Compared to its siblings, Embajador Supreme Añejo is a big, big brother. Rested for 18 months—a full 10 months longer than its Premium Reposado—Supreme is a veritable post-grad student compared to its primary school brothers. Yet, for all that age its color is surprisingly pale gold. Not that color determines everything, but 18 months is … Read more
Premium, the second of three Embajador Tequila offerings can be described as the good middle child of the bunch– Eager to please, never offending, yet losing a tad of its uniqueness sandwiched between its siblings. According to the distiller, it’s rested for eight months in American and French Oak barrels, meaning the final product is a … Read more
Note to all tequila distillers… I love it when, along with your generous review bottles, you supply a story of how your tequila is made. The makers of Embajador tequila did this by sending a simple folder with a few laser-printed pages that told a brief but helpful story about its goods. And they are … Read more
Casa Noble Joven Few spirits I’ve tasted—tequila or otherwise—grabbed my attention the way Casa Noble Joven did when I tasted it at the distillery two years ago. Traveling with a press group led by the distillery’s CEO, Pepe Hermosillo, we’d consumed multiple expressions of Casa Noble while there. But this one, packing a 104 … Read more
The Ohio Valley’s schizophrenic spring weather has had an unexpectedly positive effect on my home liquor cabinet. Since it’s been too warm for the furnace and too cool for the air conditioner, the house temp has averaged about 75 degrees for two months. And one of the most notable beneficiaries is Tequila Penasco Anejo (the … Read more
Tequila Penasco Reposado The quality of tequila pushing into the U.S. market is so high these days that it’s hard to write a really bad review. It’s easy to be wowed by some more than others, and some, though good, make me question the price point, but I have yet to find one I’d swear … Read more
I like small barrels, and I cannot lie … and Demetrio’s choice of a 200 liter vessel for its añejo is just fine by me. Some reviewers I’ve read (and respect) object to tequila aged in small barrels because they say that adds too much oak flavor too soon. But as a fan of big-bodied, … Read more
If fiery, edgy blancos had their own song, it might go something like this: If I could spend time in a barrel The first thing that I’d like to do Is to soften every day Till all harshness goes away To ensure I’d be sipped slow by you OK, sorry. … Read more
Growing up in Bourbon Country (I live in Louisville, Ky.), you get used to seeing squat bottles of brown Kentucky Nectar on bars and retailers’ shelves. Even the rare long-neck containers aren’t usually tall, especially compared to some tequila bottles. That marks the first reason I like the trio of Demetrio tequila expressions I acquired … Read more
The first two times I tasted Number Juan Reposado, it reminded me of my 15-year-old son in the morning: something that awakens very slowly. For $49, I expected more than clean, mildly spicy tequila that was decidedly low on complexity. But time and future tastings would reveal that Number Juan was only being shy at … Read more