Tastes

The nose is agave and vanilla. I also get a hint of citrus. The agave flavor is still quite crisp, with a zesty citrus flavor. I get considerable sweetness, a drop of honey, vanilla, black pepper, and some smokiness. I am not much of a smoker, but I bet this would be a perfect accompaniment to a nice, full bodied cigar. The finish is lingering, dry, smokey, earthy, and well-oaked. I even get a little cocoa. This is a nicely balanced drink with distinct, but well melded flavors. Perhaps not perfect, but very proficiently crafted and hard to fault.

Something unaged has no business being this good!

I find this pretty underwhelming in terms of flavor profile that I most want in a blanco. There is also tanin bitterness, perhaps also some unsweetened chocolate in the finish, most likely from the aging, that throws off the experience for me a bit. I taste agave, but it's much less bold than other blancos that I've had. The agave flavor feels muted, almost as if it were diluted, like a mixture of vodka and tequila instead of just tequila. There is some zesty citrus, and it does quite pop strongly enough and I'd prefer it to be more front and center. I do definitely pick up some traces of red fruit from the brief stint in wine barrels. It's not bad - it's actually quite good, but at the same price range I've found a few other blancos that I enjoy quite a bit more. There are other spirits I'd pick over this virtually any time, so not likely to earn a permanent place in my collection.

I get agave on the nose and a moderate amount of vanilla. The palate is agave, and vanilla. A lot of vanilla. So much vanilla! The finish is earthier and milder, sand, clay, wet stones. A bit of smokiness, almost mesquite as well as lingering agave. Pleasant from start to finish. My only complaint is I'd prefer a bit higher proof. From drinking whiskey, I've gotten used to 92-100 proof on a lot of my sipping favorites, and coming back to 80 makes the spirit feel a little weak. The mouthfeel is actually a bit oily and it has a lingering smokiness.

Sweet and crisp agave flavor with some nice lemon-citrus for balance. Nice dry herbal notes in the finish, earthier herbs like oregano or sage. I also get a peppery hint like white peppercorns. Extremely flavorful and refreshing. I'm a whiskey and gin drinker primarily, and this stands up to any dry or citrus-herbal heavy gin that I've had. I wish that this would have been my introduction to tequila. This is one of the best unaged, clear spirits that I've had in a long time. I could see this becoming a staple in my spirits library. On one hand, I could make a really interesting cocktail with this, but I don't actually want to since it stands very well on its own, and it would be wasted on 75% of the things I could mingle with it.