El Padrino De Mi Tierra Blanco

7: I liked the anejo, so I thought that this was likely to be quite good. Sadly, I really can't think of a situation in which I would want to buy this. It isn't very good and the price is just too high for it to work as a bargain bin mixer that gets drowned in a cocktail. N: To the extent that the nose has any character, it's bitter, a bit herbal, and a bit like rubber. This has less goin on than Partida Blanco does by a fair margin (in terms of presence, this:Partida::Partida:Fortaleza). It smells more than most vodkas do, but if a vodka smelled like this, I'd be concerned. There's really no complexity here. P: A bit sweet, a bit bitter, a bit rubber. It gets more bitter and rubbery as the palate goes on and it never develops any complexity. There is some stewed agave if I swish it a bit and there's maybe a faint hint of banana along with some lemon and lime, but there just isn't much here. I'm actively unhappy drinking this, though not super so. It definitely seems like a 10 at best though. Likely not worse than a 7. It just tastes fairly artificial and unpleasant and the nice sweetness and stewed agave subside as the palate progresses. F: Not much on the finish, but there is bitter rubber for a while with a hint of agave. Not impressed here. A little bit of the citrus stays, but not in any sort of good way. I'm going to have to go with a 7 based on the consistent lack of flavor and complexity combined with the alcohol and rubber. The miserable finish is what really knocked it down from an 8.

Rating: 10/23 This is a big disappointment given how good the añejo is. This is kind of like with Patrón where there's a huge leap in quality where the añejo adds all of the missing flavor and complexity. The dominant notes here are banana and bitter alcohol. It isn't terrible, bit it's far from what I'd choose as my first pick for sipping. Still, it doesn't have a ton of flavor (even the banana isn't very strong), so it seems like a really good choice for mixing without making much of a statement. The nose is very mild with alcohol and just some whiffs of cooked agave wit a faint reference to banana. The palate is similarly ok the alcohol side with not a tremendous amount of herbal, toasty, sweet cooked agave coming through. It's smooth up front with some spice on the finish. It's on the bitter side toward the end and while there is definitely a bit of mineral, it mostly tastes like nothing and a bit of alcohol. There is a faint hint of tropical fruit - banana at first, bit eventually mango and pineapple. The flavor is all extremely light though. It isn't bad, but it's very underwhelming. It does remind me a fair amount of El Tesoro Blanco. Less than a 12, but more than an 8. There's a bit of smoke in here for sure, though it's mixed with some earth, so it's hard to tell the exact proportion. It's a tad toward the viscous side, but not too much.

Pretty great! No complaints, great for margaritas.