Tequila Tasting

[The Knize]

I would like to do a tequila tasting among friends and I wondered if my fellow B&B members had some experiences and/or ideas about how to do one they would be willing to share. I am sorry I will not be able to invite everyone!

I am thinking almost all higher end, or at least higher quality blancos, a few reposados thrown in, and maybe some more marginal blancos. Some of higher proof than others. I am thinking tasting will be blind. Give attendees some sort of grid that will result in a numerical score for each one for comparison purposes at end. I am not sure what elements to score. If it were wine, I would do appearance, nose, flavor, and finish, with flavor weighed heaviest. I am not sure appearance is meaningful for tequila.

Provide some written background on tequila, what nose and flavor notes to look for. What notes and other things are considered Differences between high land and lowland tequilas. Differences in production methods, although maybe not on the latter. Most of these will be additive free. I think most are made by conventional methods.

I have acquired about fifty or so smallish shot glasses. I think just write a number on the glass associated with a numbered bottle of tequila. I think either pour the tequila from a bottle in a numbered paper bag or doing the pouring in another room. Maybe 1/2 oz or less of tequila per glass. I suppose people can have refills if they like. A bottle in a paper bag is not perfectly concealed from identification, but better concealing may be impractical.

I am guessing there will be more than 8 tequilas. 1/2 oz each of eight tequilas would be two 2 oz drinks a piece, which seems like quite a bit, but it seems hard to go less. I suppose I do not want any of this going undrunk. On the other hand, I do not want everyone to be utterly blotto trying to keep up.

I do not know if 50 glasses will be enough for all purposes I do not know how many tasters there will be. I assume we can rinse out glasses and reuse them during the tasting, but that would mean tasters cannot go back and re-taste every tequila at will.

I think a modest amount of bread and cheese for palate cleansing. Maybe some Topo Chico and cut limes sitting around. Maybe some sangrita, although I do not think I have any experience with sangrita and I doubt if anyone else does. I do not see a need for salt. Maybe some grapes or apple slices or something. Olives, perhaps. Corn chips, maybe?

I am tempted to front load the lighter flavor and alcohol spirits, but I think I will try to go random.

I predict the Fortaleza will prevail. I think it is that good and free from any flaws. Either that or one of the higher test blancos will cut through and standout Or maybe a reposado will come through as more flavorful and interesting than the blancos. Or some lower quality tequila with additives will punch through. It will be interesting to find out. People will not be used to sipping blancos.

So anyone have and ideas or experiences to share? Thanks!

 

[Old Hippie]

Been down that road a couple of times. I suggest not mixing types, but rather do a blanco series, then a reposado series then finally a series of anejo. Besides, that lets you get together and tip tequila with your friends three times!

O.H.

 

[DesertIguana]

Was at the local Horse Track know a Turf Paradise one Sunday long ago, wonder down to the area were the general admission folk were. There was a gentleman with table sampling Tequila, it was 3 Amigo apparently he was Brand Ambassador he let me sample everything. Going from Clear to very Dark then he asked you like, I replied yes. Which one was best, I said the Dark one, he smiled and reach down pullout this White Styrofoam Coffee cup, fill it with my favorite the Dark one. Said enjoy and went back to Club House and sipped the rest of the day until last race. Wife drove home. Good Stuff.

 

[The Knize]

Been down that road a couple of times. I suggest not mixing types, but rather do a blanco series, then a reposado series then finally a series of anejo. Besides, that lets you get together and tip tequila with your friends three times!

O.H.

Thanks. I do not think I am laying out the kind of money it would take to do this for anejos, or even reposados. I think I only have a couple of reposados. Be interesting to see how they do against blancos!

I do not even much like anejos.

 

[Toothpick]

No idea, but take photos and share the experience when you do. At one time I had some decent tequila. It must not have made an impression though because I have NO CLUE what brand/kind it was. What made me buy it was reading a lot of reviews and YouTube's where people say good tequila, I mean GOOOOOD tequila has no taste, leaves no aftertaste, and most importantly, no hangover. I guess mine wasn't as GOOOOOD as I thought because I experienced all 3. But I've always been interested in the better stuff. Good luck!

 

[The Knize]

Thanks, Jason. I am not posting any photos, though, at least of people. I feel like I post too often on alcoholic drinks as it is. Drinking is not something I want to be known for, especially in case anything leaks to the internet at large.

Also, maybe it is the nered in me, but I want to take this a bit seriously and want my guests to as well. I think with tequila it is going to be hard to keep it at all serious as it is! I used to go to a lot of blind wine tastings. And I feel like at one point I had actually developed something of a palate. My guess is that I have rather lost that. I tried doing a small blind tasting of Scotches with just my brother, and we were both terrible. I seem to have no idea what I really like in Scotch! I was embarassed!

< I mean GOOOOOD tequila has no taste, leaves no aftertaste, and most importantly, no hangover.>

I would not have said htat any of that is true. As to the first two points, is someone equating tequila with vodka? That might help some of these commercial brands, but I think good tequila has lots of tastes and smells, and defiintely has a finish, actually a variety of finishes. Patron comes to mind. I am not very impressed with Patron, except that it has a nice "burn" in the finish. I think one should know when they have had a shot of tequila. As for hangover, I think if one drinks enough of anything a hangover is inevitable. However, cheap tequila, particularly those mixtos that have 50% somn alcohol other than made from blue agave, seem particularly prone to causing hang overs. I do not knwo what they use for neutral spirits in Mexico or really what additives are, but I do not think they reduce hangovers.

It seems to be there were really good tequilas a decade or more ago. I think I have said previously that I thought Casa Noble back in the day was really goodl There was a time when Don Julio seemed really good to me. El Tesora has goten to be very expensive, but seems to have stayed good. But there came a time with things likie Casa Noble and Don Julio took a dive in quality. Then things like Ocho, G4, and Fortalza (thank you, Ouch!) came around. And they are truly good.

I think to really appreciate them, they have to be tasted side by side. Not necessarily blind. They are complex, they taste clean, all of the flavor notes in them taste good, and they are no bad l flavor notes. They may burn, but they do not make on gag. They may have some sweetness, but they do not taste as if they are artificially sweetened!

 

[Phoenixkh]

I'm hardly the expert but I enjoy the Don Julio Reposado.... I don't care for Patron products. The ones I've tried leave me with a bitter aftertaste... Don Julio Blanco is good but the Reposado is better to me.

 

[jesseix]

Thanks, Jason. I am not posting any photos, though, at least of people. I feel like I post too often on alcoholic drinks as it is. Drinking is not something I want to be known for, especially in case anything leaks to the internet at large.

Also, maybe it is the nered in me, but I want to take this a bit seriously and want my guests to as well. I think with tequila it is going to be hard to keep it at all serious as it is! I used to go to a lot of blind wine tastings. And I feel like at one point I had actually developed something of a palate. My guess is that I have rather lost that. I tried doing a small blind tasting of Scotches with just my brother, and we were both terrible. I seem to have no idea what I really like in Scotch! I was embarassed!

< I mean GOOOOOD tequila has no taste, leaves no aftertaste, and most importantly, no hangover.>

I would not have said htat any of that is true. As to the first two points, is someone equating tequila with vodka? That might help some of these commercial brands, but I think good tequila has lots of tastes and smells, and defiintely has a finish, actually a variety of finishes. Patron comes to mind. I am not very impressed with Patron, except that it has a nice "burn" in the finish. I think one should know when they have had a shot of tequila. As for hangover, I think if one drinks enough of anything a hangover is inevitable. However, cheap tequila, particularly those mixtos that have 50% somn alcohol other than made from blue agave, seem particularly prone to causing hang overs. I do not knwo what they use for neutral spirits in Mexico or really what additives are, but I do not think they reduce hangovers.

It seems to be there were really good tequilas a decade or more ago. I think I have said previously that I thought Casa Noble back in the day was really goodl There was a time when Don Julio seemed really good to me. El Tesora has goten to be very expensive, but seems to have stayed good. But there came a time with things likie Casa Noble and Don Julio took a dive in quality. Then things like Ocho, G4, and Fortalza (thank you, Ouch!) came around. And they are truly good.

I think to really appreciate them, they have to be tasted side by side. Not necessarily blind. They are complex, they taste clean, all of the flavor notes in them taste good, and they are no bad l flavor notes. They may burn, but they do not make on gag. They may have some sweetness, but they do not taste as if they are artificially sweetened!

Totally agree with you on brands like those tanking in quality (Patron too).
I think doing a tasting of the same type of tequila (blanco or anejo or rep) will allow you to do the most direct comparing between them to say what is similar or different between options A, B and C, and which does each person prefer overall. Could also do a product comparison if you have blanco, anejo & rep from one producer: they'll obviously be different profiles, but you can see if there are similarities or notes that make it across the different bottlings. I was just in Louisville this last weekend and that was something I found interesting about tasting product lines at different distilleries: some would seem more spicy across the board, some more sweet, etc.
If you have them, you could also compare non-Jalisco bottles with Jalisco bottles, to see if people pick up differences there.

 

[The Knize]

I'm hardly the expert but I enjoy the Don Julio Reposado.... I don't care for Patron products. The ones I've tried leave me with a bitter aftertaste... Don Julio Blanco is good but the Reposado is better to me.

There was a time I would have said that Don Julio reposado was my favorite tequila. I find Patron to be rather unimpressive, except I kind of like the aftertaste that you do not like. It seems kind of satisfying if you shot it.

 

[The Knize]

Totally agree with you on brands like those tanking in quality (Patron too).
I think doing a tasting of the same type of tequila (blanco or anejo or rep) will allow you to do the most direct comparing between them to say what is similar or different between options A, B and C, and which does each person prefer overall. Could also do a product comparison if you have blanco, anejo & rep from one producer: they'll obviously be different profiles, but you can see if there are similarities or notes that make it across the different bottlings. I was just in Louisville this last weekend and that was something I found interesting about tasting product lines at different distilleries: some would seem more spicy across the board, some more sweet, etc.
If you have them, you could also compare non-Jalisco bottles with Jalisco bottles, to see if people pick up differences there.

Thanks for the ideas. I am only going to have a couple of reposados in there. I think. I agree that will not be very scientific for them. It will be interesting to know if folks recognize them as reposados. I do not really have complete sets of expressions for anything. I think I will try to build in something that let's folks say whether they are getting lowland or highland type notes for each tequila. I do not even off the top of my head which are which. The one's I have lined up right now that I remember ae are Fortaleza blanco, Gritona (reposado), Ocho (in blanco and reposado, I think), G4 in regular blanco and higher proof, as I recall, Cazcanes (blanco, no. 7), El Tequleno (blanco, I think), and older Casa Nobles (blanco, I think). I think there must be one other. I have various airplane type bottles of less impressive tequila I might work in there.

Louisville is great, isn't it.

 

[The Knize]

Oh yeah, I think I will have the Cimarron blanco, but not the reposado in there. I bet it finishes middle of the pack. Still a great deal. And how could I forget, El Tesoro. One reason I want the Gritona reposado in there is because I think it punches well above its price weight. The Ocho reposado is well-priced, too, if I recall. I do not think the Gritona or rhe Ocho show a whole lot of wood.

I have a very inexpensive 100% agave tequila I bought a long time ago that does not seem to be designated anything as to blanco, reposado, or for that matter joven. I do not remember the name on the label. It has lots of flavor. To me it must have some wood. I have rather come to like it in drinks. I may put that one in. Folks may like it because it has lots of flavor.

I still think the Fortaleza will come out on top. After that maybe the high test G4 or the regular G4. Or the Tesoro. If the Cazcanes comes out high, it will show that my palate is not the same as others'.

 

[The Knize]

Don Julio Blanco is good but the Reposado is better to me.

By the way, I completely agree. I think there was a time when I would have said that most reposados were better than most blancos, at least by the same makers or whatever. I do not know if I would still think that or not. I have not experienced all that many higher end reposados, the Fortaleza for instance. My sense is that the wood has to add some complexitiy and that complexity is generally good.

 

[The Knize]

I forget where I have been posting tasing notes on these blanco tequilas, whether here or the what are you drinking tonight thread. I kind of like having them here.

Two new ones and I found a steady source of Cimarron for $30, which I still consider perhaps the best deal out there.

Siembra Azul--$80, a survey of on-line prices indicates I rather over paid, but it seems worth it. The idea of this one is that is it supposed to be made from highlands agave and to have typical highland characteristics. "Pristine, floral, and herbaceous" the producer says. Other notes seem to emphasize citrus and vanilla, with pepper at the end, cinnamon and anise. Cucumber skins. Agave nectar. I found longer notes that said:

"The first waft will bring elements of lemon balm, the dry red earth of the highlands, and traces of allspice and olive brine. Upon first sip, you will find this tequila is full of life with a sweet yet dry start. Citrus notes, smoked agave, geraniums and tobacco follow. This assertive tequila has serious complexity with uplifting freshness as the palate cascades with sweet florals and cooked green peppers. Siembra Azul Blanco finishes dry and bright in a way that balances fresh cucumber with kaffir lime flavors and hints of cracked-pepper."
Siembra Azul Blanco Tequila - PB Express - https://pbexpressliquor.com/products/siembra-azul-blanco-tequila?srsltid=AfmBOoq3yOU-sqExTLGorUIohsVidA1Jgmn-iyV_AWTiNAatR6xqPbIZ

Gets so they could be describing any tequila! Those are actually excellent notes, though. I do not sense cooked green peppers. This one seems to get some relatively low numerial ratings on one web site. I do not understand that from a sophisticated tequila drinker.

This is seriously complex, assertive tequila. It has notes I do not love. And this is not a beginner's blanco. It is a really good one, and even more so a very interesting one. Very impressive. Uncompromising. None of that phony additive sweetness. Nice hard finish. I think bright and crisp is right, even though it is complex. I thought highland tequilas were supposed to have minerals. I would say this one does, but they do not seem to come up in the tasting notes.

You all know Patron, right? This is about as far from Patron blanco as one an get in a blanco, although both have similar, peppery, hard, even harsh finishes.

Single estate owned by the producer. Tradiional methods. No additives. Master Distiller Sergio Cruz. They have one supposedly all lowlands, too, and typical of lowlands, they say.

The other new one is Mi Casa. Said to be small family-owned outfit. Traditional methods. No additives. I think I paid around $56. I think from Michoacán not Jalisco. Tasting notes seem all over the place. Seems fairly soft and mild to me. Various flavors, including white pepper, citrus, and I suppose vanilla, and sweet agave--definitely some sweetness to this one--but all fairly subdued. Not a lot of off notes, if any. Nice, but not amazing. Prices on line seem all over the place, too.

 

[Old Hippie]

Dug out a dusty unopened bottle of El Jimador reposado the other day and had a snort. OK but not my favourite, but I'm in the mode of cleaning out rather than stocking up, so I'll go dig out my bull-horn shot and get busy cleaning.

Who says guys don't do housework?

O.H.

 

[Jamolay]

I am nervous just talking about tequila on a forum involving sharp objects!

Enjoy, be safe and, if you remember anything, let us know how it went and what you thought won.

 

[The Knize]

Dug out a dusty unopened bottle of El Jimador reposado the other day and had a snort. OK but not my favourite, but I'm in the mode of cleaning out rather than stocking up, so I'll go dig out my bull-horn shot and get busy cleaning.

Who says guys don't do housework?

O.H.

El Jimador annoys me! They have a regular blanco that is sometimes 100% agave and sometimes a mixto, and while the bottles are properly labeled they look very much alike. In my experience the 100% agave is okay, and generally a decent bang for buck, and the mixto is pretty rough. Also, as I recall, El Jimador was taken over by Jose Cuervo some time back now, and it, of course, was much better before the takeover. I think it was a very big seller in Mexico. Maybe it still is. Maybe your bottle goes back that far, or maybe not. Anyway, at the least, not a reliable brand.

 

[The Knize]

I am nervous just talking about tequila on a forum involving sharp objects!

Enjoy, be safe and, if you remember anything, let us know how it went and what you thought won.

I am not planning on doing shots. There lies madness!

Actually, I am not above having a shot of tequila. I do not think shots have to be of the quality we are talking about here, other than the Cimarron or, say, the Gritona. On the other hand, life is too short to drink bad tequila!

For a long time, I thought using the best of ingredients was worth while in a margarita. Cointreau instead of triple sec, for instance. The best tequila I had at the time. Free-squeezed lime juice. Agave syrup. At this point, I suppose, I have orange liqueurs I consider better for the purpose and that are cheaper than Cointreau. I might make one margarita with a $100 a bottle tequila, but I do not think I would make a second. I am into so-called super juice these days, which is way cheaper than freshly squeezed limes. I hate to say it, but I think the super juice is actually better. I guess it does not hurt to add some fresh squeezed and to float a fresh or died lime piece in the drink. Agave syrup is certainly worth the cost.

 

[jesseix]

I am not planning on doing shots. There lies madness!

Actually, I am not above having a shot of tequila. I do not think shots have to be of the quality we are talking about here, other than the Cimarron or, say, the Gritona. On the other hand, life is too short to drink bad tequila!

For a long time, I thought using the best of ingredients was worth while in a margarita. Cointreau instead of triple sec, for instance. The best tequila I had at the time. Free-squeezed lime juice. Agave syrup. At this point, I suppose, I have orange liqueurs I consider better for the purpose and that are cheaper than Cointreau. I might make one margarita with a $100 a bottle tequila, but I do not think I would make a second. I am into so-called super juice these days, which is way cheaper than freshly squeezed limes. I hate to say it, but I think the super juice is actually better. I guess it does not hurt to add some fresh squeezed and to float a fresh or died lime piece in the drink. Agave syrup is certainly worth the cost.

I have been wanting to try a batch of superjuice but haven't gotten around to it yet. Have you tried more than one formula for it? I have citric acid but I also saw another recipe that involved malic acid and I don't have that...
Have you tried Madhava agave syrup? I like that one.

 

[The Knize]

I have been wanting to try a batch of superjuice but haven't gotten around to it yet. Have you tried more than one formula for it? I have citric acid but I also saw another recipe that involved malic acid and I don't have that...
Have you tried Madhava agave syrup? I like that one.

Cool that someone else on B&B has an interest in super juice, enough to post about it, anyway.

It has not been that long since I started messing with this stuff, and I hate to admit it, but I am actually a little fuzzy on the details of all that I have done.

Like you, I had citric acid already, but had no malic acid. However, it was really easy and fairly cheap to order up some malic acid from Amazon and have it delivered it a day or two. I di not try doing without the mallic acid, except I have a slight recollection that the orange super juice does not call for any of one of the acids anyway. Does it use just the citric? If so, I did not use malic there. Whatever the standard instructions called for, I did, for the orange and most of the time for lime. I have not done lemon.

The orange is kind of its own thing anyway. I think I would say that the orange super juice. or maybe better, what one can make up using the orange super juice is less like real fresh orange juice than the lime super juice is like lime juice. Tangier than regular orange juice, perhaps. More strongly flavored, perhaps. Still very much true orange flavor, though, and I liked it a lot as a beverage (diluted and sweetened, of course) and as a drink ingredient.

Have you tried more than one formula for it?

I think I at least tweaked the original recipe for one batch, I assume the latest batch, by reference to another recipe I found. There are a number of recipes around, some claiming to best the original. This was for the lime, as I recall. I have the feeling it was just an adjustment to the amount of citric acid and the amount of malic acid. Maybe an adjustment of those in ratio to each other or to the weight of the lime rind/zest. Sorry but I just cannot remember the details. I think the revised recipe might have seemed a tad better to me, but I do not remember a big difference.

Sorry my memory is not better. Citric acid and malic acid dop taste quite different. I would and did get some malic acid. I have not been tempted to leave it out!

Have you tried Madhava agave syrup? I like that one.

No. Sounds interesting. I have tried a number of "grocery store" brands I guess you would say. Wholefoods and Safeways lighter colored versions seemed fine, I think. I think I had some from Trader Joes that was quite dark or may be over time it turned dark. In any event, it seemed stronger flavored and I did not like it nearly as much. Maybe there were some others in there. I would say go lighter. I suppose I have read that there have been issues with some agave syrups being found not to be 100% agave but to have other sweeteners in them. To be cut with other sweeteners, I guess. So I suppse it makes sense to shop for better agave syrup. Given the costs of the other ingredients in the Margaritas I have been talking about, it seems worth it to pay for good agave syrup!

 

[jesseix]

Cool that someone else on B&B has an interest in super juice, enough to post about it, anyway.

It has not been that long since I started messing with this stuff, and I hate to admit it, but I am actually a little fuzzy on the details of all that I have done.

Like you, I had citric acid already, but had no malic acid. However, it was really easy and fairly cheap to order up some malic acid from Amazon and have it delivered it a day or two. I di not try doing without the mallic acid, except I have a slight recollection that the orange super juice does not call for any of one of the acids anyway. Does it use just the citric? If so, I did not use malic there. Whatever the standard instructions called for, I did, for the orange and most of the time for lime. I have not done lemon.

The orange is kind of its own thing anyway. I think I would say that the orange super juice. or maybe better, what one can make up using the orange super juice is less like real fresh orange juice than the lime super juice is like lime juice. Tangier than regular orange juice, perhaps. More strongly flavored, perhaps. Still very much true orange flavor, though, and I liked it a lot as a beverage (diluted and sweetened, of course) and as a drink ingredient.


I think I at least tweaked the original recipe for one batch, I assume the latest batch, by reference to another recipe I found. There are a number of recipes around, some claiming to best the original. This was for the lime, as I recall. I have the feeling it was just an adjustment to the amount of citric acid and the amount of malic acid. Maybe an adjustment of those in ratio to each other or to the weight of the lime rind/zest. Sorry but I just cannot remember the details. I think the revised recipe might have seemed a tad better to me, but I do not remember a big difference.

Sorry my memory is not better. Citric acid and malic acid dop taste quite different. I would and did get some malic acid. I have not been tempted to leave it out!


No. Sounds interesting. I have tried a number of "grocery store" brands I guess you would say. Wholefoods and Safeways lighter colored versions seemed fine, I think. I think I had some from Trader Joes that was quite dark or may be over time it turned dark. In any event, it seemed stronger flavored and I did not like it nearly as much. Maybe there were some others in there. I would say go lighter. I suppose I have read that there have been issues with some agave syrups being found not to be 100% agave but to have other sweeteners in them. To be cut with other sweeteners, I guess. So I suppse it makes sense to shop for better agave syrup. Given the costs of the other ingredients in the Margaritas I have been talking about, it seems worth it to pay for good agave syrup!

Totally agree with you on the TJ’s syrup, it’s very dark. The Madhava is much lighter, and has a more “delicate” flavor (I guess that’s the best way I can describe it?)