Fortaleza Blanco (Still Strength)

96 SCORE

“More fruity and briney than the other lotes I’ve tried and a touch sweeter. It’s more balanced with a bit more brightness that really makes it fantastic. Just when I thought SS couldn’t get any better. Absolutely fantastic.”

Purasangre Reposado

88 SCORE

“Pure and full agave flavor. Very easy to drink and has everything I look for in a good repo. I like it just as much as the anejo. ”

Fuenteseca Cosecha 2018 - "Las Antenas"

80 SCORE

“Lote 009. This tastes very similar to Purasangre Fuerte Blanco. It’s definitely more complex and less sweet/fruity, but the dominant flavors are almost identical. I don’t get nearly as much minerality, brine and olive that I was expecting. The presentation with the box and all is fantastic, but the juice inside is way too similar to Purasangre (which is only $25 per liter in my area) to be worth the $110 price that I paid. It’s definitely not bad, but for the price it’s absolutely not worth it. I’ve heard lote 008 has much more minerality and brine so I’m not ruling it out completely, but this lote isn’t anything special. ”

Pasote Blanco

91 SCORE

“Amazing agave freshness and fantastic flavor throughout. Very surprising since I don’t really like the G4 blanco. It’s very easy to drink with very minimal alcohol bite. ”

Siete Leguas Blanco

83 SCORE

“I previously bought the anejo (which I didn’t really like), but decided to get this at my local Tex-Mex place. It had a nice thick viscous mouthfeel, not too much heat (surprising since the anejo had a ton), and a great pure cooked agave taste. ”

Viva Mexico Blanco

70 SCORE

“I tried this several times over two weeks and found that it changes pretty drastically. Right out of the freshly opened bottle, it was similar to Siete Leguas blanco, but a little smoother. Now, two weeks later, it got a lot more fruity with some more anise. It has a slight maraschino cherry taste that I dislike it. To me, that’s not agave and it reminds me more of a cherry and banana liqueur. Pueblo Viejo and especially Arette Classic both have that same flavor and I hate it. If you like the two previously mentioned tequilas, you will like this.”

Fortaleza Blanco

94 SCORE

“Absolutely phenomenal blanco. It’s matches my flavor profile perfectly. Rich pure agave, rounded honey and caramel, minerals, and olive. Simply sublime.”

LALO Tequila Blanco

92 SCORE

“Lots of pure, clean, delicious agave without any off-putting or overwhelming notes. It’s very easy to drink goes down smooth. One of my new favorites.”

Siete Leguas Añejo

80 SCORE

“On the nose I get cooked agave, oak, pepper and ethanol. On the palate, it has a thin mouthfeel with a lot more alcohol bite than I was expecting. Agave is hard to detect as it’s overwhelmed by the oak and heat. Overall, probably the least interesting and least flavorful anejo I’ve had. ”

Dos Armadillos Reposado

86 SCORE

“This is a fantastic reposado that’s easy to drink. This was the first “good” tequila I’ve had and it showed me how fantastic tequila can be. It doesn’t have any unpleasant or dominating notes and is just solid. Very underrated, if you ask me.”

Fortaleza Reposado

94 SCORE

“This is the best reposado out there. Beautiful caramel and cooked agave up front with just a hint of light oak, minerals and vanilla. Nice oily mouthfeel and virtually no heat. This is what a reposado is supposed to taste like. Absolutely perfect.”

Jose Cuervo Especial Gold

10 SCORE

“This is the first tequila I ever had and it turned me off to all tequila for 12 years. It was so bad that I hated tequila with a passion after that and almost felt sick just thinking about it. Today, tequila is my favorite spirit and it’s what I drink almost exclusively. How different things would’ve been if I had Fortaleza as my introduction to tequila all those years ago… ”

Casamigos Tequila Blanco

53 SCORE

“This stuff is a waste of agave. It smells like baby wipes with a cloying sweetness that lets you know it’s loaded with additives. The aftertaste leaves a terrible bitterness on the tongue that wouldn’t let go. Shamefully bad. ”

Cascahuín Blanco

85 SCORE

“On the nose, there’s grass, minerality, and cooked agave. On the palate, there’s deep cooked agave upfront, followed by some anise and salinity, which balance out the sweetness for a pleasant dry finish. The mouthfeel is nice and thick as well. The flavor isn’t very intense and it’s more like water than a lot of other tequilas. It’s really easy to sip and is a great value for the price. ”

Olmeca Altos Plata

81 SCORE

“On the nose, I get ethanol upfront with some sharp fresh agave and some pepper. On the palate, there is a very distinct sharp ethanol/chemical taste mixed in with some faint agave and sweetness. It’s not terrible, but it’s very bright and sharp, which doesn’t make it too pleasant for sipping. On the positive side, when mixed in a Paloma or margarita, the agave comes through very well, making this a great budget mixer. For the money, I think it’s unbeatable. If you can get Cascahuin blue label for less, I’d recommend that for sure, but for $39 for 1.75L, there’s nothing better for the price in my area.”

Cimarron Reposado

58 SCORE

“It’s ok for being a column still tequila. It has cooked agave up front, some light barrel, and vanilla. There’s a distinct taste I can’t put my finger on, but it’s not particularly pleasant. It comes through clearly in mixed drinks too, which isn’t great. On the finish, it has some ethanol that bites a bit more sharply than pot still tequilas from the same NOM. If you don’t mind the flavor, it’s not a bad deal for $28 for the liter. I won’t be buying more, though. ”

Tapatio Blanco

93 SCORE

“As expected, coming from the 110, this is a lot more subtle and easier to sip. It still has that great distinct cooked agave caramel, but is more mellow. It’s a delicious sipper and a good value at $39 for a full liter. ”

El Tesoro Blanco

85 SCORE

“On the nose, I get loads of cooked agave with a distinct caramel grassiness that’s similar to Tapatio, but more intense. On the palate, it’s smooth, buttery agave with honey and caramel. Just a touch of heat at the end. Overall, it’s similar to Tapatio, but deeper/more caramel. It does have more anise/licorice as well, which translates to more bitterness, which I’m not a fan of. The buttery, caramel wears off slightly after a couple of weeks and becomes more anise/bitter.”

Cascahuín Tahona Blanco

87 SCORE

“Beautiful cooked agave on the nose, minerals, pepper, caramel. Surprisingly, the mouthfeel is quite thin (much thinner than the Cascahuin blue label), but still has a little oil to it. On the palate, it delivers a fantastic cooked agave sweetness that’s mellowed out with a short (pleasing) peppery bitterness and minerality. The finish is slightly sweet and with a light hint of agave. An absolutely wonderful blanco! It’s somewhat similar to Fortaleza, but a lot less viscosity, a little less minerals and olive, but more brightness and grass/vegetal. It’s a little pricey for what you get ($73), but very good nonetheless.”

Suerte Blanco

77 SCORE

“The nose is great, reminiscent of G4 with bright agave, pepper, licorice and some light minerality. On the palate, I didn’t get as much cooked agave as I was hoping, but it’s still pleasant. There’s a surprising amount of anise/licorice that rolls in mid-sip and overshadows other flavors. Thankfully, it’s not overly bitter and the finish is great with no unpleasant lingering flavors. The mouthfeel is nice with minimal bite. Not bad for $30.”

Volans Reposado

86 SCORE

“The nose is fantastic with bright cooked agave, light minerality, and citrus. One of my favorite noses. On the palate, it’s initially nice and bright like the nose, followed by a nice caramel. It then quickly gets unpleasantly bitter and turns to black licorice. That flavor lingers on the tongue, getting worse with each sip and won’t let go. I’d chalk it up to a bad bottle/batch, but both the G4 blanco and G4 104 have the same terrible finish for me. ”

Purasangre Añejo

88 SCORE

“1L bottle just like the Fuerte (not like the one show in the picture). Nose: cooked agave, caramel, light oak, vanilla. Palate: rich cooked agave up front, lots of sweet butterscotch, vanilla and caramel. Perfect amount of oak as it still allows the agave to shine. A delicious sipper with a great mouthfeel at a bargain price of $32. Everything I didn’t like in the Fuerte is gone in this anejo. This is very similar to the Sangre Alteña anejo, but with a tad more heat and more agave coming through. ”

Pueblo Viejo Blanco

68 SCORE

“This stuff is similar to Arette Classic with the strong flowery, maraschino cherry flavor, but a bit more subtle and more enjoyable. It has a little bit of heat, but nothing too bad. I paid $16 for a 750ml bottle, which is a great value. It’s a lot better than basically anything else you’ll find under $25, as long as you don’t mind the flowery/cherry flavor. ”

Purasangre Blanco Fuerte

90 SCORE

“Bottled in 2016 (lote number was worn off). Surprisingly smoky and peppery on the nose and palate, but enjoyable. Reasonably easy to sip given the slightly higher proof and the cooked agave does come through. If you enjoy mezcals, you’ll probably enjoy this. Oddly enough, this is the best tequila I’ve ever used to make a Paloma. I assume it’s the relatively dry, punchy agave, smoke and pepper that cut through the sweetness. I’ll buy this again just for that reason alone. Update: I just tried another bottle (bottled in 2017, lote 52). The smoke is almost undetectable in this lote and it’s much less peppery and harsh. WAY more enjoyable this time. I’m bumping up my score from 83 to 90 as it’s now much, MUCH better. At $26 for the liter, this is a steal. ”