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Tequila y Mezcal

NoRagrets

By NoRagrets
in Food and Travel

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Armybrat

Armybrat 40,814

Posted
Posted
On 5/31/2021 at 11:01 AM, Buzzrock said:

That weird blue bottle is Clasé Azul and it’s excellent. I saw the extra anejo on a menu the other day for $89 a pour.

I’ve been going through Tanteo Jalapeño like crazy since last summer. Mix it with Topo Chico, a huge squeeze of lime, and a splash of Sprite Zero for a spicy variation on ranch water. I really wish they sold it in handles.

 

On 5/31/2021 at 11:49 AM, immamac said:

That's basically cost - the bottles of the extra anejo are 1600-1800 each. Did you get one?

Ho Lee Fuk!

Son did not tell us what that stuff cost. He did say he wasn’t making Cuba Libres with any of it.

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immamac

immamac 42,832

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Armybrat said:

 

Ho Lee Fuk!

Son did not tell us what that stuff cost. He did say he wasn’t making Cuba Libres with any of it.

The bottle you posted was 400 and very good just not special or rare. The extra añejo comes in a silver platinum and gold handmade decanter

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GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas 9,598

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, burntorangebongos said:

It is obvious that you really like the taste of agave but how you can say that resting it is "pointless" doesn't make sense.  Huh.

Agave spirits are one of (if not the only) distillates in the world that barrels do not improve the final product. Maduro en vidrio (aging in glass) can change the final product (sometimes for the better), but barrel aging an agave spirit almost always conceals flavors that one would otherwise get unaged. 
 

Its like barrel aging an IPA.

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burntorangebongos

burntorangebongos 10,710

Posted
Posted

IPAs were created to travel from England to India and to lose some hoppiness by the time they were consumed by the troops so it is interesting that you picked that comparison. Some of the troopers learned to love super hoppy beer the way that I learned to love skunked beer...because that is what I drank during spring breaks in college  and it holds good memories for me. 

The Spaniards used agave to create spirits but weren't neccessarily into agave flavor...it is just what they had. Im sure resting it to make it smoother or impart pleasing notes helped them like it more. I'd say that your purism is not shared by most of the agave spirit drinking world and would argue that you would have liked skunked beer too if you had partied with me on SPI back in the day. $5 20 bottle cases of Corona FTMFW!!!  

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GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas 9,598

Posted
Posted

Ive sat on replying to this thread for a while because I could easily write pages on my thoughts about agave. Ill try to be concise and make my point a little better.

 

Agave spirits are the best spirits in the world. Why? Because they have an incredible taste range and variety that is unrivaled. They also dont require aging in barrels. Outside of tequila, very few agave distillates are barrel aged.

 

Hell, barrel aging tequila only became popular because American palates 50-75 years ago were dogshit. People wanted something “smooth” (which, if you have to use that as a descriptor for the spirit you are drinking, youre prolly not drinking something overly complex or interesting. Usuall there are more pressing flavors or notes). The american public loves distillates watered down and simple. Its why Titos and light lagers are so popular.

 

Tequila, for the past century, has been slowly turning itself into agave-vodka… using diffusers, shredders, and even sugars from sources other than agave mixed in with their juice. Hell, some places still use food coloring/flavor enhancers in their tequilas. Its allowed by the DO. Tequila is the light lager of the agave world. Its what I cut my teeth on. I drink a little here or there, love tequila cocktails, but laugh at the premium tequila market.

 

Barrel aging doesnt make 99.9% of agave varietals better or more complex. It may help watered down, industrialized, diffused bullshit from Jalisco, but baconora, raicilla, mezcal, and even sotol rarely barrel age their wares. Why? Because when you barrel age a real agave spirit, you dont just add oak, or tannin, or toffee, or caramel, or whatever notes to the spirit. You mask the incredible flavors by draping the whole thing with flavors that arent natural or inherent to the agave itself.

 

There are roughly 40-50 different varietals of agave from which people distill from. Tequila is 1. Espadin is another. Those are the ONLY two varietals you can buy that are aged in barrels. Why? Because agave has more than enough flavor and variety on its own. Why the fuck would I want to drink a tobala from Michoacan if its just gonna be thrown in some bullshit and taste like agave sweetner with a tad bit of cognac?

 

Most people in the agave spirit world woild actually agree with me. Its why most agave spirits arent barrel aged. Agave isnt some weak ass product like corn or sugar cane or wheat that needs to be enhanced to taste good. Its one of a kind. A plant that has been growing (6 or so years for tequilana) for 7-30 years. It picks up flavors of where it was grown. How much rain it did or didnt have. How much sun it had. Who it was distilled by. Where it was distilled and what yeast/microflora was in the air. How/when the cuts are made. Where the palenque is. How long it was rested in glass. How it was roasted. When it was harvested, etc. 

 

TLDR - Tequila is vodka of the agave spirits world. Most tequila distilleries love barrel aging because most tequilas are simple and homogenous. Also, they market to dumb americans that believe that barrel aging = better. 
 

Try a karwinskii or potatorum or americana or angustifolia or sierra negra or jabali or etc. There is a reason there isnt a single expression barrel aged worldwide.

 

If your agave spirit doesnt have a period “.” in it (ie 47.2%) on the bottle, its watered down and adjusted for the basic consumer. To wait 6-7 years just to water something down and throw it in a barrel is pointless to me, and id argue, to most agave spirit lovers

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texasdago

texasdago 7,562

Posted
Posted
On 7/18/2021 at 11:24 PM, texas08 said:

979bff7ea328f40bdc5f0a1a90b6f3eb.jpg
effdd5dbdf7eb560b7a0d1d3e16f42bc.jpg
3888635f462252d29208d9d5d8c9c169.jpg


Mezcal was had.

Well I know where that was taken because I've eaten there.  Food is exceptional.  If you ever get a chance to back to CDMX, go the Los Danzantes location in Coyoacan and pick up a bottle of their pechuga (pink liquid).  So good.  Still nursing our bottle.

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Fud

Fud 9,551

Posted
Posted
On 9/1/2021 at 8:51 PM, Fud said:

Had to go back to TW so I grabbed another bottle, this one Vago Joel Barriga

I really liked this one 

Comment I just came across on Reddit

"The Vago is a good choice, but you'd better hang on to it. Their maestro passed away this year, and they may be struggling to replace him."

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Fud

Fud 9,551

Posted
Posted

I went to specs this afternoon to check out their mezcal selection, and it was considerably better than TW’s, but then I noticed that they were selling del maguey minero for about $103, a bottle I bought at TW two weeks ago at around $68; that’s quite the markup, and I wondered if the rest of their mezcal bottles were marked up similarly. I didn’t want to leave empty handed though, so I bought a bottle of Gracias a Dios for something around $65 I think, no idea if I got gouged

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BearSchlong

BearSchlong 8,082

Posted
Posted

I cannot believe I am leaving the alcoholic thread to post a question about tequila, but it's been at least 10 years, 8 months, and 16 days since I have imbibed distilled spirits - or alcohol of any kind - but who's counting.

I'm responsible for the alcohol for my son's rehearsal dinner, we've got a Mr. Margarita type place delivering the machine and mix, but it's up to me to buy the tequila.

I need 4L - what's a decent cheap tequila suitable for getting a bunch of recent Aggy grads tipsy?  White? Gold?  IDK, my drink of choice before sobriety was single malt scotch.

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Mo Horn

Mo Horn 8,816

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, BearSchlong said:

I cannot believe I am leaving the alcoholic thread to post a question about tequila, but it's been at least 10 years, 8 months, and 16 days since I have imbibed distilled spirits - or alcohol of any kind - but who's counting.

I'm responsible for the alcohol for my son's rehearsal dinner, we've got a Mr. Margarita type place delivering the machine and mix, but it's up to me to buy the tequila.

I need 4L - what's a decent cheap tequila suitable for getting a bunch of recent Aggy grads tipsy?  White? Gold?  IDK, my drink of choice before sobriety was single malt scotch.

Costco is the answer

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rage-a-holic

rage-a-holic 4,369

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, BearSchlong said:

I need 4L - what's a decent cheap tequila suitable for getting a bunch of recent Aggy grads tipsy?  White? Gold?  IDK, my drink of choice before sobriety was single malt scotch.

Young stupid aggy? They aren't gonna be able to tell the difference between a $100 tequila or $10 tequila out of a frozen rita machine. Go into Specs and grab any 2 cheap 1.75L handles.

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Horn Draoi

Horn Draoi 254

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, BearSchlong said:

I cannot believe I am leaving the alcoholic thread to post a question about tequila, but it's been at least 10 years, 8 months, and 16 days since I have imbibed distilled spirits - or alcohol of any kind - but who's counting.

I'm responsible for the alcohol for my son's rehearsal dinner, we've got a Mr. Margarita type place delivering the machine and mix, but it's up to me to buy the tequila.

I need 4L - what's a decent cheap tequila suitable for getting a bunch of recent Aggy grads tipsy?  White? Gold?  IDK, my drink of choice before sobriety was single malt scotch.

Your son knows you’re recovering and is sending you to Spec’s? Slap him upside the head and tell him to go buy his own cheap-ass tequila.

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rage-a-holic

rage-a-holic 4,369

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, BearSchlong said:

White or gold? I seem to remember an affinity I had for sauza silver.

I had one of those Jimmy Buffet margaritaville machines but used premium ingredients.

This is gonna be your best quality/price combo at Spec's

 

https://specsonline.com/shop/spirits/el-jimador-tequila-reposado-3/

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GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas 9,598

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, SmokeyTheBear said:

Just picked this up today from Shaker (love that place). Been looking to get into pechuga and the guy totally geeked out on this one. This one is distilled with turkey, venison, rabbit and iguana so had to give it a try. It's so delicious and a major recommendation. 

IMG_20220114_163551_01.jpg

Great taste. Wish i could rep more than once

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