Nose- Brown sugar, Caramel, Butterscotch, Alcohol Palate- Caramel, Vanilla, Oak Finish- Woody, hot, dies off quickly Overall: Clean — Good flavor, very oaky, however a bit hot. Wonderful extra añejo expression for the price.

On the nose, Vanilla and cherry. Cake batter, and then that familiar agave aroma, with some cinnamon and general baking spices. The cake batter is really the star of the show, reminds me of La Gritona. Its all very aromatic and light, that’s the best way I can describe it. On the palate, Surprisingly more agave than the nose would suggest but that vanilla cake batter is strong. Definitely sweet, though not as overly sweet as it smells. Some aromatic almond notes, honey. This is definitely on the sweeter side. Overall, this is interesting, its only the second cristalino I’ve tried. San Matias claims additive free, but this is a weird one. There is a lot of interesting aromas but theres definitely similarities to the XA. Its fine, it blows DJ70 out of the water so worth a shot for that specific niche, but it’s definitely a little bland. I’ll keep this bottle for my hardcore DJ70/42 fans, but I will never buy this again.

Amazing value XA. If you like oak and butterscotch this is for you! That’s not really my thing so the rating suffers. I did have a 5-year single barrel from Moreno’s Liquors that for me is much better than the standard blend. I’d give that one a score in the 80s and the regular one in the 70s.

The nose is nice. Sweet, caramel. A bare hint of mint. Something like honeycomb and chocolate. As it’s opening up, I’m getting a distinct note of green apple, and the. brown sugar. On the palate, I get that minty coolness, and the nice but subdued sweetness. Maybe a touch of chocolate, some burnt sugar. The Apple is coming through as well. Very interesting. Picked up for $23 in Tijuana, an absolute steal for something this good. I’d drink this all day.

On the nose, Initially cooked agave but then caramel swarms the nose. Butterscotch and maple. Hazelnut and chocolate, like Nutella but not nearly so sickly sweet. A cognac like note for sure. Definitely fruity, I swear I’m getting a hint of pear. On the palate, Spicy, sweet, and oaky. There’s cooked agave, but it’s definitely mixed in with the the flavors and not the star by any means. Definitely a cognac type of note and caramel. A little bit of heat, but not too much. Very interesting. A tasty tequila, agave is definitely not the star of the show but it is very tasty and a tremendous value.