Tastes

Nose - liquid smoke, iodine, tennis ball, rubber, band aid, cooked agave, mint, coriander, dry grass, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - rubber, medicinal iodine, liquid smoke, tennis ball, spearmint, pepper, cooked agave, lemon, salt cured ham, sour apple, coriander, vanilla, simple syrup, caramel, dry grass, moderate alcohol bite, finishing long with rubber, smoke, and mint flavors. This is the first mezcal I’ve tried, so I’m not quite sure where to place this. I like smokiness in liquor, but feel it may be too overpowering here. It’s how I imagine a diluted Laphroaig would taste right off the still. Regardless, I found this to be a pleasant sipper, if a bit monotone. If there are any mezcal experts out there, recommend me a few good ones and I’ll add them to my shopping list.

Nose - musty oak, leather, chemically vanilla and caramel, mint, white pepper, lemon, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - butter cream frosting, caramel, butterscotch, leather, lime, mint, white pepper, moderate alcohol bite, finishing quickly with a slightly cloying sweet and minty flavors. I like this less than the blanco and reposado offerings, as I find it to be less complex than both of them. What little cooked agave I could detect in the others is almost completely missing here. While totally pleasant, it’s not a great example of a quality tequila.

Nose - vanilla perfume, bell pepper, butterscotch, cooked agave, lime, caramel, cola, black pepper, mint, musty earthiness, sweet cream, stewed vegetables, mushroom, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - vanilla, cooked agave, butter cream frosting, bell pepper, lime, spearmint, salted caramel, mushroom, caramel, old oak notes, moderate alcohol bite, finishing moderately quickly with sweet caramel, spicy pepper, and mild cooked agave flavors. This shares many of the same notes with its younger blanco sibling. While I recognize similar faults with the flavor profile, I find the reposado to be slightly more complex and tequila-y. Onto the añejo to complete my Casamigos journey.

Nose - vanilla, butter cream frosting, caramel, lime, sweet grass, light cooked agave, black pepper, mint, mild ethanol burn. Taste - butter cream frosting, vanilla, black pepper, mint, cinnamon, caramel, lime, orange, light cooked agave, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing quickly with fading caramel, mint, and hints of agave. This is very approachable and easy to drink. However, the cooked agave flavor is hidden behind loads of vanilla and caramel notes. Great tequila doesn’t smell and taste like a birthday cake. This is good tequila for people who don’t like traditional tequila flavors or for introducing to new sippers.

Nose - caramel, toffee, vanilla, mild cracked pepper, sweet dry oak, marshmallow, bamboo, tropical fruit, subtle cooked agave, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - butterscotch, creamy vanilla, raisin, milk chocolate, sweet cooked agave, oak, spearmint, nutmeg, clove, mild alcohol bite, finishing moderately long with chocolate, mint, and oily, sour, bitter, chemically caramel favors. This is not a great tequila, but a pleasant sipper nonetheless. In fact, I would probably have some degree of difficulty identifying this as tequila in a blind test, as it hits more like a light-bodied Japanese whiskey or maybe even some weird cognac. I assume it is well reviewed because the included additives make it sweeter and more approachable than a traditionally produced, quality tequila. I think this would be a good expression for introducing the spirit to whiskey or non-liquor drinkers. However, the price is completely unwarranted; I think the standard DJ Añejo at half the price is a step up (and even that one is, in my opinion, overpriced).