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canyonwalkerLast night I was inspired after having dinner out with Hawk at an old-favorite Mexican restaurant, where Arturito has been mixing margaritas for longer than the 28 years we've been customers, to keep the party going once I got home. I didn't feel like mixing margaritas just to have one drink, though, so instead I decided to enjoy some tequila straight. But which tequila? It turns out I have at least 8 different bottles in my cabinet. That can only mean one thing.... Time for a tequila taste test!
To keep it simple I limited my taste test to 3 tequilas, all reposados. Tequilas are categorized by how long they've been aged in oak casks. The youngest, blanco, are aged from not at all up to 2 months. Reposado, which in Spanish literally means "rested", is aged from 2 months up to 1 year. Añejo is aged 1-3 years. I chose reposado because it's generally at the lower end of what's enjoyable to drink straight. Plus, I have a lot of reposados. And within that age category I chose 3 of my cheaper examples. ...Well, two cheaper examples and one mid-priced one. I wanted to see if the slightly more expensive bottle is worth it.
The three tequilas I put head-to-head are Tres Agaves, Espolón, and Casamigos. Note, none of these are actually cheap tequilas. There is no cheap tequila in my house. There's not even any Jose Cuervo, which is only "tequila" by the barest technical definition (51% distilled from blue agave) anyway.
Based on this tasting Casamigos was the one I poured a full shot of to drink. ...Wait, how could you drink 4 shots? you might wonder. Isn't it... One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor?
The reason it's not is that I didn't pour full shots for tasting. I poured short pours. Those shot glasses in the pic above that look empty? They're not empty. Those are the tastings I poured! They're about 10ml each. That's how I can get through a tasting of half a dozen or more liquors. People who come to my parties and scoff at those of us drinking in the kitchen think we're all drunkards because we're tasting, like, 6 or 8 bottles. This is how I help my guests have a great time while staying sober enough to drive home afterward.
And because I'm not driving home— the #2 benefit of drinking at home instead of at restaurants and bars— I enjoyed another full shot after drinking the last shot from that now-empty Casamigos bottle. For my night cap I went up another level to añejo and enjoyed a drink of Espolón añejo. I'll have to do a taste comparison with that another time.
To keep it simple I limited my taste test to 3 tequilas, all reposados. Tequilas are categorized by how long they've been aged in oak casks. The youngest, blanco, are aged from not at all up to 2 months. Reposado, which in Spanish literally means "rested", is aged from 2 months up to 1 year. Añejo is aged 1-3 years. I chose reposado because it's generally at the lower end of what's enjoyable to drink straight. Plus, I have a lot of reposados. And within that age category I chose 3 of my cheaper examples. ...Well, two cheaper examples and one mid-priced one. I wanted to see if the slightly more expensive bottle is worth it.
The three tequilas I put head-to-head are Tres Agaves, Espolón, and Casamigos. Note, none of these are actually cheap tequilas. There is no cheap tequila in my house. There's not even any Jose Cuervo, which is only "tequila" by the barest technical definition (51% distilled from blue agave) anyway.
- Tres Amigos is the slightly more aged version of Tres Amigos blanco I like as a basic tequila for mixing margaritas. The blanco is actually good enough to sip straight. The reposado tastes not much different from it. Yes, it's got some ageing, so it blends in some of the caramel, vanilla, and spice flavors absorbed from the oak; but these are very light compared to the other reposados here. Instead it's got more of the pure taste of its agave. Probably this one is aged toward the younger end of the 2-12 months range.
- Espolón is a good middle-shelf tequila reposado. It's got a bit more of the aged flavors than Tres Amigos but they're still not overpowering. The pure flavor of the agave shines through. Probably it's given just a bit longer in the oak casks. While both this and the Tres Amigos are okay for sipping straight they're not quite to the level that I would say enjoyable sipping straight.
- Casamigos is a brand launched by actor George Clooney. Some people snivel that it's priced and bought all because of his star power rather than on its own merits. But here the Casamigos reposado was a clearly richer tequila than the two I tasted it against. The flavors of vanilla and caramel come through in genuinely warm fashion, contrasting nicely with the sharp flavor of the agave which is pleasantly softened here. Years ago I briefly made Casamigos Añejo my call drink at bars when I wanted to treat myself. Then I bought a three-pack of Casamigos tequilas to try the different age expressions and found I enjoyed the reposado, which is typically a bit cheaper, as much as the añejo.
Based on this tasting Casamigos was the one I poured a full shot of to drink. ...Wait, how could you drink 4 shots? you might wonder. Isn't it... One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor?
The reason it's not is that I didn't pour full shots for tasting. I poured short pours. Those shot glasses in the pic above that look empty? They're not empty. Those are the tastings I poured! They're about 10ml each. That's how I can get through a tasting of half a dozen or more liquors. People who come to my parties and scoff at those of us drinking in the kitchen think we're all drunkards because we're tasting, like, 6 or 8 bottles. This is how I help my guests have a great time while staying sober enough to drive home afterward.
And because I'm not driving home— the #2 benefit of drinking at home instead of at restaurants and bars— I enjoyed another full shot after drinking the last shot from that now-empty Casamigos bottle. For my night cap I went up another level to añejo and enjoyed a drink of Espolón añejo. I'll have to do a taste comparison with that another time.
