Patrón Añejo Tequila

This has a sweet, aged, rich nose with something a tad meaty and smoky going on along with a scent that mixes some vegetal and fruitiness with a tad of grass. The palate is spicy as with the other Patrón. The sweet agave come sour nicely with some of those vanilla, papery elements of Don Julio. The vanilla is really nice with the bouquet of spices that includes cinnamon, clove, and ginger. The flavor is on the lighter side, but it's good. Some fruitiness comes in a bit, like sour orange juice, but it's mild. This isn't exceptionally complex, but it's decently so and thoroughly sippable. It has more distinct flavors than the reposado does, though it isn't quite as viscous. I appreciate the scotchy elements here, but compared to scotches, this is a bit underwhelming. It's definitely sippable though - it just isn't a big success. It doesn't have as much rich caramel and fruit as El Jimador Añejo does and it isn't as robustly flavorful, but it does miss a couple of El Jimador's missteps. It's a little bit tough to choose between the two, but I think I'd take this. Neither has anything on San Matias Extra Anejo though. Given that those two are the same price, the decision to not buy Patrón should be obvious. This has some more richness than Embajador Blanco does and some nice hints of that Don Julio flavor, but it's still pretty bland with mineral. The Embajador Blanco is clearly a little bit better. There is some swirling complexity here a little bit, but it's hard to pick out. I enjoy El Jimador Añejo a tad more as well, though it is rougher.

Peppery finish