Don Julio Reposado Tequila

Toasted caramel, banana, light cereals, and spiced cinnamon.

Don Julio reposado tequila was one of the first tequilas I ever bought. I, like most people, only drank the gold tequilas that made you sick in college and so when I finally decided to dig into cocktails I wanted something that was 100% agave. I remember this tequila fondly, but I have to say now that I've had numerous other tequilas, this one isn't as good as I remember, but still solid nonetheless. The nose is heavy on the caramel and you can tell it's going to be sweet. The palate confirms the nose and after having El Tesoro this one seems even more sweet than I remember. There is also a pretty heavy oak, pepper and vanilla flavor to it, which isn't all that surprising. Despite this one aging for slightly less time than the El Tesoro, this one is definitely sweeter and more oaky. The finish is a touch hot, with a good amount of spice. I wouldn't say this is bad and if you are a whiskey drinker, this one is probably more up your alley than El Tesoro reposado. Both are pretty similar in price, so if you are a whiskey drinker and want to try a tequila, this would be my choice over El Tesoro. If you are a fan of tequila, stick with El Tesoro. There are obviously other good reposado tequila choices out there, but just comparing these two today, that's how I would decide. You could also probably get away with using Don Julio reposado tequila in place of bourbon for cocktails since they have very similar profiles. In the end though, if you are a whiskey drinker, you can score this closer to a 4, while those that prefer tequila would probably lower this closer to a 3, so I will split the difference.

It's good but there are other good tasting tequilas at half the price (Corazon, Altos, etc.). It was blind tested against Altos and tied.