Bottle 142 Barrel 03 Nose: Tropical Floral and Fruit, ripe peach, sweet agave, vanilla, hint of coffee, and light oak Flavor: creamy mouth feel, sweet agave comes through, honey, and butterscotch Finish: Long finish with light spice, agave, and some cedar. This is a very nice XA. I would serve this with desserts and would pair nicely with regular and chocolate creme brûlée, salted caramel butterscotch pudding, or chocolate mousse
Nose: Initial round rum note wrapped in light oak and spice. Dried fruit: citron and apricot. Fragrant fruitiness, subdued perfume aromas, and an appealing muted sour note. A touch of vanilla and ginger. Everything here is singing in tune. Flavor: Cantaloupe, tropical fruits and agave richness. Grilled pineapple basted with melted butter, dark brown sugar and sweet jerk spices. Some pepper heat and tannins play on the back palate on the finish.
Nose: Sweet ripe fruit aromas, both dark and light fruits, with a zingy sharp note. Jammy ripe dark fruit, maybe cherries? And aromas of fallen apples and pears in the orchard, starting to ferment on the ground. Vanilla, allspice and powdered ginger. A very intriguing combination. Flavors: Spice and heat blaze out of the starting gate: cinnamon, pepper, ginger and ethanol. (48% ABV). Some rum flavors, dark raisins and tannins on the back palate. The kicky spices and slight bitterness do not overwhelm the fruit and agave found in the aromas. I certainly don’t hate this - it is just a very assertive profile. Finish: A bit of astringency. On tasting a second time a few weeks later - all the aromas and flavors aligned in a more attractive fashion. I bumped the score a point or two.
Nose: Round ripe fruit nose, bordering on overripe fruit that carries a tang of cider vinegar. Barrel spices that I normally would associate with bourbon barrels, abundant agave and a cognac French barrel bouquet that plays gently with the other aromas. Flavor: Some heat and fire in the first sips, accompanied by slight bitterness and astringency. Salted caramel, vanilla and whiskey notes. The fruitiness and spices of the nosing are faint on the palate, in comparison. While I like this quite a lot, it lacks integrated harmony to me. Finish: Given some time to breathe, the French oak asserts itself.
Lou cracks open a special single-barrel añejo release from Ocho and give his thoughts in this video review.
One hundred percent. The term seems straight forward enough. You see it listed on labels constantly. But in the case of 100 percent blue agave tequila, you shouldn’t be so sure.
A list of 10 tequilas that make interesting sipping tequilas. Some are better known and widely distributed, others less so. It all depends, of course, on your knowledge of tequila.
Some tequila producers are laying the groundwork for sustainability, but bartenders and conscientious consumers can fight the good fight, too.
For years we’ve been saying “process matters”, and that each choice made during the production process will find its way into the finished product. Now we have proof.
Tequila distilleries can differ from each other in many ways. So we used our database to find out which distilleries are creating tequilas that score highest among users of the Tequila Matchmaker app.
This 2016 single estate Reposado is very light all around, but has a complicated and exciting nose. Take the time to find all the aromas. There isn't a strong flavor profile, and it has very little wood presence, which is the point of showcasing the terro
We have a tequila from agave doyen Tomas Estes. He’s long been an advocate of the concept of terroir in tequila and Ocho remains his best line of argument.
Additives in tequila? I bet you’ve never thought about it. But whether you are for or against additives it’s useful to know how they are used, the rules that govern them, and how to sleuth them out.