patron.

ZLTFUL

JuanR wrote: »

Don Julio makes very good Tequila...try the Don Julio 70....I think you will like it if you like Patron. Two things about Tequila, 1st - if it is not made from 100% blue agave then it's not 100% Tequila, 2nd Original Tequila comes from Jalisco Mexico, this region is known for growing the Agave plants and making the BEST Tequila in the world. If you want to splurge a little more then go for the Don Julio 1942...but start with the 70, it's priced around $50-60 per bottle.

Disclaimer: My wife is a tequila snob of extreme proportions.

My wife uses Don Julio 1942 as our “well” tequila.
And everything else she has is considerably better, at least to my tastebuds.

dragon1952

Ha ha....my kinda gal :^ ) I wish I could afford a $100+ a pop bottle of tequila as my "well" choice :^ /

treitz3

No doubt. I go through so much, I would have to make it part of the budget, if that were the case.

Tom

dragon1952

That's my issue also. If I just imbibed occasionally it would be different :^ /

jdjohn

I am a HUGE tequila snob, or as I would rather say, aficionado. My wife is on board with this, so we have a sizeable collection. We actually went to Jalisco for a week last month, and toured 8 distilleries - 4 in the Tequila valley, and 4 in the highlands.

Interesting fact that many don't know is that Patron was first made at Siete Leguas. They started demanding more product than Siete Leguas could produce, which led to Patron building their own distillery...and poaching 7L's master distiller. Nevertheless, Siete Leguas is still a VERY solid choice.

Tequila distribution in the states varies wildly, so it's sometimes hard to suggest brands since many times they aren't available in all markets. This is especially true in ABC states.

DJ was purchased by the huge conglomerate Diageo a couple of years ago, which loses some cred in my opinion. DJ70 Cristalino is a filtered anejo...filtered so much that it is (obviously) clear. Cristalinos have become a bit en vogue recently, mainly to please the American palate.

As far as budget recommendations, Olmeca Altos (already mentioned) is a solid choice. My go-to for margaritas is El Ultimo Agave. I'd say my current favorite budget sipper is Suerte. Suerte means 'luck', so it has a rabbit on the bottle.

If the budget allows, here are some other recommendations that have fairly wide distribution:
- Fortaleza
- Pasote, G4, Terralta (these are all made at the same distillery)
- El Tesoro, Tapatio, Tequila Ocho, Excellia, Paradiso (all made at the same distillery)
- Don Fulano, T1, Fuenteseca $$$$ (same distillery)
- Don Abraham
- Codigo
- the aforementioned Siete Leguas
- Casa Noble is still okay, even though they sold out to Constellation Brands; they age in new French oak, which gives it a nice fudgey taste in the aged expressions (reposado and anejo)

I know many people like Clase Azul, but it is too sweet for my taste, and quite expensive. Honestly, their production method is not very authentic, and imparts a fake taste IMO. The same can be said for Casa Dragones.

I know more about tequila than high-end audio

JuanR

I agree with @jdjon and his selection of Tequilas. Another Tequila maker known to make some good ones is Herradura. You can purchase a bottle from $40 - $1000 from this maker. 100% blue agave, and Jalisco is what it's all about....Everyone has their own opinion on what is a good tequila based off their own taste buds...YMMV

treitz3

Found it!

I met a guy down at LSAF last year who struck me as a hardcore tequila aficionado, much like John. He had mentioned that the best tasting tequila he had ever tasted was Hernandora tequila (or the royal blue bottle with gold lettering). While I haven't actively sought it out, I have not ran across it yet.

Have any of you ran across this or tried it? If memory serves, it's about double to triple the cost of the Altos and he also mentioned that it was not made in America or Mexico. I'll be damned if I can remember the country, though. Cuba perhaps?

Tom

BlueBirdMusic

Tequila makes me crazy. I have done some strange things after indulging. My favorite is Patron. I finally found a song that best describes drinking it. I had never listened to Kenny Chensey until last week at a friends house.

(Chorus)
'Cause you and Tequila make me crazy
Run like poison in my blood
One more night could kill me, baby
One is one too many, one more is never enough

Kenny Chesney - You And Tequila featuring Grace Potter (Official Music Video)
https://youtu.be/Q8XkLrErSHw

Willow

My wife just came back from Boston and at their very limited duty free picked up a 1L bottle of Patron Silver. Not bad stuff. I've had Jimador while in Mexico but it was mainly used in our mixed drinks. She's off to Philly next week so I am hoping they have a better selection and she can pick something else up.

jdjohn

treitz3 wrote: »

Found it!

I met a guy down at LSAF last year who struck me as a hardcore tequila aficionado, much like John. He had mentioned that the best tasting tequila he had ever tasted was Hernandora tequila (or the royal blue bottle with gold lettering). While I haven't actively sought it out, I have not ran across it yet.

Have any of you ran across this or tried it? If memory serves, it's about double to triple the cost of the Altos and he also mentioned that it was not made in America or Mexico. I'll be damned if I can remember the country, though. Cuba perhaps?

Tom

I've never heard of that brand, Tom, but here's the thing: if it's not made in Mexico, then it can't be called 'tequila'. The term 'tequila' is protected internationally as a denomination of origin product of Mexico. This is similar to Champagne and Cognac as sparkling wine and brandy. If a spirit distilled from agave is produced outside of Mexico (and actually only certain parts of MX), then it is normally just called an agave spirit; if the producer were to put the word tequila on their bottle, they'd be in a heap of trouble.

Tequila is the most highly regulated spirit in the world. The Mexican government has an agency whose sole purpose is to regulate tequila production. Tequila producers must have a representative from the CRT (Consejo Regulador de Tequila) on-site to move their product from point A to point B, even within their own distillery! If you look on any bottle of tequila, somewhere on the label (could be front or back), you'll see 'CRT' and also a 'NOM' number. This certifies it as true tequila. Of course as noted in an earlier post by someone, you always want to look for '100% agave'. To be called tequila, it technically only requires a minimum of 51% agave, but 100% is the juice you want.

jdjohn

Willow wrote: »

My wife just came back from Boston and at their very limited duty free picked up a 1L bottle of Patron Silver. Not bad stuff. I've had Jimador while in Mexico but it was mainly used in our mixed drinks. She's off to Philly next week so I am hoping they have a better selection and she can pick something else up.

There's a restaurant in Philly literally named 'Tequilas Restaurant' that she might want to check out. It's a high-end Mexican restaurant owned by an gentleman named David Suro. He has developed a brand of tequilas under the name Siembra Azul and Siembra Valles, which are quite good. David is very active in the preservation/protection of tequila production (and agave spirits in general).

treitz3

Hmmm, that may be one I never find then. Thanks for the tips, John.

Tom

Willow

jdjohn wrote: »

Willow wrote: »

My wife just came back from Boston and at their very limited duty free picked up a 1L bottle of Patron Silver. Not bad stuff. I've had Jimador while in Mexico but it was mainly used in our mixed drinks. She's off to Philly next week so I am hoping they have a better selection and she can pick something else up.

There's a restaurant in Philly literally named 'Tequilas Restaurant' that she might want to check out. It's a high-end Mexican restaurant owned by an gentleman named David Suro. He has developed a brand of tequilas under the name Siembra Azul and Siembra Valles, which are quite good. David is very active in the preservation/protection of tequila production (and agave spirits in general).

Thank you, I will let her know.

pitdogg2

jdjohn wrote: »

To be called tequila, it technically only requires a minimum of 51% agave, but 100% is the juice you want.

Correct I believe Mexico relaxed some restrictions about 10 or 12 yrs. ago maybe more when premium Tequila became all the rage because of the shortage of blue agave. It takes a long time for the blue agave plant to mature.
IIRC the prefered 49% was distilled sugar beet juice.
I really liked the Cabo Wabo blue bottle back when Sammy Hagar owned it. It is far removed from that now that it has been sold several times since then. It's running on name only now.

I'd love to try his new Mezquila but can't find it near my location

jdjohn

Anytime, Tom. Remember at Joe's how my wife and I had those boxes of tequila in the back of the car? We did some tequila treasure hunting in Rome, GA on the way down, and she continued looking around north ATL that day.

Here's a pic of our total haul from that trip:


Jody

treitz3

Sorry, Jody. I am bad with names.....really bad.

Oh, yes. I remember vividly. It looks like you quadrupled the collection since I last saw them in the car. Have you had a chance to try them all yet? If so or if not, what is the favorite you have ran across so far....and why (if you remember)?

Tom

jdjohn

Haha...no worries, Tom That happens a lot due to my screen name.

All of those bottles were in the car that day. You probably only saw the boxes in the cargo space, but there were more in the back seat

Oh yes, we have tried them all. We actually already owned several of them, so were buying extras for inventory purposes. Some bottles are 'buy on the spot...all of them', whereas some of those were new to us. In that first pic above, the bottles on the right are older, treasure bottles that aren't produced any more, or are older/better generations of current products. The bottles on the left are newer, currently available brands.

Here is a closer pic of the left side:

Again, most of these are newer, currently available brands. The taller bottles with numbers on the label (1549, 1414) are from the ArteNOM series, and all of them are very good...highly recommended. The San Matias bottles in the front with the word 'Tahona' underneath are quite good as well. A tahona is a huge mill stone used to crush the agave pinas after cooking (very old school method), so kind of special and cool. The IXA is quite good IMO, and made from organically grown agaves. The El Tesoro bottle on the far right is one of my all-time favorites. That is an older version referred to as 'white label' (for obvious reasons). ET is still made today, but the bottles look much different now, and although still good (tahona-made, btw), that older white-label version is the shizz-nit.

The primary reason I will like a tequila is if it has the TRUE smell and taste of cooked agave. This is easier said than done, and depends on production methods and batch size. The bigger producers like Cuervo, Sauza, and even Herradura (to an extent) use very modernized, industrial, highly-efficient methods to extract all the sugars (and profit) they can, but do so at the expense of flavor. Small-batch producers are less efficient, but end-up with a much better, and more traditional, flavor profile. Patron strikes a pretty good balance of using traditional methods in a high-volume environment, but their distillation cuts leave out some flavor, so their taste is a little soft for my liking...especially for the price.

Fortaleza is probably the most traditional distillery - the oldest of the old school. It takes them about 15 kilos of agave to make a liter of tequila, whereas other producers need only 10 kilos or less to make a liter. Clearly, Fortaleza is much less efficient, but their flavor profile is very full-bodied and delicious. Ironically, Fortaleza's founder is a descendant of the Sauza family. Several years ago, he decided to fire-up the old family distillery and use the old traditional methods like his grandfathers before him. They are currently the darling of the tequila industry, focusing their marketing on bartenders instead of mass media. It has been very much a 'boots on the ground' and word-of-mouth approach, but has paid off for them.

dragon1952

That Fortaleza is next on my list....thanks!

jdjohn

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Correct I believe Mexico relaxed some restrictions about 10 or 12 yrs. ago maybe more when premium Tequila became all the rage because of the shortage of blue agave. It takes a long time for the blue agave plant to mature.
IIRC the prefered 49% was distilled sugar beet juice.
I really liked the Cabo Wabo blue bottle back when Sammy Hagar owned it. It is far removed from that now that it has been sold several times since then. It's running on name only now.

I'd love to try his new Mezquila but can't find it near my location

On the tours last month, they actually said that 10-12yrs ago there was a glut of agave, and cited that raw agave only cost a few cents USD per kilo during that time. That cheap price caused the rage you mention and lots of new brands hitting the market due to the low price of the raw material.

Nowadays, there is a shortage, and the price of raw agave is over 20 cents per kilo That's a 900-1000% increase in cost! Some brands have their own estates and grow their own agaves...clearly they are at an advantage now.

@pitdogg2 take my advice and avoid Sammy's new Mezquila. I've never tried it, but palates that I trust have tried it, and they did not enjoy it...to say the least. FWIW, these sames folks would totally agree with your assessment of old vs current Cabo Wabo...palates you can trust.

maxward

@dragon1952 , the owner of La Margarita in our home town sometimes has tequila tastings. He’s a fan of El Tesoro, among others.

pitdogg2

jdjohn wrote: »

@pitdogg2 take my advice and avoid Sammy's new Mezquila. I've never tried it, but palates that I trust have tried it, and they did not enjoy it...to say the least. FWIW, these sames folks would totally agree with your assessment of old vs current Cabo Wabo...palates you can trust.

Good to know thanks Jody.

BlueBirdMusic

An awesome thread guys. I'll probably drink more tequila from now on. So many to try~

treitz3

jdjohn wrote: »

All of those bottles were in the car that day. You probably only saw the boxes in the cargo space, but there were more in the back seat

Ah, did not realize that. You may have mentioned it but my guess is that it did not register properly in me brain! I was wondering how y'all got so much on such a short trip...

Tom

jdjohn

maxward wrote: »

@dragon1952 , the owner of La Margarita in our home town sometimes has tequila tastings. He’s a fan of El Tesoro, among others.

Very cool. I'll bet he likes other products from La Alteña distillery NOM 1139 like Tapatio, Tequila Ocho, and Excellia.