Tastes

The nose has a sweet, syrupy, caramel smell with a bit of spice and a tad of vegetation. The palate is smooth and immediately is surprisingly minty. There's some nice caramel, though it doesn't have a rich butterscotch flavor, and there's also some orange zest, a little cherry, and spices that add a tad of burn. Cinnamon is present but not excessive and the flavor somehow rounds out nicely. It reminds me a bit of Arta Anejo mixed with San Matias Extra Anejo mixed with a young Fuentesca. My palate is not in the best shape as I drink this, but it's quite appealing and easy to drink. There's some Clase Azul sweetness going on here that I appreciate. There's a fair bit going on and the flavors are quite good. It's a stand-out tequila. There are a lot of the usual tequila flavors here and many of them are quite good. This is some really nice tequila. It's on the sweet side, but not excessively so and not in a bad way. There's a bit of numbing and pepper, but there's also sweet yet rich agave nectar with some bitterness that brings in a bit of herbal flavor that goes well with the agave and spice. It gets fruitier as it goes on with more of a zippy tropical flavor - possibly tart orange juice and green pineapple. There's also a bit of a coffee bean flavor (maybe that's the herbal element?). The complexity is solid and it tastes good. There's eventually a nice hint of spearmint, but it isn't like toothpaste. This is a nice product. I maintain my rating of 17.

It smells like tequila, with lime, savory vegetal, and mildly sweet notes. The palate has a lot of mineral and is surprisingly sweet. It reminds me of Herradura Blanco, but it's more fruity and sweet. Pineapple and lime are there for sure and there is some spice but it is well under control. There's a little smoke going on and some earthy stewed agave, but those elements are mellower than expected. Oh, that might be Earth, not smoke. There are some vegetal elements like bell peppers. There are several elements in here, but they aren't in great balance. The flavor is good enough for mixing and it's borderline (quite borderline) sippable.

This is weird. It's really sweet and fruity, a lot like a cocktail. It tastes OK, but it's one of those cases where it doesn't taste like the drink that it's supposed to and that is really upsetting. It's super smooth though. I do think that those wine barrels were a mistake. The nose is sweet and fruity, but also a tad smoky with a hint of mint and some more herbal character. The palate is fruity and sweet, but there's some immediate mint too. It has some spiciness they prickles throughout and if it could just work up to a dry finish it could be quite good, but it turns sweet and viscous with an odd flavor that lingers. It's rich and sweet, but I feel like I could accomplish a similar effect with some decent blanco tequila and fruit juice (actually, decent blanco with just a tad of fruit juice would probably be better). This is enjoyable to drink and if it were less than $30 I would recommend giving it a go, but at this price it has hints of complexity and then a lot of sugary fruit juice. This isn't the sweetness of Clase Azul Reposado: that is more restrained with more traditional wood and caramel flavors that fade to a nice richness. The Clase Azul is quite sweet though. It also has more complexity. You know, comparing the two side by side, this being such a sweet tequila doesn't seem so insane. There's some nice mint bringing it back to Earth after all and if Clase Azul can get away with such sweetness, why can't Cava De Oro? The oppressive fruity syrup note is still a problem though.it has nothing on the richness and balance of Fuenteseca 7 though. The Fuenteseca is much more subtle, but it churns in a way that adds a lot to it and makes it much more. Compared with bourbon or any scotch that isn't super subtle (see: Johnnie Walker Green) though. Fuenteseca is flat and dull. It reminds me of El Jimador Añejo with its pepper, mint, and sweet agave, but this kicks the sweetness up a few notches and brings in a ton of fruit. It does also add a decent amount of richness instead of the grassiness though.i

This nose is regular casamigos Blanco with more baking spices, including cinnamon but emphasizing dusty nutmeg. The palate has lots of vanilla with a little bit of caramel, some spices, and some creamy chocolate notes, and a slightly minty finish that has hints of spearmint. It's not too strong and is decently balanced in a hedonistic way, but this less complex than many Reposados. Still, it's tasty, like a not-as-good Don Julio 1942.

This tequila is ridiculously smooth and balanced. There is some lime, but title does not overwhelm. Sweetness and richness abound, with some smoke but no wood. The finish is terrific. There are some herbal notes and there is a general earthy agave flavor. I wouldn't say that it is particularly oily or creamy, but it has viscosity along with it's smoothness that works quite well. While I had trouble pulling out specific flavors due to circumstances, the flavors that I could detect were quite good. Some ambiguous fruit was present with the sweetness, though the finish tended toward the dry side. The bitterness is not overwhelming and the notable mint that is present complements rather than conflicts with the tequila. T1 reposado is spicier and harsher, but also more full of life. I wish that the T1 were less spicy, but I do appreciate its richer flavor. The T1 reposado seems like Casamigos Blanco mixed with Remy Martin 1738, but in a way that somehow works. As a Blanco, the Casamigos is weirdly somewhat put to shame by the green olive of the Fortaleza Reposado. The Fortaleza is good and refeahing, but has more of an alcohol presence that dries the palate. The Fortaleza Reposado also lacks the balance of the Casamigos Blanco. Casamigos has a flavor somewhere between El Tesoro Blanco and T1 Reposado. The underlying sweetness here really helps to bring out the better characteristics of the other flavors. The nose is smokey with a bit of pool water present. The flavor is sweetly smokey, with some lime and mild tomato flavor. There is a clear mint presence mixed in with the smoke, along with milk chocolate. There is not a ton of bitterness or tartness here. It's quite good. Compared with El Tesoro, this is richer with a sweet chocolate flavor added. There's a bit of a creamy sweetness to it that is very appealing. There is some mild pineapple hanging out in the background. The milk chocolate is really impressive though. This is some fine Blanco. There's some nice milk chocolate balanced with mint and hints of pine in here. It's sweet and satisfying. Only a little spice interrupts the smoothness. Sweet with chocolate, mint, and a surprising bit of toffee richness. It's a good flavor profile and is an impressively rich for a blanco. The richness reminds me a bit of Don Julio 1942, though obviously not to the same degree. The flavor is really good and quite sippable despite the lack in complexity. This is richer, spicier, and more chocolatey than El Tesoro Blanco. The flavor is sweet (as far as tequila goes) but balanced. The chocolate is balanced by some smoke that has hints of hickory or mesquite and a nice bit of hazelnut and caramel like one might find in a latte. There are hints of mishrooms. It isn't terribly rich and delicious though. It isn't super complex, but it is fairly rich and tasty. It avoids bad notes and would at bare minimum make a good mixer. I go back and forth on this one. Right now, it tastes full of creamy milk chocolate and is positively delightful. As always, it isn't terribly complex, but what's new (aside from the nice chocolate, I mean). It's a rich and full tequila that tries for the hedonism route rather than the complexity one. The finish is quite nice and chocolatey. I can perceive more herbal notes along with some lime and pineapple in there, but it's not a tremendous amount. Really, it just adds some nice tequila flavor to this to provide some reassurance. It tastes really good and I'd definitely sip it. This isn't an overly aggressive tequila and it isn't oppressive in any flavor either. There is Chocolate with mint and a hint of cinnamon and caramel. It's surprisingly rich for a blanco, but it's also quite dry with so earthy notes making it in. It's on the bitter side, but it isn't too bad in that regard. It doesn't have a ton of flavors, but the ones it does have are mostly clean and tasty. It's sippable, though not astounding.\ There's a lot of vanilla, but then some regular tequila flavors. There's more of a standard tequila flavor than the musty Reposado has. There's some caramel that can be cloying with the vanilla, but it isn't too strong. There's some chocolate and mint too with a bit of Fortaleza oiliness. It's better than Lunazul Blanco, though Lunazul is still quite good.

It smells rich with a sizable dose of that foot cheese scotch smell, but also Earth and a tad of lime peel. The palate is very Earth with some cinnamon sweetness and notes of chocolate laying in a minty bed. The alcohol mixes with the mint to create a flavor that is a bit too far forward, but the end result isn't ruined. The richness on the long finish is quite nice and reminds me a bit of Fuentesca. I would love to try a more eager version of this, but there is some good stuff going on here. If the alcohol could just step back a bit this could be quite good. The vanilla and butterscotch are really nice here. The stewed agave fits in naturally. There's some of that reposado depth but it also is nicely hedonistic. Some bell pepper vegetal notes come through with the mint and so does the faintest bit of anise. This is a solid sipper but it could use some refinement of its flavors to get rid of the alcohol. The complexity is nice, but the alcohol largely overwhelms it.