Gran Centenario Reposado Tequila

Rating: 12/23 I didn't like this too much before because the French oak reminded me of San Matias Legado Blanco's musty paperiness. Let's see how a few months of age and some time to set my expectations properly have changed things N: That musty smell of mildewed paper is the first thing I get. There's some oily herbal smell and minerality in there as well. I get a hint of keffir leaf and perhaps a hint of cooked agave. It isn't a very full, rich, or complex smell though. Not a great nose P: It's smooth with a bit of white pepper prickliness to it covering up some light lemon, allspice, and cinnamon. That musty flavor is the dominant aspect though. It's a tad oily, but mostly the oil unleashes some bitterness. It certainly isn't sweet, rich, or full. It isn't terribly complex either. Now that I'm finally getting some spice out of it, I appreciate it more than I did before, but this is still not something I would like to be drinking. The minerality, light spiciness, and musty wood remind me a bit of a bourbon, but not in a really good way. F: A hint of kefir finally comes through on the finish, but some musty residue remains as well. Some subdued woody spices pop out here and there, but there isn't a ton of them and they fade well before the mustiness does. Some bitterness and minerality unfortunately remain for quite a while. I can drink this and be OK with it and I might like it a hair more than El Jimador Anejo, but it's about on that level. They're both weird and not in ways that I particularly like. There's very little here that reminds me of agave or tequila and it's neither a great sipper nor a boldly flavored representation of the spirit a la Lunazul that can be easily drowned in a cocktail. I wouldn't buy another bottle of this, but I don't totally hate by any means and it is growing on me. Slightly. I think I have to go with a 12 right now, but I can imagine giving it a 13 later.

This has quite a bit of that unpleasant papery flavor that ruined San Matias Legado Blanco, but the balance is a lot better with some out faint citrus and generally decent tequila notes. I'm not a big fan of it, but it lacks the worst of the bitter rancidness of the Legado. I can see using this for mixing or for sipping, but really just barely. I'd rather have something else. Just looking at this and its funky cork that's falling apart, I can't help but wonder whether maybe the cork contaminated my bottle because I just don't get a profile that's at all like what Distiller decribes. No fruit, no smoke, barely any flavor.

Drinking in a Tommy’s margarita recipe (2:1:1) with simple syrup

Agave, spice, pepper, oak, vanilla, and chilies. Great for the money.

Pepper, sweet fruit, vanilla, and oak. Hard to understand why this is so inexpensive. The quality and profile are much higher than others at this price point.