Cenote Añejo Tequila

Day 5 advent calender. Tried neat. To the nose it’s sweet, woody, slightly smoky with notes of vanilla, caramel, vanilla/banana pudding, cocoa, & spice. To the palate it’s spicy but smooth with notes of banana, oak, cinnamon, vanilla, and finishes with a touch of pepper.

Color : Dark amber Taste : Sweet and smooth taste on the palate with wood tones mixed with chocolate, vanilla, banana, cooked agave and a touch of spices tones. Aroma: Very soft and pleasant smells with notes of wood, chocolate, vanilla, fruit mixed with a very light shade of smoke and spices notes Rested in white oak barrels for 12 months

Smells sweet and caramel. Tastes fruity and oaky and a little smoky.

Time to try the big brother. The reposado was definitely a favorite of mine, being a delicious sipper neat and also giving a lot of character to cocktails. My original recommendation to me regarding Cenote was for their blanco, so knowing that I'll most likely already enjoy that one, I opted to see what more age would do by getting this bottle. It's honestly a bit cheap for the distillery to choose the blue glass bottles for the reposado and añejo, because it amplifies the depth of the aged color and looks as if it's been aged for a decade instead of just "one year" / "more than one year." When poured into the glass, the color is still impressive for the age, although still looks drab next to the bottle. The nose really leads with caramel and toffee, with agave being present, but roasted and seemingly caramelized next to all these other sweet scents. There's a very small touch of salt in the form of a blended saline, and even a hint of pepper, although too muted to tell if it's more of a capsaicin or spice note. Nothing really comes alive at first in the mouth, I assume as a component of the low proof. The barrel is tasted quite well for the aging time, with the sweet flavors coming alive for just a second, but they don't last long at all, being replaced by a salty, roasted veggie flavor. This lasts through to the finish, which becomes overwhelming dry, before backing off slightly to let just a touch of the sweet barrel notes back in. This may be the most barrel sweetness I've ever tasted in an añejo thus far, but it unfortunately does not last. The dry finish is really kind of a letdown, but only to this sweeter flavor, and does not make a bad tequila overall. Given that I'm getting profiles of a harsher blanco and great age expected of an extra añejo, I'm wondering how this would fare in some cocktails, as I predict it may have more versatility than some other añejos.

My 1st 2 bottles of the tequila were amazing. The third bottle, with the new cork which does not have the clamps on the side, is awful! It both smells and tastes like model airplane paint!