Tequila El Mayor Añejo

Rating: 14/23 I recall this being a fairly mild anejo, but a SBS nosing with El Padrino Anejo revealed this to be the fuller and more complex of the two. I'm feeling good about this tasting, so let's see. N: I get wood, but not a super rich scent. There are some stewed agave notes, which bring in some astringency and a little herbaceousness (so, lime). There are some peppery notes with a bit of cinnamon and some butterscotch. Not a super complex nose, but a more present one than in El Padrino Anejo. There are some more subtle hints of tropic fruit under the surface, but they're hard to pick out. P: The palate is richer than the nose with more wood tannins leading into more pepper, some toffee, and agave. The white pepper lasts, bringing in more of that herbal element and leading into a bit of lime. The complexity isn't very exciting, but the profile is solid and fairly well balanced. It's not as in balance as Partida Blanco and it's still fairly mild, but it's a good anejo for the price. F: The finish isn't super long, but it maintains the wood and agave. The lightness is further emphasized here, suggesting a slightly mild spirit (perhaps in the ballpark of Espolon) that was aged on the short side. All in all, a solid mixture of tequila and wood aging. It seems like a mediocre tequila aged in a mediocre fashion, but the result is probably a bit of an improvement. The blanco may not be a good value for the money, but for an anejo, the price and quality seem decent on this one. I'm looking at a 12 to 14 here, possibly a 15. I'll go with 14 for now. In direct comparison, Partida has a surprising presence and I think I'd take that over this by a solid margin, which is funny because I initially considered this to be clearly superior. I wouldn't say that this is vastly inferior though.

This is a solid añejo and while there isn't much special to it, it's a bargain. It's a bit on the light side for an añejo, but the flavor is balanced and nice without alcohol harshness. There's some prickly spiciness with notes of cinnamon and vanilla mixed with a bit of caramel that is really more of a cooked agave flavor.

The one that changed it all

On the nose, flowery notes, light caramel and strong burbon barrel. On the palate light flower notes, followed by spiciness and buttercream. This is definitely spicy. May need to age a little longer.

Not a tequila guy but this goes down incredibly smooth

Nose: Agave, hints of honey and vanilla and diesel Palate: Oak, agave, vanilla. Oily, with a hint of spice Finish. Short, warm but not unpleasantly so. Good deal for $30

Amber color Smooth vanilla front followed by vegel peppery notes. Woody oak flavor, caramel, herbal. Long complex finish

Sweet, oak, with a bit of spice. Batch 1445 bottle no. 18