In honor of National Tequila Day in the U.S.A., we’re sharing with you the definitive collection of Sipping Off the Cuff from our very first podcast tequila reviews to the most recent. Enjoy and Salud!
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In honor of National Tequila Day in the U.S.A., we’re sharing with you the definitive collection of Sipping Off the Cuff from our very first podcast tequila reviews to the most recent. Enjoy and Salud!
Click here for transcript in English
ALEX: I’m Alex Pérez.
MIKE: I’m Mike Morales.
ALEX: Y están viendo Sipping off the Cuff en TequilaAficionado punto com.
MIKE: ¿Qué tenemos esta noche?
ALEX: Parece que las botellas de tequila se están apoderando del set.
MIKE: ¿Te da la sensación de que estamos siendo invadidos por un poco de tequila hermoso?
ALEX: Nos está invadiendo.
MIKE: Échenle una mirada a la presentación, por cierto, esto es, Embajador Tequila.
ALEX: Hermosa presentación.
MIKE: Hermosa presentación, y para aquellos de ustedes que no sepan español, significa embajador Tequila. A medida que avancemos en esta cata, les daremos una idea de qué se tratan los gráficos. Pero miren, tenemos todas las 3 variedades, tenemos las 3 marcas; el blanco, el reposado, y el añejo. Vamos a hacer cada uno de estos individualmente, pero, queríamos darles una buena idea de cómo se van a ver las botellas.
ALEX: Concentrémonos en, El blanco.
MIKE: El blanco.
MIKE: Cada caja tiene una historia de dónde provienen los símbolos, de qué se tratan. Esta es una marca familiar. Todos los que hacen parte de esta marca son familia. He conocido a la joven pareja, Andrés García y su esposa, quienes están distribuyendo e importando. Andrés tiene antecedentes con el alcohol, trabajó para un distribuidor en el sur de California. La familia de su esposa está involucrada con este tequila. Y entonces, él está de nuevo, desde las raíces con esta marca en particular. Pero, échenle una mirada a esa presentación.
ALEX: La presentación, es increíble. Es increíble.
MIKE: Es hermosa, ¿no? Una botella muy gruesa.
ALEX: Sí, una botella resistente.
MIKE: Un corcho sintético, y el blanco, solo para darles un poco de información, es de Atotonilco, por lo que es un Tequila de las Tierras Altas de NOM 1509. Lo que entendí cuando hablé con la joven pareja, es que en un momento dado, estuvieron conversando con María Romero Mena, quien es una maravillosa Maestra Tequilera. No estoy seguro si ella está trabajando con ellos o no, pero ella ha evaluado este Tequila; pensó que fue muy prometedor. Entonces hemos servido previamente el blanco. Lo interesante es que es un blanco con doble destilado
ALEX: Con doble destilación.
MIKE: Lo reposan en tanques de acero inoxidables, por lo que reposa unos 40 días antes de que decidan embotellarlo. Vamos a echarle un vistazo ahora. Esta muy limpio. Es un blanco bien limpio. Como se puede ver con la botella, van a poder notar lo que se llevan, cuando apenas miren a la botella. Las calcomanías, los gráficos son, por supuesto, calcomanías aplicadas. Y…
ALEX: Es lindo.
ALEX: Huele bien.
MIKE: Tiene unas lágrimas ricas.
ALEX: Sí, disculpe, yo ya pasé lo de las lágrimas, pero sí.
MIKE: Se ve bien.
ALEX: Tiene una buena claridad. Sí, tiene algunas buenas lágrimas densas. Y el aroma de esto es muy …
MIKE: Uau, uau, uau, eso es diferente. Es realmente aromático. Pero, sabes que es un tequila de las tierras altas, así que será floral. Las notas nos dicen que es…
ALEX: Estás un poco perdido, Mike.
MIKE: Hay notas herbales, sí, estoy un poco perdido, pero creo que estoy encantado con las notas.
ALEX: Lo que es bueno, es que nos han mandado buena información. Estaban muy bien preparados sobre lo que están haciendo. Pero…
MIKE: Este es un tequila de Pago.
ALEX: Un tequila de Pago, es un aroma muy refinado. Hay algunos indicios de hierbas, uh, siento un poco de menta. Y pues dicen que tiene algo de menta allí.
MIKE: Frutas, flores y hierbas, y al principio sentí cítricos y ahora estoy sintiendo algunas flores.
ALEX: Es una aroma realmente complejo, uau. Deberían probar esto cuando estén sorbiendo Tequilas especialmente en un vaso como este. Definitivamente quieren, ya saben, tiran el vaso de las tres formas y haces las cosas divertidas que Mike está haciendo en este momento.
MIKE: Voy del lóbulo izquierdo, al derecho, entonces, me verás cambiar de un lado a otro.
ALEX: Y realmente serán capaces de sentir los matices, porque a veces dirán, “sí, podemos oler esto” y se dirán, “¿qué?¨. Y eso es porque realmente estamos buscando cualquier tipo de matiz que podamos encontrar y anunciar.
MIKE: Este vaso que estamos usando, realmente se presta para poder girar casi planamente hacia los lados. Porque a veces, es realmente lo que se necesita hacer para sentir algunas de las capas del Tequila dependiendo de la complejidad.
ALEX: Y eso es.
MIKE: No tengas miedo de –
ALEX: Es una aroma muy refrescante.
MIKE: Sí, ¡uau!
ALEX: Como un aroma muy limpio y fresco.
MIKE: Es vívido.
ALEX: Cítrico, sí, cítrico.
MIKE: Es realmente vívido.
ALEX: Cítrico.
MIKE: Lo voy a probar.
ALEX: Sí, literalmente se me hace agua la boca. Uau, una escupidera.
MIKE: Lo siento, estamos escupiendo como es nuestra costumbre. Estamos haciendo mucho de esto esta noche y si están haciendo vuelos en casa, les recomendamos que no tengan miedo de escupir, beber y escupir.
MIKE: Hombre, hay un circo herbal en mi boca. Hay algunas cosas realmente buenas pasando allí. La complejidad del aroma realmente se traduce en la boca.
ALEX: Hay muchas cosas sucediendo allí.
MIKE: Hay una complejidad con este Tequila.
ALEX: Estoy tratando de identificar los diferentes sabores que hay en mi boca. Es muy agradable, como que realmente cubre el paladar muy bien. Tiene casi como un sabor dulce.
MIKE: Un poco de canela, en el perfil de sabor.
ALEX: Por el lado candente.
MIKE: Sí, sí, sí. No siento tanto pimienta, pero canela sí.
ALEX: Hay un poco de dulzura en mi paladar. Un blanco muy, muy agradable.
MIKE: Uau, estoy impresionado.
ALEX: Es muy agradable, estoy emocionado de probar sus otros sabores.
MIKE: Sí, nuevamente, esto es un negocio familiar. Una marca familiar. Todos los involucrados, desde Andrés y su esposa, hasta las personas que manejan sus redes sociales, son todos familiares. Cada símbolo que ven en la botella representa algo que la familia ha usado como sus marcas registradas. Por ejemplo, el ojo que ven aquí, justo ahí. Quizás puedan verlo si puedo acercarme más. Eso se llama, sí, el ojo es un símbolo de marca de hierro creado por el abuelo del propietario en la década de 1930 para marcar su ganado principal.
Entonces, ven las plumas aquí, las llaman “los pinachos”, es un sombrero hecho de plumas y es usado por los indígenas de México. Por lo que, distingue a las clases altas. Así que, de inmediato saben dónde quieren colocar este Tequila. Y, por supuesto, esta es la versión de Mayahuel en la parte de atrás y todos sabemos que ella es la diosa de, ya sabes, la fertilidad y representante del agave en general. Amigos, esto es un Tequila 100% de agave. Es una buena presentación, bonita, una botella muy elegante, muy sustancial y el Tequila, creo que también es muy sustancial.
ALEX: Es un blanco excelente.
MIKE: Sí, creo que es una Marca de Promesa para Tequila Aficionado.
ALEX: Definitivamente.
MIKE: I’m very impressed, this is a, I think it’s really representative of the Atotonilco area. So, if you see this brand, I know it’s available, and hopefully soon in Southern California. I think it’s also available in Texas too and, if I’m not mistaken, in Arizona as well. So, it’s a growing brand. Support these people. Take a look at your Facebook and Twitter, have accounts on Facebook and Twitter. Really exciting, I’m excited.
ALEX: I like it.
MIKE: I’m pleasantly surprised, and I’m Mike Morales.
ALEX: And Alex Perez, look for Ambassador Tequila out there. And they’ve been watching Sipping off the Cuff on TequilaAficionado.com. And, as always, take wisely.
[Tweet “Spanish (Spanish) Transcript of Sipping Off the Cuff with White Tequila Ambassador”]
Sipping Off The Cuff™ began as an audio podcast in 2006 and is Tequila Aficionado’s first and longest running tequila review program. Originally focused on tequila reviews, but with the added exportation of many other agave spirits from Mexico, we’ve expanded our reviews to all agave spirits, including tequila, mezcal, sotol, raicilla, bacanora, agave wine, ready-to-drink cocktails, and even mixers.
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If you are a Tequila, Mezcal or Sotol brand owner and would like your product(s) reviewed on an upcoming episode of Sipping Off The Cuff(TM), please contact Mike@TequilaAficionado.com.
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See the original video review of Tequila Embajador Reposado here.
Alex Perez: Hi there, I’m Alex Perez.
Mike Morales: I am Mike Morales.
Alex Perez: And you are watching Sipping off the Cuff on TequilaAficionado.com and we’re continuing our series.
Mike Morales: Yes in Embajador which in Spanish means Ambassador. Again it is a family owned brand, fairly new. I think it is about ready to be picked up in Southern California and it is available in Arizona and parts of Texas.
Alex Perez: We tasted the Blanco which we were impressed by.
Mike Morales: Pleasantly surprised. I think that it would be a good Brand of Promise nominee for the Blanco category from us at Tequila Aficionado and now we have got the Reposado. So what we know about the Reposado is, let me look at my/our notes here.
Alex Perez: Handy dandy notes.
Mike Morales: My handy dandy notes from these folks. A wonderful couple, Andres Garcia and his wife. Everybody involved in the tequila is family including the folks who are taking care of the social media as well so reach out, say “Hi” to them. They are very accessible. This is a premium Reposado and it has rested for eight months in American oak barrels. So it is an eight month Reposado which means that they are not, this has got a really deep colouring though. It has like a golden color.
Alex Perez: It has a nice gold color to it and you saw me earlier sneaking a little smell. It smells really good.
Mike Morales: Yeah, we were very pleasantly surprised with the Blanco. Just for the sake of transparency I have had the Blanco before in champagne flutes and I did not get the notes that I got from using our tools here, our Tequila Glasses.
Alex Perez: It has got some nice legs, some nice viscosity to the tequila. And the nose, you got caramel.
Mike Morales: But you know what though. You are not losing. There is agave in there. You are not losing, it is coming through, yes. It is very prominent. Wow, oh yeah, but there is that caramel for sure.
Alex Perez: There’s other goodies in there.
Mike Morales: The Blanco was spicy, herbal and citrusy so what I got just in the nose itself was the agave citrus notes.
Alex Perez: There is supposed to be some other, it might be a little bit of banana now. I don’t know if you get that.
Banana. Mmm.
Mike Morales: Did you taste it already?
Mike Morales: Mmm. (Laughs) Excuse me while I spit.
Alex Perez: Wow, that is a nice Reposado.
Mike Morales: According to the notes there is vanilla, caramel, maple and coffee. I didn’t get any coffee but I did get the maple.
Alex Perez: Definitely the maple.
Mike Morales: Vanilla for sure and caramel right off the bat actually but what I was really impressed with is that there was still the agavic characteristics that we pointed out in the blanco are still prominent. I think it is pretty well balanced, don’t you?
Alex Perez: Well balanced and the taste is still lingering in my mouth so it has got a nice long taste to it. It is very pleasant Reposado.
Mike Morales: Now, Alex got some banana.
Alex Perez: I got some banana in the nose.
Mike Morales: It claims to have…
Alex Perez: There is something else in there.
Mike Morales: It claims to have cherry, lime. I got more citrus from it than I got the banana but it was, I recognised it right after that because it was the same bouquet that I got from the Blanco. There is really good complexity on this tequila.
Alex Perez: Beautiful nose and the mouth feel is just amazing.
Mike Morales: Wow here we go. For those of you aficionados who are a little more advanced and are aware of regions and terroir I would say this is a really good interpretation of the Atotonilco area, Atotonilco micro climate or the highlands.
Alex Perez: Very nice.
Mike Morales: Yeah it is really beautifully balanced too because if you look at the color sometimes you might think that the barrel might take over but it really does not.
Alex Perez: Got a beautiful nose. I can taste the vanilla and maple in the mouth.
Mike Morales: American oak barrels. I would venture to say at this point and I don’t have verification of this but we have been through the safeties of virgin barrels only because of the colour of the Reposado but I will verify that probably when we do the text, when we do the follow up, which will probably be done by Ryan Kelly who writes a lot of our reviews for us at TequilaAficionado.com but wow again a surprise. A surprise for me.
Alex Perez: Definitely a contender.
Mike Morales: Another Brand of Promise contender for Reposado category. Embajador Tequila you will be able to find it I’m sure in Arizona, hopefully soon in southern California, I know they are working on it at this time we are filming they are working on that and parts of Texas as well so look for it. It is definitely a great sipping tequila and worth your time and effort to find it.
I am Mike Morales.
Alex Perez: And Alex Perez.
You are watching “Sipping off the cuff” we are trying Embajadhor Tequila. It is for us a nominee for Brand a Promise and as always, sip wisely.
Sipping off the Cuff | Embajador Blanco / Transcript
Sipping off the Cuff | Embajador Tequila Reposado
Sipping off the Cuff | Embajador Tequila Anejo
Follow Embajador Tequila online: Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter
Watch the original video review for Diva Tequila here.
Alex: You’re watching “Sipping Off the Cuff” at TequilaAficionado.com, I am Alex Perez in Southern California.
Mike: I am your local Diva here in San Antonio, Mike Morales. This is our first infused tequila on “Sipping Off the Cuff”. As you can tell we have actually drank a lot of this because our COO Lisa Pietsch has taken it upon herself to be a big fan of Diva and we have recipes on baking with Diva Tequila. She has a Diva Tequila cupcake on the website. You can find it on the website and in our Pinterest page. Check it out, it’s sugar free and it’s outstanding. It’s really good. But look at the… Check it and show your bling.
Alex: Look at my bling.
Mike: Look at that. Check that out, man. That’ll look good with your grill.
Alex: I guess they encourage people to buy and drink and collect this. So they can turn it into something…
Mike: Well, this particular brand, the brand owners, Larry Large is one of three brand owners and I think you and I talked about Penasco Tequila. You can find that review here on “Sipping Off the Cuff” at TequilaAficionado.com. This is a signature brand for them, the story goes that Larry Large’s daughter at the time she was a little girl, she’s much older now but apparently he wanted something that would attract the female audience so the little girl says “I wanna design the bottle, daddy”. So she takes all these samples of perfume bottles from her mother and then she took a little bit of here, a little bit of there. Of course it was a rough drawing his little girl had done, Larry had it taken to a designer, to clean it up and this is what he came up with. And you can see it, it’s very cool, it’s nice and tall. It’s got on the bottom here, apparently the story goes at one of the other owner’s wife consider herself a Diva and I think that was how they wanted to design their tequila and each of their initials are on the bottom of the bottle, so it’s very symbolic, it means a whole lot for them and the family. They run contests, you can find them on Facebook, but they run a contest about promoting your Diva moment (#mydivamoment). So this is a citrus infused tequila, it is colored. It is a certified color allowed by the normas.
Alex: Very light.
Mike: Yeah, it’s not very, very, dark, at all.
Yeah, it almost, if you are not careful you don’t even notice it and you can see it down the bottle even the cork, the synthetic cork is pink. I mean, every little detail on this brand is very particular, it’s very meaningful to the partners and they’ve been really generous with us at Tequila Aficionado. And like I’ve said, Lisa is a whiz in the kitchen so a lot of recipes include Diva or she’s experimenting to see which one works and which one failed. Yeah, so wow.
Alex: Nice legs on the glass too. Wow, very different. Not what you’d expect in a blanco, if you will.
Mike: Yeah, I don’t even know what are they considering this, this says silver tequila.
Yeah, it would be like a silver and it would be considered a blanco. It would be an infused blanco.
Mike: It says citrus infused, they call it Diva Platinum.
Alex: It’s got an interestingnose. Citrus, obviously citrus nose.
Mike: But it’s almost like a bitter citrus, it’s almost like a bitter… there’s a little bit of bitterness.
Alex: Grapefruit.
Mike: There you go.
Alex: And orange together I think.
Wow, it’s very interesting.
Mike: We’ve got to spit, folks. We can’t drink all of this stuff.
Alex: It’s a…
Mike: I was going to say you and I don’t do a lot of infusions. You know, you may have more than I have, but the house infusions you get it in a bar sometimes or stuff with jalapeños and tropical fruit and that stuff. My thinking is that if you focus back in our Penasco Blanco review we were really big fans of the blanco, it’s a nice beefy blanco and my thinking is this is the same blanco but they are infusing it, so that completely changed the flavor profile because the beefiness of the blanco is there but there is a… the orange is not a sweet orange, to me it’s like a bitter orange, like you’ve said, like a grapefruit, like a Ruby Red.
Alex: Yeah, almost like orange and grapefruit almost together.
Mike: Yeah, maybe even a lime, it may have a little bit of lime on it. Not lemon because it would be too sour.
Alex: It’s neat tequila and I will tell you why. Good for sipping, not necessary a profile I like because my flavor is not that profile but do you know what it reminds me of? This reminds me of triple sec. Triple sec, almost leaning towards a Grand Marnier. This would be great on the rocks. Because it’s got the viscosity, the coating on the palate, the infused flavor would be great on the rocks. Like I’ve said on it, if you like this flavor profile, I think it would be great on rocks. I love Grand Marnier on the rocks. So it’s very similar, make a margarita or even float this. Make a margarita with your Penasco and float the diva on top.
Mike: Well, there we go.
Alex: Just thinking out loud.
Mike: The other thing that we were discussing. Lisa and I were discussing off camera was this almost reminds me of the Squirt Paloma, the traditional Paloma, this is almost like a Paloma in a bottle. And it’s like you’ve said, on the rocks, it’s like, you don’t have to bother with the Squirt because (Squirt is a grapefruit soda) I mean there’s no bubbles in it.
Alex: And there’s sugar in it too. So this would be a “skinny Paloma”.
Mike: Skinny Paloma, Oh my God, we’ve just coined, it’s ours, we get scents every time you say it, “skinny Paloma”.
Alex: “Skinny Paloma”.
Mike: It’s a “Skinny Paloma”.
Mike: You can see that you can have a lot of fun with this. Like I’ve said, it’s a great meaningful brand to the brand owners. My understanding is that it’s available now in Arizona, parts of Texas, I’m not sure…
Alex: This is like a necklace.
Mike: Yeah, this looks like a doorknob. You know, my great aunt had a house in L.A. with… remember the all crystal door knobs in the cabinet knobs? That’s what it looks like but it’s faceted, like it even says Diva on it I think, does it say Diva on the inside?
Alex: Yeah.
Mike: Yeah, it does. It says Diva right there, do you see?
Alex: Very cool.
Mike: Yeah, it’s a very cool, I would say so, I think it’s kinda fun.
Alex: I would add a glorifier on it with the light going through.
Mike: I am not sure… well you have a glorifier. What does it look like with the light on?
Alex: I will try the glorifier.
Mike: But, you know, do you wanna see your Diva with the lights on or the lights off?
Alex: That’s what the diva looks like.
Mike: Check it out!
Alex: The top light is up.
Mike: Yeah!
Alex: The top lights up. Did you see that?
Mike: It almost looks like the Luxor.
Alex: That’s cool.
Mike: Check you out man.
Diva, put the light on it.
Alex: Put the light on your Diva.
Mike: You know… Alex this is not a repulsive, I mean you and I had regular tequilas that were just horribly repulsive, but this one doesn’t, you know, it’s almost refreshing. I have to agree with you.
Alex: It’s a drink in the bottle.
Mike: Yeah.
Alex: It’s a cocktail in the bottle.
Mike: Yeah, a cocktail in the bottle.
Alex: A Diva cocktail in the bottle.
Mike: What do you think for our first infused tequila, do you think it should be a Brand of Promise with us?
Alex: I think so.
Mike: You know, like you’ve said it’s not something we’ve tried, or you and I would probably go looking for. You can take this to a birthday party, a barbecue or friend’s. It would be a nice gift.
Alex: Yeah, it smells like a cocktail.
Mike: Like I’ve said it’s almost like a Paloma. It’s a skinny Paloma.
Alex: Yeah. Well you heard it here first.
Mike: The skinny Paloma, we want 10 cents every time you say it. We’re trade marking it tomorrow.
Alex: You’ll take 5?
Mike: Well, you take 5 and I take 5. We’ve got to take 10 for you to get 5, anyway.
Alex: Look for Diva, I don’t know, where did you say that it was available?
Mike: I said it was in Arizona, I believe if it’s not in Nevada, it will be shortly, it’s in Texas also.
Alex: Nevada would be a good fit for bars.
Mike: Obviously.
Alex: You need the glorifier.
Mike: Well, Bradley Large and the brand owners have a program. They hand out cards that say “Diva Moment”. They do particular promos specifically geared to women. And I’ve gotta tell you, this is one of the most elegant, one of the more… better ways to attract a female audience I think, I think they’re on the right track with this, I think it’s a brand of promise for infused tequilas.
Alex: And it’s not a phallic symbol.
Mike: Yeah, thank Goodness. Yeah, it’s gimmicky in kind of all the right ways, instead of gimmicky in all the wrong directions.
Alex: I hear ya.
Mike: By the way, that’s our take on Diva, I think it’s a Brand of Promise.
Alex: Sure, it’s definitely a Brand of Promise.
Mike: I had fun with it.
Alex: I think this is probably the first marketing that I’ve seen that would be good to attract the female population and they would have fun with it. And you know what too, I think that it’s geared toward a young crowd, obviously the legal crowd.
Mike: Right. You know if it does make in Las Vegas and bottle service, can you imagine showing this bottle off on your table?
Alex: You know what these guys have to do? They have to give Mariah Carey a bunch of this stuff and have her talk about it. The Diva. One of those Diva ladies.
Mike: Yeah, Celine Dion, who’s in Vegas these days?
Alex: I Mariah Carey.
Mike: Mariah Carey.
Alex: I can see her making a ring out of this thing right here.
Mike: I think that I’ve seen it.
Actually wearing that…
I think her husband, Nick Cannon, actually gave her something like that already.
Alex: It’s already done.
Mike: Well, we’re always late to the party.
Alex: I’m Alex Perez and you’re watching “Sipping Off the Cuff” on TequilaAficionado.com and, as always, sip wisely.
Watch Sipping off the Cuff | Penasco Tequila Plata (Blanco) here.
ABOUT TEQUILA 512:
SCOTT WILLIS WENT TO JALISCO IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT ANYTIME TEQUILA. HE RETURNED WITH TEQUILA 512.
In Austin, tequila isn’t saved for special occasions. It’s a standard go-to. It’s one of the many things Scott loves about the town he calls home, and why he set out to create a tequila that could be enjoyed anytime.
In Jalisco he found Luis Trejo, master distiller at La Cofradia. Batch by batch, they made their way to the earthy, spicy yet surprisingly smooth tequila we bottle today. The magic moment came when Scott decided to add a third distillation, making the good juice they’d created together just a bit smoother.
Scott’s friends back in Austin loved the results. So did the judges at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, who awarded Tequila 512 Double Gold and Best In Show.
To this day, Scott returns to Jalisco to taste every new batch, ensuring each is as good as the last. Because when it comes to great tequila, taste is the only test that matters.
FTC Disclaimer: All samples are received free of charge but no payment is accepted by Tequila Aficionado or its agents for reviews. All reviews are the opinions of those participating in the tasting and positive reviews are never guaranteed.
[Tweet “Sipping Off the Cuff | Tequila Villa Lobos Reposado with @timberelk & @felipeherida”]
Tequila Villa Lobos is the result of a friendship and close collaboration with two of the worlds most respected and trusted authorities on Tequila: Carlos Camarena and Dale Sklar. The agave used for Villa Lobos is entirely harvested by agaveros from the Camarena Family plantations in Los Altos, the celebrated Arandas highlands, thus ensuring only the sweetest & most mature are used. Villa Lobos is a perfect example of handcrafted Tequila made with passion and care in the traditional way.
To see where Villa Lobos Tequila is distilled, is to go back over a century to one of the last distilleries of its kind in Mexico where production is still done by hand in the old fashioned way, slowly and with ‘corazon’ (heart). The agave used for Villa Lobos is entirely harvested by agaveros from the Camarena Family plantations in Los Altos, (the celebrated Arandas highlands), thus ensuring only the very finest plants are used.
Carlos, like his Father before him Don Felipe, and his Grandfather before him, regularly walks through the agave fields to see how the plants are developing.
The source of the liquid that ultimately after crushing, fermentation & double distillation, becomes Villa Lobos Tequila. ‘autoclaves’/ pressure cookers’) but this wouldn’t be good enough for Villa Lobos.
The finest agave with the highest fructose levels are used to make Villa Lobos (lesser grades will be sold to other Tequila producers in the area). The specially selected Agave plants are slowly cooked in the old traditional brick ovens (almost all distilleries now use rapid cooking stainless steel ‘autoclaves’/ pressure cookers’) but this wouldn’t be good enough for Villa Lobos.
The smell of the cooked Agave hearts is beyond description and is like the sweetest of honey… indeed it is called,‘Miel deagave’ (honey of the agave).
The agave is then crushed in the mill in order to separate the agave juice from the fibre. Natural spring water is then added to the juice before fermentation and squeezed and the juice is slowly fermented in large wooden fermentation tanks.
(Wooden tanks have almost disappeared from distilleries now-a-days, as they are so much harder to work with, however their end result is beyond comparison.)
Only the local natural yeasts blowing in on the wind through the glass-free open ‘windows’ are used to ferment the juice, and slowly the bubbling of the juices starts as the yeasts convert the natural plant sugars into carbon-dioxide and alcohol.
When the sugars are fully fermented, the juices are taken into the copper pot stills and slowly distilled twice to produce the ultimate tequila possible… The pride of the La Alteña distillery, Villa Lobos. The result of the first distillation is known as ‘ordinario’ and eliminates some of the fatty acids and oily compounds.We then carry out the second distillation to produce the smoothest Tequila we can make with the most delicate aromas and flavour. Only Villa Lobos Tequila is made by us in this way. In order to concentrate the flavours we do something unique to us … we keep the blanco in steel tanks for 6 months to allow it to rest and slowly oxidise, so its flavours and bouquetare enhanced.
This delay is expensive…normally tequila blanco is bottled immediately by most Tequileros, however Villa Lobos is not ‘most Tequilas’! The blanco thus has an incredibly smooth finish with the famous spicy, white-pepper nose so beloved of the great Arandas Tequila houses.
Some of the Tequila (Reposado) will be taken away and left in American oak Barrels to mature for up to 12 months. They will take on the darker gold tones of the oak barrels; and some will lie for 1-2 years or even more and become even darker and smoother and labelled as Añejo (old).
Just a few barrels will be retained for up to five years for bottling and labelling as Extra Añejo…an expensive luxury to slowly sip and savour for those special occasions !
I specially select each barrel after a personal tasting. Only the very best quality product will be bottled as Villa Lobos. This tequila is made to honour and respect the memory of my father Don Felipe Camarena and my grandfather, founders of the dynasty. In their name I am proud to bring you Villa Lobos, one of the greatest tequilas in all of Mexico.
¡Salud!
FTC Disclaimer: All samples are received free of charge but no payment is accepted by Tequila Aficionado or its agents for reviews. All reviews are the opinions of those participating in the tasting and positive reviews are never guaranteed.
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Aztecs were among the most loyal, ferocious fighters in history. Victories and sacrifices were celebrated by drinking the sacred agave plant. This pasote spirit lives on in our matchless Jalisco Highlands tequila. Distilled with pure rainwater, natural spring water and agave grown personally by our master tequilero, this liquid art is distinctively herbal and incredibly pure. From the guerreros who guard each bottle to the exacting effort put into its content, we are certain you will revel in our tribute to warriors everywhere.
One whiff confirms the luscious benefits of long aging in American oak. Soft aromas of roasted agave, clean vanilla and sweet coconut merge in a pleasing harmony.
The experience begins with a decadently rich mouthfeel that’s velvety smooth. Long barrel aging mellows the character of the roasted agave, bringing out hints of roasted oranges and spicy cinnamon for a finely nuanced complexity. The finish is long and warm, with depths of toasty sweet flavors. The luscious mouthfeel lingers on and on.
FTC Disclaimer: All samples are received free of charge but no payment is accepted by Tequila Aficionado or its agents for reviews. All reviews are the opinions of those participating in the tasting and positive reviews are never guaranteed.
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Aztecs were among the most loyal, ferocious fighters in history. Victories and sacrificies were celebrated by drinking the sacred agave plant. This pasote spirit lives on in our matchless Jalisco Highlands tequila. Distilled with pure rainwater, natural spring water and agave grown personally by our master tequilero, this liquid art is distinctively herbal and incredibly pure. From the guerreros who guard each bottle to the exacting effort put into its content, we are certain you will revel in our tribute to warriors everywhere
Light golden in color, our agave tequila presents a rich, intriguing nose. The distinctive herbal aroma of roasted agave is delicately balanced with subtle notes of ripe coconut and sweet American oak.
Lusciously supple and warming, this agave tequila is rich with softly mellowed flavors, thanks to six months of barrel aging in American oak. The fruit-forward taste of roasted agave melds with fresh floral notes and subtle hints of sweet vanilla. The finish is very smooth and very long, lingering on sweet and clean–a taste to savor and anticipate in the next delectable sip.
FTC Disclaimer: All samples are received free of charge but no payment is accepted by Tequila Aficionado or its agents for reviews. All reviews are the opinions of those participating in the tasting and positive reviews are never guaranteed.
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About Pasote Tequila
Aztecs were among the most loyal, ferocious fighters in history. Victories and sacrifices were celebrated by drinking the sacred agave plant. This pasote spirit lives on in our matchless Jalisco Highlands tequila. Distilled with pure rainwater, natural spring water and agave grown personally by our master tequilero, this liquid art is distinctively herbal and incredibly pure. From the guerreros who guard each bottle to the exacting effort put into its content, we are certain you will revel in our tribute to warriors everywhere.
Pasote rewards agave lovers with the ripe essence of the plant itself, roasted to perfection to bring out its herbaceous depths. A deeper sniff reveals fragrant undertones of bright citrus.
Utterly clean and clear, with an exquisitely soft mouthfeel, the first impression of this beautifully balanced agave tequila is that you’re drinking liquid light. Crisp, zesty citrus dominates the foreground, unfolding mid-palate to pure succulent blue agave. A surprisingly long finish that’s decidedly clean. The distinctive agave taste deliciously lingers on, flecked with hints of white pepper.
FTC Disclaimer: All samples are received free of charge but no payment is accepted by Tequila Aficionado or its agents for reviews. All reviews are the opinions of those participating in the tasting and positive reviews are never guaranteed.