92. This bottle got a 92. False. For $30 you could do a lot worse, and I won’t deny that this is a solid budget anejo, but a 92 this is not. This begins my tequila mini series. I know it’s almost November, but that just means it’s not as hot in the south. Still lovely tequila weather. I’ve picked up a few stunning traditionally made tequilas recently (El Tesoro Paradiso, ArteNOM 1146, etc.) but it’s inadvisable to drink such things on a daily basis unless one has a bottomless budget. Enter the Espolon Anejo. The blanco and repo are at every bar I visit, often as the house mixer. This anejo seems more primed as a sipper, with a advertised “finish” in Wild Turkey bourbon barrels (thanks Campari…). You might think to yourself: I like tequila and I like Wild Turkey. What’s to loose? Nothing. You loose nothing. It’s good, just not great. It’s $30 because of the production method, which is long on efficiency but strips out a lot of the great agave flavor you get from a traditionally made tequila with slow, horno cooked agave pinas and tahona extraction. Nose is certainly aggressive. Faint agave, some butterscotch, and unusually aggressive baking spices. There’s the Turkey… The palate is…fine. It’s bold and flavorful, and I don’t tast many of any additives, but I’m missing that rich cooked agave taste and creamy mouthfeel a traditionally well-made tequila has. Finish is medium. More spice. Not enough cooked agave. This is a mixer at heart, not a sipper. It makes a killer Paloma, and is fine as a sessionable sipper with chips and salsa waiting for mediocre tex-mex food. It won’t be a rebuy for me, though. My tequila dollars are better spent elsewhere. Salud!