Our Favorite Tequilas and Mezcals From April 2017

AsomBroso Collaboration Barrel 1 is 100% blue agave Tequila. Manufactured through a proprietary process employing multiple distillations and filtrations. Once the final filtration is complete, it aged for 11-years in used French-oak-barrels making it an extra añejo. It is then finished in used red wine barrels from the Napa Valley winery Silver Oak.

The Cortés family has been producing artisanal mezcal for five generations. They produce a range of mezcals ranging in styles and philosophies but what they all have in common is that they are all vivid expressions of the place and the producer. From the village of Santiago Matatlán using agave espadín and aged for 18 months in American oak, this mezcal was produced entirely using “artisanal” methods.

El Decreto (Spanish for "the decree") prides itself on authenticity. The agave is grown in the Jalisco Highlands and processed using traditional methods, including a long 5 - 7 day fermentation process. The añejo is aged 18 months in ex-bourbon casks before bottling in containers individually made by local glass makers.

Cat Mezcal is a mezcal "from the heart of Oaxaca". It's made from 100% agave (species unspecified). The joven style is bottled unaged off the still.

Embajador grows their agave in the Los Altos region of Jalisco, where it is harvested at 8-10 years and processed at their facility in Atotonilco. The agave is roasted in adobe ovens, and distilled in column stills for a combination of tradition and modern technique. The Premium (reposado) is aged 8 months in a combination of American (ex-bourbon) and French (ex-Cognac) oak.

Embarjador Platinum tequila is distilled from 100% agave. The agave plants are roasted in traditional ovens as well as steam baked before being mashed and fermented. After being distilled twice the tequila is rested in stainless steel vats for 40 days before bottling.

Piñas are baked in traditional hornos and slowly fermented and distilled in stainless steel pot-stills. It is then aged in new American and French oak barrels. They proudly use no chemicals, additives or flavorings and are bottled in eco-friendly recycled bottles.

There is not much available on the production or history of this brand. It is distilled at the Fabrica de Tequilas Finos in Jalisco where several tequilas are produced like Kirkland brand (Costco), Ed Hardy Tequila, and Kah Tequilas among many many others, though this in of itself is not unusual. Many tequilas are often produced at one distillery or NOM, but production methods can vary. This is a 100% agave tequila bottled at 80 proof.

From the brainchild of Tomas Estes and Carlos Camareña, Tequila Ocho is the first and only single-estate vintage tequila on the market. Sourcing agave from individual ranches and then using only that distillate allows Ocho to represent true terrior and seasonality with each expression. The estate of Los Fresno’s undulates between 2068m and 2078m and at the time of harvest (late April 2013) each agave was on average 7 years of age and had a sugar concentration of about 27.6% due to the lack of rain.

As part of the second release of Expressiones del Corazón, this limited Artisanal Edition Blanco uses 100% blue weber agave with its brix measured before harvest, instead of traditional clear cut. Two sets were harvested for the blanco - one with lower sugar and one with higher. This blend is the unaged spirit that also goes into the expressions aged in selected barrels once used for different marks of Buffalo Trace bourbon and rye.