John Mehrkens (@jmehrk35) rated 3m ago

Torrente Blanco

80 SCORE

“• Visual: Good viscosity. Clear with clear medium edge. • Initial Nasal Impact: Slight prickle and warming. • Aroma: Apple, pear, cinnamon, musty linen, white pepper, dried white flowers. • Mouthfeel: Oily with sufficient alcohol. • Flavor: Jalapeño jelly, apple and pear w/cinnamon, alcohol, musty, slight lactic note. • Finish: Medium with a noticeable musty and slight lactic note followed by cinnamon and dried apple”

ChristineH Tequila.Diva, Tequila Sippers rated 25m ago

Calle 23 Criollo Dos Reposado

87 SCORE

“calle 23 el dos reposado per CRT regulations, it must be called a reposado, although it contains: 8% repo 77% anejo 15% extra anejjo sample from Doc, Dave Witten, agave swappers Aroma and flavors: whiskey, barrel spice, caramel, fruity, cherry, banana Finish: a sweetness that fades to oak, with a mild pine flavor at the very end Overall: I enjoyed it very much. it has a nice, natural sweetness and sips like a mild whiskey. Would have been 89/90, except for the price tag. ”

Barrett Kelly rated 3h ago

El Tequileño Platino Blanco

87 SCORE

“At the distillery - Aroma: 22 Palate: 26 Finish: 22 Value: 7 ($50) Heavy white pepper on the nose. Palate is rounder with cinnamon, agave, subtle red fruit and citrus peels.”

Barrett Kelly rated 3h ago

El Tequileño Reposado Gran Reserva

88 SCORE

“At the distillery - Aroma: 23 Palate: 26 Finish: 22 Value: 7 ($50) Under ripe strawberries and light cream. The mass of white pepper blanco aroma gets neutralized here. ”

Barrett Kelly rated 3h ago

El Tequileño Cristalino Reposado

85 SCORE

“At the distillery - Aroma: 23 Palate: 25 Finish: 22 Value: 5 ($65)”

Barrett Kelly rated 3h ago

El Tequileño Especial 50 Aniversario

90 SCORE

“At the distillery Aroma: 24 Palate: 28 Finish: 22 Value: 6 ($150) Sweet raspberries with light vanilla cream with shaved hazelnuts and dark chocolate on top!”

Codigo 1530 Reposado

70 SCORE

“Oak and pepper. Light agave. ”

Carlos Fierro rated 18h ago

Cultura 100 Tequila Joven

89 SCORE

“If someone were to ask me, and there is no reason to really, but if someone were to ask me how to make a really good tequila, I’d have a few suggestions. First, start with mature agave. Well cared for, and cultivate with care. Second, find a quality distiller. That’s it, two suggestions. To be fair, that second one has a bunch of subcategories that goes into it. Which go hand-in-hand with a quality distiller. How the agave is cooked, how the sugars are extracted, water source, how the mosto is fermented (so much goes in the fermentation, I give a deeper treatment here), how the finished mosto is distilled, if aged, what type of barrels are used, for how long, how to blend aged expressions if you choose to blend. And each of these categories has myriad subcategories as well. So yeah, it’s kinda cheating to say I’d have only two suggestions. That second one does a lot of heavy lifting. That said, Tequila Cultura 100 seems to have hit the right notes with their choice of agave. And in the steady hand of Sergio Cruz, they have a master distiller who is both a traditionalist and a true innovator. This shows though with Tequila Cultura 100’s newest release, their high-proof (98proof) Joven. Jovens are one of my favorite expressions. Jovens provided the distiller the freedom to really express themselves, and allow for the creativity and imagination to push boundaries that rules regarding blancos, repos, anejos, and extra anejos may hamper. This Joven did just that, a blend of mostly their 54% high-proof blanco, with a blend of 86proof reposado aged for 6months in American oak, ex-bourbon and whisky barrels, and a high-proof anejo barrel that created a beautifully complex, rich, tequila, with great barrel spice, sweet agave, minerality, but the blancos makes sure that what you drinking in a tequila. Ok, let’s get into it… Nose: What you’d expect with a Joven that is majority high-proof blanco, agave is up front. Surprisingly you get a hit of floral aromas—jasmine. Yes, like a quality jasmine tea. That gives the nose a soft floral quality. Petrichor follows the floral scents. If the jasmine sort of gives the nose a wafting quality, the minerals an petrichor bring it back down to the earth. Alcohol, is a steady presence, and a little mustiness from the oak. Then the barrel spices and sweet notes come in. Honey comes in first. I expected more burnt sugars, crème brûlée, but it’s lightly honey. Then, and this really took me by surprise…marshmallow. Not the cloyingly sweet marshmallow you get for s’mores, but the sweet-earthiness you get from marshmallow root. Really nice, and I think the first time I’ve gotten that. The time it took to write the above description now that I’ve gone back to the nose I get more of the burnt sugar, lightly caramelized. Again the minerality rounds it off as brine, and stone make an appearance. A few sips later (that below) I come back to it after 15mins of it breathing there is much new character. Butterscotch starts to come through. Really need to close your eyes while taking the aromas in. Sensor deprecation chamber may be called for. Another 5mins and the nose is an agave bomb. Palate: Sweet cooked agave is on the very front of the palate. Baking spice from the barrel are upfront as well. Creating a round, spicy, warm flavor upfront. Floral flavors come in giving it a floating quality. The petrichor aroma on the sip knocks those floating qualities back to earth just like the rains that bring the petrichor. There’s a lovely sweetness, but not straight glucose sweetness. The nose while sipping it is providing the sweetness, but it has some sweetness on the tongue as well. The floral, jasmine notes are prevalent. Light citrus on the back end. I keep going back to the nose. Giving it time to breath, this sip hits me with butterscotch. I’ve been drinking a Republic of Tea Butterscotch/Caramel tea lately, also really nice, but that’s for a different review, but I get some of the same notes drinking this as I do the butterscotch tea. Pleasant surprise. Finish: A sweet finish, alcohol and agave linger. You start to get the Szechwan pepper numb on your tongue. Not as much as I’d expect from a 98proof. This is not a particularly long finish. The floral notes come back at the very end, aside from the numbing affect, the floral notes sort of haunt your taste buds like ghost, just on your periphery. I usually look forward to the finish, especially a really good finish, this is a nice finish, but in comparison to the nose and the palate, the finish not only literally trails, but figuratively trails as well. It’s pleasant, but doesn’t take you on that final journey that the nose and palate would lead you to believe it would. Maybe I’m being a little unfair to the finish is a little thin, but with the nose and the palate morphing so much, I don’t think the finish lived up to it. Mouth feel is soft and lush, but not oily. Not thin, but not overly viscus either. Pleasant and rich like you’d expect from the nose and palate. Final thoughts: I appreciate that you that you get so much tequila flavor, but with the added complexity from the reposado and anejo. Jovens can be uniquely special because you get so much of that added complexity of the barrel aging, the spice, the caramels, the butterscotch, the honey, the cinnamon, but the blacno keeps squarely in the realm of tequila. This joven does just that, all the wonderful barrel aging without the tequila becoming an agave bourbon. —The Tequila Note”

Bill Durnbaugh (Fuerte Fanatics / Agave Swappers / & DMV Tequila Club) rated 20h ago

Jornalero Blanco

85 SCORE

“Aroma: A combination of both Cooked and Raw Agave stand at attention. This definitely leans on many Valley characteristics. Dried Grass and Hay mix with a nice Minerality. There is a noticeable Briny quality. A Vegetalness emerges with Mint and Sage in tow. A unique combination of Cinnamon and Wet Clay challenged my senses. As this opened up a light Fruitiness popped up. Taste: A continuation from the nose is apparent with the taste of Cooked and Raw Agave Flavors. A Vegetal and Grassiness mix with Cinnamon and White Pepper. A touch of Fruit, Mint, and Light Anise. And at the end a splash of Citrus bursts in. Finish: This is a nice easy sipping Valley Blanco that plays homage to all the people that make it! The finish isn't long but the Spices do linger longer. ”

Jason Petrou rated 22h ago

Arriesgado Blanco

89 SCORE

“Really cool stuff from Arriesgado. This is made in somewhat of an ancestral style. It has subtle hints of smoke. It’s vegetal/green with plenty of cooked agave. Nice minerality to it which I like. Pretty complex and has some Mezcal characteristics to it. I like it!”

Alexandre Pedro rated 23h ago

La Pulga Tequila Reposado

85 SCORE

“Patient on the nose, clean on the palate, honest all the way through. Nose: Opens with an inviting warm honey and cinnamon. The oak sits behind adding structure without grabbing attention. White pepper comes through with that softer, more aromatic tingle with less aggressive, almost floral at the edges. The wet stone and minerals ground the sweetness. Then you rest the glass and come back finding there's vanilla waiting for you. It doesn't announce itself immediately; it earns its place. Palate: The transition from nose to palate is one of the more interesting things about this pour. The warm sweetness of the nose steps back and something cleaner takes over. Soft cooked agave is the anchor. Feeling warm, earthy and genuinely present. Black pepper arrives with a little more assertiveness than the white pepper on the nose suggested, giving the palate some backbone. Then the mineral water note runs underneath all of it. Tasting clean, almost saline, like a quiet thread keeping the whole thing grounded and refreshing rather than heavy. Finish: Consistent with the rest of the pour. Composed and clean rather than dramatic. It closes at a comfortable pace without abruptness. Nothing lingers aggressively but nothing cuts out too early either. Overall: La Pulga has a genuine identity. The white pepper nose, the vanilla reveal on the second sniff, the mineral water thread through the palate. The agave never gets buried, the barrel never overcooks it, and the whole thing holds together with quiet confidence. ”

Barrett Kelly rated 1d ago

Fortaleza Añejo

90 SCORE

“No longer a value. $130 at the distillery ”

Barrett Kelly rated 1d ago

Los Abuelos Añejo

90 SCORE

“$130 at the distillery. Not a value pour ”