Revel Avila Anejo Review [Transcript]

ALEX: You’re watching Sipping off the Cuff on Tequila Aficionado dot com. I’m Alex Perez in Southern California.

MIKE: I’m Mike Morales.

ALEX: With the clicker!

MIKE: I’m the clapper. Get to the clapper! (laughing) Tonight, we are having … It’s a desmadre in your mouth.

ALEX: We’re continuing our adventures with an avila product.

MIKE: Our trip – It’s a trip to Morelos, is what this is, okay?

ALEX: Revel – not revels plural, but revel.

MIKE: Revel spirits avila is what they’re calling it. It’s a blue agave product. Triple distilled. This one is at a higher proof, Alex!

ALEX: Yeah.

MIKE: This is a what- a 96 proof?

ALEX: Ninety-six proof.

MIKE: Hiiijole. And according to Alex’s notes on the website, which I still can’t get into for some reason, I don’t know why. My internet’s not letting me do it.

ALEX: You’re having some technical difficulties.

MIKE: I’m having some technical difficulties beyond my control. Okay, now first of all, if you can see the – look at the color on this. This is, what did you say, Alex? It’s rested in French oak barrels?

ALEX: It’s twenty four months in French oak.

MIKE: Okay, so 24-month añejo in French oak barrels. Look at the color on it!

ALEX: Yeah, it’s incredible, that color.

MIKE: That’s a deep, rich …

ALEX: It’s a real deep –

MIKE: Yeah, wow!

ALEX: Almost like a copper, huh?

MIKE: It’s copper. This is a copper.

ALEX: It’s not amber, it’s deeper than that.

MIKE: Yeah, it’s copper. It’s a redhead. It’s just a redhead.

ALEX: Now it’s got some tiny, tiny legs.

MIKE: Yeah, it doesn´t – it’s not clinging to my glass, which is not a bad thing, again. It´s just coming down, and – It’s not too runny and it’s not too clingy, so it’s not bad. I like the color. The color’s beautiful.

ALEX: Yeah, beautiful color.

MIKE: Oh woah! Holy cow, man!

ALEX: This nose is …

MIKE: Lots of dried fruit.

ALEX:Yes, I haven’t stuck my nose in it yet. I’m just going …

MIKE: No, it’s just right here.

ALEX: It’s like “Hello!” It’s just coming up, right?

MIKE: Wow, wow! These are like plums, and dried plums and pineapple? Am I getting pineapple?

ALEX: You getting pineapple?

MIKE: I’m getting a lot of fruit, man.

ALEX: Yeah, it’s really fruity.

MIKE: It’s like Carmen Miranda’s dancing in my nose here.

ALEX: It’s like carmelized fruit. ‘Cause I’m getting some like brown sugar and stuff, too.

MIKE: Ok. Now granted, this is supposedly French oak barrels.

ALEX: Yeah, so this is a little sweeter, huh?

MIKE: The nose is gonna be sweeter. I don’t know what it’s gonna taste like. And again, it’s at a higher proof.

ALEX: So it’s 96 proof.

MIKE: Well, okay. Ninety-six proof. What does that mean, though? Because if it comes out of a barrel, even at 100 proof, it’s 55 ABV, right? So this is …

ALEX: It’s 48. 48 percent.

MIKE: It’s 48 percent, okay.

ALEX: You take the proof, divide it by two.

MIKE: All right. That’s a beautiful nose. This is …

ALEX: It’s really enjoyable.

MIKE: Yeah. And you don’t have to go very far for it. It really just talks, comes right up and says hi.

ALEX: This is what you need to do, just like a wine. You want to enjoy it, you want to smell it, you want to look at it. You want to admire it, like Mike’s doing right now.

MIKE: Yeah. I’m looking at those legs.

ALEX: Down boy.

MIKE: (Laughs) I’ve always been a face man anyway, so.

ALEX: (Laughs) It’s got like deep honey.

MIKE: It’s very sweet on the nose.

ALEX: It’s almost like a honey, or a … what am I getting? Like a.. (sniffs) It’s like a candy. Honey.

MIKE: Stop calling me all those names.

ALEX: Sweetheart. (chuckles) Wow.

MIKE: (Grunts) Mmm.

ALEX: Wow, this is different. Wow, that’s good.

MIKE: Wow, that retronasal’s amazing! The finish is a lot stronger and a lot spicier. It’s spicier like a hot cinnamon. It’s almost like a Red Hot.

ALEX: Wow. It’s sweet. Vanilla, caramel, – it’s like liquid caramel.

MIKE: It lingers on your palate. This one coats your palate, which is really weird because it doesn’t look like it. It doesn’t have the legs and tears of a thick-coated, you know.

ALEX: It’s real cinnamon-spicy, huh?

MIKE: Yeah, it’s a cinnamon-spicy. It’s a cinnamon-spicy hot, which is weird because if this is French oak, I don’t taste any chocolate. Do you taste any chocolate or anything like that? I don’t get like chocolate or tobacco, I get more of that in the reposado but then again, the reposado – they’re using a different barrel for that one.

ALEX: Wow, this is really good, Mike.

MIKE: This is very unusual. There are extra añejos, Alex, that we’ve had that have a toned-down version of this flavor profile.

ALEX: This would make a great old-fashioned. I’d love to get, muddle some …

MIKE: Dude, at $107, you want to mix this thing? (laughs) What did we say the añejo is worth? What’s it running for- $107? What does Old Town Liquors have it for?

ALEX: I don’t know, what’d I say?

MIKE: It’s got to be over a hundred bucks!

ALEX: Wow. And triple-distilled. This is really good stuff. I’m impressed with the añejo.

MIKE: (granting)

ALEX: I’m impressed.

MIKE: I’ll even go … As sweet as it is, I will go out on a limb and say that it would be a challenge to pair with a cigar, but you could do it. It’s just, it’s sweeter … It’s almost like an extra añejo, Alex.

ALEX: Yeah.

MIKE: It’s almost like an extra añejo but it’s not. It’s … Okay, I’ve got toadmit, I was completely – I had no reference for the blanco, but the repo and the añejo are … The repo’s more like a mezcal, the añejo‘s more like an extra añejo tequila. It’s everywhere, man It’s got everything that anybody wants. Wow, this is really, really worthy, Alex!

ALEX: Yup.

MIKE: I’m surprised.

ALEX: It’s Old Town Wine and Spirits, right?

MIKE: No, it’s the Tequila Superstore.

ALEX: Well this is Z, Z tequila: $109.

MIKE: A hundred and nine dollars.

ALEX: Regular 129 bucks.

MIKE: And you would still put it in an old-fashioned?

ALEX: Yeah.

MIKE: Wow. It wouldn’t lose itself.

ALEX: You know what I’ve learned?

MIKE: What’s that?

ALEX: If you want a quality cocktail, you’ve gotta put a quality spirit in it.

MIKE: Well.

ALEX: Especially if it’s for yourself.

MIKE: Yeah, this is – this is a, see, – and they have an extra añejo, which we didn’t get. And this has got an extra añejo flavor profile, I can tell you that. We’ve had some extra añejos that taste …

ALEX: Where would it go from here?

MIKE: I don’t know, man. I think Revel needs to send us the extra añejo because they are on Instagram, I found them. And the bottle is completely different. It’s short, it looks more like a cologne bottle.

ALEX: Wow.

MIKE: Yeah, it’s … See, this is coating my palate now. Now that I’ve had a couple of sips.

ALEX: This is a big …

MIKE: That´s a, yeah. It’s a loud, it’s a four-alarm añejo.

ALEX: This is serious stuff.

MIKE: Oh, wow.

ALEX: Serious stuff.

MIKE: But, you know, spend time with it, too. Don’t get all uppity and put it in a cocktail now, you’ve got to really …

ALEX: Well, obviously the best thing to do, always, is to sip the spirit neat. That way you know what it tastes like.

MIKE: Yes.

ALEX: Then after that, then you can do whatever you want with it. But you need to experience it neat first.

MIKE: This one in particular, because again, it is an agave spirit. Revel. Check it out. It’s an agave spirit from Morelos. They call it a Revel avila.

ALEX: They call it an avila.

MIKE: They call it an avila. Don’t ask me why, I have no idea.

ALEX: They need to let us know! They need to get –

MIKE: The website’s gotta be more … You’ve gotta give us more information, please. Folks, those of you who are in Minnesota, the Twin Cities or anywhere else where this spirit is available, tell us more down below in the notes, in the comments because we’re flying blind here. We’re just overwhelmed.

ALEX: Nice.

MIKE: This añejo has an extra añejo feel to it, and they have an extra añejo, so I don’t know what that tastes like but they’d better send us some.

ALEX: I kick myself for not seeing them at the Golden State and not coming up to them.

MIKE: Yeah, ’cause it would’ve been nice to have like a brochure or …

ALEX: Yeah, or if we had more of a reference point with them.

MIKE: Yeah, ’cause the website doesn’t say a whole lot, according to Alex. I can’t get into the website. The Facebook page doesn’t say a whole lot. They have a few pictures on Instagram. They need to up their game because, I’ll tell you what, the repo and añejo, I think it’s worthy of pursuing for those of you who are looking for something really different in the flavor profile. The blanco‘s gonna confuse you. It confused me. I´m not, I’m still not … I had no reference point for it. But the reposado was more like a mezcal for me, and this añejo‘s like an extra añejo. This is really something.

ALEX: It’s special.

MIKE: And it’s big, too, because again, it’s at a higher proof. Wow. Wow. Brand of Promise in the agave spirits category. Go get yourself some. You probably aren’t gonna find a better price than what you can get it for online. I think the Twin Cities, that area there is a control state, so you know, you’re gonna pay a little bit more. But is it worth pursuing? Yeah. If you’re an agave nut, and especially if you’re an oak head, or if you like aged mezcals.

ALEX: Wow. You know what, the blanco is $50, the repo is 69, and the añejo is 109. It’s steep but you’ve gotta try it, and see if you like it. This añejo definitely is worth, I think, trying.

MIKE: I think they’re all worthy of your attention. They grabbed our attention.

ALEX: Oh yeah.

MIKE: Because you know, you’ve seen us when we take this Riedel an we’ve really had to dig into it and try to find something out of it, you know, or trying to get the nuances, and this baby just comes right up to you and says hi.

ALEX: (Laughs)

MIKE: You know, Alex does this. He does that. And it doesn’t take a whole lot. It didn’t take a whole lot for the reposado. I was digging into the blanco because I couldn’t figure it out, I had no reference point.

ALEX: Real nice.

MIKE: Yeah. Congratulations to Revel. You guys did gang busters, man. Hopefully they continue to – They only launched in 2014, so they’re fairly new to the market. Seek them out, and if you’ve had it, tell us what you think in the comments.

ALEX: We’d love to try the extra.

MIKE: Yes, please! And more information on the website. More info.

ALEX: Yes.

MIKE: A brochure would be nice. I’m Mike Morales here in San Antonio.

ALEX: I’m Alex Perez. You’re watching Sipping off the Cuff on Tequila Aficonado dot com Thanks for watching, and as always, sip wisely.