Cazcanes Nuestras Raices Blanco (2025)

89 SCORE

“Nose: Citrus start, then roasted agave with hints of cinnamon and undertones of vegetables and honey Flavor: Fizzy Lemon-lime punch, quickly gives way to light roasted agave, but effervescence lingers Finish: ending with warm buttered toast.”

Cultura 100 Blanco High Proof

88 SCORE

“Nose: Not much there, very little agave, with hints of cinnamon and Elmers Glue. only big deficit in the pour, responsible for most points lost. Palate: Pepper up front (black pepper bite with hints of Jalapenos) that quickly yields to a roasted agave punch followed by some astringency like unripe fruit (mango?) Finish: Spices (Herb de Provence?) and lingering sweetness agave and vegetal with a hint of malolactic funk/bite.”

21 Tequila Silver

88 SCORE

“ Nose: hints of Sweet corn up front, and Ancho Chili, giving way to subtle sweet cooked agave Palate: light sweetness and a mild cooked agave and minerality. some vegetal. Finish: is really pleasant, lingering sweetness that has hints of honey and minerality. all and all, a little lacking in nose and flavor, but what was there was very pleasant, but it finished very nice. ”

Tequila Rimari Blanco

87 SCORE

“Sample sent from Matt in Agave Swappers Club. Nose: Minerality, with a hint of agave and a touch of cinnamon Palate: Mild agave with a very pleasant sweetness and peach flavor Finish: Minerality cones on and the peach morphs into a more generic stone fruit and a little more agave comes forward ”

Brahman Mex Blanco Artesanal

88 SCORE

“Nose: Cooked agave with baking spices Palate: Sweet agave with almost a candy-like flavor, with a hint of vegetal and pepper Finish: The sweetness mutes but the cooked agave persists, and more pepper cones through, with wet hay ”

Tequila Xoloitzcuintle Plata

87 SCORE

“Sample sent from Matt in Agave Swappers Club Nose: Cooked agave with slight brine and vegetal Palate: Warm cooked agave, with hints of cinnamon that quickly moves into briney vegetal Finish: Clean minerality with bouquet of vegetables and a lingering sugary sweetness.”

Fortaleza Reposado - Winter Blend 2019

90 SCORE

“Nose: Orange, citrus, and pepper predominates, with subtle cooked agave, and a little oak/barrel. Palate: Sweet cooked agave, subtle briney, and honeydew, alongside a hint of the Fortaleza green olive, leads into pepper and vegetal with less but present agave. Finish: Mostly lingering wood notes/tannins, characterized by caramel with a little char flavor. I have to give this one a decent value rating, because I only paid $25 for the pour, but at .secondary only availability, at $1300+ a bottle that might be skewed”

Tequila Ocho Añejo Old Fitzgerald Barrel Select

85 SCORE

“Nose Oak, honey and hints of pepper Initial taste Dry raw oak and mild cooked agave, gives way to greater but only Moderate agave sweetness Finish Mild to moderate tannins with light agave notes and hints of black pepper”

Manuscrito Tequila Blanco - Chapter Two

89 SCORE

“Nose: Agave punch with a lacto gunk hint. follows hard with more cooked agave, mint, minarality and citrus, with a pepper hint Palate: Roast agave sweetness, with hints of baking spices and citrus, giving way to pepper, black, but also hints of Jalapenos, all with an every so slight cheese funk. Finish: Pepper, agave and cheese funk linger, with underlying roast agave sweetness. tried to be as objective as possible, but think my score overestimated how much I really like this bottle. and "cheese funk" is really not my thing.”

Emerald Spear Blanco

84 SCORE

“Nose: Agave sweetness and vegetal, Celery, with citrus. Initial palate: Black pepper up front followed quickly by lightly cooked agave with some rawness and, and more spiciness, with just a little creamyness. Finish: Spiciness lingers, actually predominates, and some petrichor cones through, along with a tannic raw fruit lounge feel. Rating reflects value, mostly, as it was on the expensive side compared to many other far superior offerings, both from NOM 1414, and in general.”

Lágrimas del Valle Plata - 2024 La Loma

90 SCORE

“Nose: Butter cream, with whiffs of cinnamon, melon and a raw agave. Initial palate: creamy cooked agave that blankets the tongue with a rich viscous mouthfeel. Finish: Cooked agave tapers into a more raw fruit/agave finish, with a subtle astringency that builds, into a strong unripe fruit (mango?) crescendo, but not sense at all of being overproof.”

Fortaleza Blanco (Still Strength)

92 SCORE

“Lote 37 In a Glencairn: Clear. Viscous, sheets, sparse legs Nose: Creamy, cooked agave, citrus Palate: buttery mouthfeel, cooked agave with hints of baking spices and anise at the end, little burn but doesn't feel like its high proof ”

Siembra Valles High Proof Tahona Blanco

91 SCORE

“Lote/Batch 8 3rd pour from a bottle opened a week prior. Nose: Cinnamon first and foremost, with citrus, and buttery cooked agave. this one really opens up as you let it aerate. Later nose, cinnamon fades to more sweet citrus Palate: Big cooked agave punch up front, with petrichor, lime and pepper. Gives away to a mid-palate leather and unripe mango. Finish: Citrus evolves to orange with a very slight burn in the throat being the only indication at all of the 47% abv. Would be higher rated, if not for the price tag”

Cazcanes No. 10 Still Strength Blanco

85 SCORE

“In the glass: CT HP glencairn. Crystal clear, with sparse legs, mostly sheets down the glass. Nose: Moderate cooked agave, with butter and hints of toffee and mint. But you can smell the heat. Palate: Initial creamy mouthful with buttery cooked agave up front, but lacking the sweetness I'd expect to cone along. Evolves quickly into pepper and vegetal, leaning heavily into astringency, like collard or mustard greens, with a distinct minerality. Finish is citrusy and a little sweetness finally starts to creep in, but also more astringency, and kind kind of feel the proof.”

Montagave Añejo 'Exploración' Volume II

88 SCORE

“In the glass: gold to amber color. Sheets down the Reidel aged agave tulip with sparse long legs. Nose: Sweet agave and bubble gum initially, giving way to mint, cinnamon, leather and wood Tannins. First sip/initial palate: Buttery oak with agave sweetness Main taste: Raw oak with heavy FO tannins, with very mild agave Finish: Very dry wood Tannins at the back of the palate, char/caramels cones firward a little, with lingering sweetness and baking spices on the tongue. Throughout entire tasting mild alcohol burn that belies being (slightly) high proof.”

Tres Generaciones Cenobio's Batch Plata

90 SCORE

“Nose: Ripe banana, and minerality with moderate cooked agave. Palate: Initial mint and citrus, followed by a wallop of cooked agave. Finish: A hint of burn starts to come in, but not indicative the proof, more of a pepper heat, with slowly fading but present agave sweetness. Of note, the value category of this skyrockets the score, it's 10/10 due to the nearly dozen bottles I acquired for <$45”

Zumbador Tequila Blanco

89 SCORE

“Nose: Wallop of sweet cooked agave, which is then augmented with cinnamon and flowers. Palate: Moderate sweet roasted agave with heavy baking spices, and pepper, giving way to a little back palate burn, that quicly fades back into spiced agave. Finish: This is where it falls away from being a homerun for me. Those initial flavors fade away and a unripe fruit (papaya) astringency comes on, overwhelms them, but then melts back into them and almost turns pleasant again. Alltogether, This starts great for me and evolves quick, but really showcases the agave in a pleasant way and is a massive value at the price, immensely boosting it to a everyday sip at a mixer price.”

Arette Fuerte Artesanal 101 Blanco

89 SCORE

“Nose: Hay, Citrus, pepper, and light cooked agave. Palate: Undercooked agave sweetness, a raw sweet, vegetal and wet grass, which gives way to minerality and a pleasant heat mid palate. Finish: Sweetness deepens with a hint of Pinneapple, and lingering mint. This one really hits good for the price.”

El Tesoro de Don Felipe 70th Anniv

89 SCORE

“Nose: plum and oak, with hints of vanilla. Palate: Initial hit of oak and tannins, with moderate cooked agave and shoe leather following fast. Those carry on but are augmented by stone fruit flavors and spice, with an increasing sweetness. Finish: Runs out kind of fast with a slight burn, a little sweetness and a heavy dose on tannins. Found it very dusty for $199.99, so value exceeds what most anyone will get it for these days.”