Tequila Tasting

[Filudo]

Of course , someone has to mention the unpopular aspects of such an event.

People have the misconception that you drink te-killya, bottoms up.....and no one really likes it (mixed w lime and salt) and usually low quality spirits.

So....now, and I am not an expert; but if you want to enjoy tequila with nice people, not with the idea of getting hammered, a good tequila is best drank straight (no mixing of anything) , and you just take small sips of it.....enjoying the tequila taste.

Now having 8 te killya shots will probably render most people legally drunk.....so plan accordingly. Yes it's a matter of time......

I have seen the most number of people getting hammered, to the point of even ending in the hospital ..... just drinking tequila, to get drunk.


So, enjoy quality tequila, small sips and of all the available offerings, probably the clear spirits will give you less problems.

 

[The Knize]

I have no intention of providing anyone with enough of this tequila to get plastered and I expect folks to evaluate the individual tequilas not shoot them. If I did a wine tasting it would be pretty gauche for folks to start chugging them! Easy enough to do portion control!

But we shall see, if I ever get this thing put together!

 

[The Knize]

Turns out the Siembra Azul was really $88, not $80. And the sister lowlands version is more like $135. I was really interested in that one after tasting this highlands version.

What were once luxuries are now habits!

I cannot knock the pricing too much. This is quality product and the large producers are putting out additive laced, made with shortcut methods, low intensity, dumbed down stuff. I would like to encourage these artisanal producers to keep up the good work. It is just too easy these days to cheapen once glorious products, whether they be made of leather, fabric, or agave.

 

[The Knize]

The Madhava is much lighter, and has a more “delicate” flavor

It seems readily available, too. Looks like a good company. I am not sure all of the TJs agave syrups are dark. Looks like Madhava has a dark agave syrup, too. Just not right for a Margarita, I would not say. By the way, if I remember to do it, I have better luck shaking agave syrup up with room temp ingredients rather than putting it in a shaker after the ice. it tends to not to like to dissolve in cold liquids. It will cling to the ice and to the sides and bottom of the shaker! I suppose I could dilute it ahead of time.

 

[The Knize]

Darn there are a lot of tequila houses out there and judging by the You Tube videos there are some very great, albeit expensive, rather obscure and/or new ones. I saw one on the shelf that is distilled in Maryland from imported agave syrup or maybe full agave bulbs or whatever they call them. That seems like a lot of trouble to go through!

 

[The Knize]

Turns out the Siembra Azul was really $88, not $80. And the sister lowlands version is more like $135.

Turns out I am a completely unreliable price reporter. It appears that the Siembra Lowlands, which seems to be called Valles Blanco, is not $135 at my new favorite liquor store, which has the Cimarron for $30, but $81, which is $7 less than the highlands. I am tempted to drive over tonight! Prices for these actually seem less around the net.

I also noticed my new fav place showing online Fortaleza Blanco for $120. I know they do not have any in stock. I thought I was paying a premium of about $20 to another place that actually had it in stock for $100. That place admitted that they were marking it up over normal retail because otherwise it would be gone instantly. Interesting the variation in prices. I generally like all of these places and find them fairly priced. I do not object to them making some extra off something this hard to get.

 

[The Knize]

Siembra Valles Blanco Tahona, Jalisco lowlands tequila. Quite different from the highlands version. This one is full-flavored, vegetal, cooked agave. Some black pepper bite. Earthy. The highlands in comparison is cleaner, more crisp. Citrus. Minerals.

 

[The Knize]

Made some superjuice. The standard recipe .66 x the weight of the peels/zest for the citric acid and .33 for the malic. 16.6 x peel weight of water. I tried just taking the zest with a wood rasp type thing, but it was just too slow, so I peeled trying to take as little pith as I could. I also squeezed in the limes. Some say not to do that. Also I am seeing a backlash online of people saying it is not nearly as good as regular lime juice or actually tastes bad. Tastes good to me and lasts. I guess I would consider cutting the malic acid a bit. I has a distinctive taste. It sure does seem like a highly processed thing.

 

[The Knize]

The last superjuice was lime, of course. I also did a batch of orange, using what I think of as the original recipe. I think I posted previously, that the orange does not seem all that close to orange juice, whereas the lime does seem very much like lime juice. Still the orange makes for a nice beverage when sugar and water is added. It is quite acidic, way more than fresh orange juice, and way "stronger" than fresh orange juice. I did not squeeze the oranges themselves into this one.

As for tweaked recipes, there seems to be some discussion of adding sugar to the superjuices. I am not sure why it matters when one adds sugar, whether in making a drink or in making the juice. Also some discussion to the effect that one does not have to put the acid powders on the peels for a couple of hours or more. One can just thrown all ingredients into the blender at once. I really do not know. I would think the powders would help pull out the citrus oils. One posting I read suggested adding some other chemicals that went along with citric and malic acid that would temper the tastes of those two ingredients, but I saw no reports of anyone actually doing that!

Fun with chemistry! Am I the only one making this stuff?

 

[jesseix]

Turns out I am a completely unreliable price reporter. It appears that the Siembra Lowlands, which seems to be called Valles Blanco, is not $135 at my new favorite liquor store, which has the Cimarron for $30, but $81, which is $7 less than the highlands. I am tempted to drive over tonight! Prices for these actually seem less around the net.

I also noticed my new fav place showing online Fortaleza Blanco for $120. I know they do not have any in stock. I thought I was paying a premium of about $20 to another place that actually had it in stock for $100. That place admitted that they were marking it up over normal retail because otherwise it would be gone instantly. Interesting the variation in prices. I generally like all of these places and find them fairly priced. I do not object to them making some extra off something this hard to get.

I'm not sure if you're in proximity to any Whole Foods stores, but if you are it might be worth checking for Fortaleza. I was at my local store today and they had the repo for $53! I think that WF actually does a really good job of charging regular prices for stuff that can be marked up a ton, they're not around very often so you kindof just have to get lucky (I've gotten Blanton's at MSRP too).

 

[The Knize]

I'm not sure if you're in proximity to any Whole Foods stores, but if you are it might be worth checking for Fortaleza. I was at my local store today and they had the repo for $53! I think that WF actually does a really good job of charging regular prices for stuff that can be marked up a ton, they're not around very often so you kindof just have to get lucky (I've gotten Blanton's at MSRP too).

Thanks, jesselx. I live in the Washington, DC area. I am really not sure how liquor in grocery stores like Whole Foods works in DC itself. The one Costco store in DC has liquor. At least one Wegman's store does. Based on a quick search I do not see that the various Whole Food stores in DC have liquor, or at least teqila did not come up. Grocery stores in the surrounding Maryland and Virignia counties/aras do not carry liquor. Virginiais all state ABC liquor stores. Montgomery County, MD is all county-owned liquor stores. Prince Georges has lots of private liqour stores. I do not know what any Whole Foods would have there, frankly.

California sure does sell liquor in more kinds of places around here. I do not remember the prices being quite that good, but what the heck!

That is a truly amazing price for Forteleza reposado. i did a quick internet search for sources of Fortaleza reposado available in DC or the DC area. I found two places that seem to claim they have it in stock. $179 and $189 a bottle!

 

[honeycutt]

If you do a little research and discover which one's that don't have any additives in them your taste buds will thank you. So many of these tequilas are far better to sip than lets any of your celebrity name brands. I have been enjoying tequila for quite a while, and many are good for blended drinks for party's and others for relaxing with a pipe or cigar. Enjoy

 

[JimmyCB]

Thanks, jesselx. I live in the Washington, DC area. I am really not sure how liquor in grocery stores like Whole Foods works in DC itself. The one Costco store in DC has liquor. At least one Wegman's store does. Based on a quick search I do not see that the various Whole Food stores in DC have liquor, or at least teqila did not come up. Grocery stores in the surrounding Maryland and Virignia counties/aras do not carry liquor. Virginiais all state ABC liquor stores. Montgomery County, MD is all county-owned liquor stores. Prince Georges has lots of private liqour stores. I do not know what any Whole Foods would have there, frankly.

California sure does sell liquor in more kinds of places around here. I do not remember the prices being quite that good, but what the heck!

That is a truly amazing price for Forteleza reposado. i did a quick internet search for sources of Fortaleza reposado available in DC or the DC area. I found two places that seem to claim they have it in stock. $179 and $189 a bottle!

Another great source for all varieties of beer, spirits and wine is the chain of mega liquor stores Total Wine & More. The closest one to me is in Laurel, MD. It's the size of a large Costco. i was looking for a good selection of mezcals and I found it at Total Wine. Also found some hard to find Spanish vermouths.

 

[The Knize]

If you do a little research and discover which one's that don't have any additives in them your taste buds will thank you. So many of these tequilas are far better to sip than lets any of your celebrity name brands. I have been enjoying tequila for quite a while, and many are good for blended drinks for party's and others for relaxing with a pipe or cigar. Enjoy

I definitely avoid any tequila with additives. I do not know of any celebrity brand of tequila that is very good, not for the price, anyway. My impression is that Casamigos was once better than it is now.

 

[The Knize]

Another great source for all varieties of beer, spirits and wine is the chain of mega liquor stores Total Wine & More. The closest one to me is in Laurel, MD. It's the size of a large Costco. i was looking for a good selection of mezcals and I found it at Total Wine. Also found some hard to find Spanish vermouths.

I did not realize PG county had Total Wine. I was impressed with the New Jersey one, or was it Delaware?

 

[honeycutt]

I definitely avoid any tequila with additives. I do not know of any celebrity brand of tequila that is very good, not for the price, anyway. My impression is that Casamigos was once better than it is now.

I agree. Here are 3 that I really like. Siete Leguas blanco-Lunazul Cristalino & Espolo'n Blanco . Enjoy

 

[The Knize]

I agree. Here are 3 that I really like. Siete Leguas blanco-Lunazul Cristalino & Espolo'n Blanco . Enjoy

some on line seem to question whether Espolon currently is actually additive free. I have no idea. Siete Leguas just won a big prize. I have had Lunazul, but not that expression.

 

[honeycutt]

I still enjoy all 3.

 

[The Knize]

I still enjoy all 3.

To me Espolon, additive-free or not is a good valiue, and widely available. Lots of reviews rate it as the best under $30 tequila. I would say that there is a bottle of Siete Leguas in my future. I like everything I read about it. The flavor notes seem like just what I like. It seems to win awards.

Sounds like maybe a trip to Laurel, MD is in my future, too.

I have not expored the Cristalinos yet. I am sure I will get there eventually.

 

[honeycutt]

To me Espolon, additive-free or not is a good valiue, and widely available. Lots of reviews rate it as the best under $30 tequila. I would say that there is a bottle of Siete Leguas in my future. I like everything I read about it. The flavor notes seem like just what I like. It seems to win awards.

Sounds like maybe a trip to Laurel, MD is in my future, too.

I have not expored the Cristalinos yet. I am sure I will get there eventually.

If you have a deep pocket, Fortaleza is home run. I can only order it . I went to Texas in May and brought back a bottle. One of the oldest and one of the best.