Tears of Llorona Extra Añejo Tequila

Wow. Notes of caramel, sugar, cooked agave, pineapple, raisins, chocolate covered cherries, mango, soil, oak, and spices. Coexists with whisky, rum, and brandy drinkers with ease

Time to Segway out of scotch for a wee bit. What better way than an extra anejo tequila that has spent some time in scotch barrels? And brandy. And sherry. Has me wondering: I wonder what a scotch aged in casks that once contained tequila would taste like? Anyways, the price point for this particular bottle is $200-280. What you get is a flavor profile without comparison. I can still taste some agave, but is this still tequila? NOSE: Brandy dominates. Sweet floral grapes. I don’t get cognac or Armagnac, however. Perhaps it’s the influence of the agave, but this smells more like grappas. Only after the grappiness subsides do you get some aged tequila. Oaky, vanilla, cinnamon, peppers. I don’t get much in the way of sherry or anything resembling scotch. Perhaps a hint of tobacco is the only trace of peat. This is astonishingly complex and smells like nothing I’ve ever had. PALATE: Oh man, these must have been wet casks. The flavors are coming in from everywhere and dangerously close to being cacophonous. The arrival is hugely cinnamon and ginger, followed by vanilla and nutmeg. If there is scotch in here, it reminds me of a young Auchentoshan – too smooth and oaky for its own good. But then richer flavors take over. Once the dark chocolate takes over, it really takes over. This transitions into leather and coffee. Sherry flavors round out the back end. Black figs, cherries, and gingerbread. FINISH: Hello tequila. There you are. Chocolate, vanilla, ginger, agave. Says goodbye before you are ready for it to leave. VERDICT: Betrays tequila perhaps. But how many tequilas can be described as contemplative? I don’t think this is good enough to jump to buying a bottle. But, I had a 2 oz pour at a very reasonable $31, and I am probably going to try this again. I know there’s plenty yet to discover about this eclectic dram. MARK: 85/100.