Mezcals and Tequila!

How is there not a tequila thread? Anyway, here's a couple bottles I inherited from someone.



901 is a tequila by Sauza with branding from Justin Timberlake. Despite wording like "100% agave" and "triple distilled", this is a harsh tequila. Almost vodka-like. It's not even good in a margarita. I CANNOT recommend!

The Campo Azul however is very good. I've only had it neat and I sensed no harsh taste and a nice agave flavor. Recommended

Other tequilas I like

-Cazadores white
-Cabo Wabo Resposado
-1800 Silver

What do you like? Got some good cocktails?

 

I like tequila, but it don't like me, lol. On any other alcohol, I'm a fun-loving peaceful drinker. On tequila I want to fight everybody. I don't know why, it's just always been that way. When I do risk it, I like Don Julio Blanco neat or in a Tequila Sunrise (tequila, OJ, and grenadine).

 

I can relate to that. Not so much the fighting, but in my younger years overindulgence with Tequila came too quickly and strange things usually followed. I never had this problem with other forms of hard liquor. It wasn't that every time I drank Tequila I did really crazy stupid stuff, but if I woke up in the morning recalling an evening of really crazy stupid stuff, I had always been drinking Tequila. I'm going to throw it's close cousin, Mezcal into this category also. The cheap Mezcal that buddies brought back from Mexico had a really trippy, drunk effect. It was the mushrooms of the Tequila family. If I'm not careful, I could fill this thread with "stupid shit I did on Tequila" stories.

If I drink Tequila nowadays, I usually throw a shot into a large glass of crushed ice on a hot day out on the patio. I wait until there is significant meltage of ice before I imbibe so it's more like Tequila flavored ice water. And it's usually just run of the mill Cuervo, or whatever we have left over after my wife decides to make Margaritas.

 

Don Julio Reposado for me. Bourbon's my fightin' liquor, so I get what you mean. It just makes me mean.

I was working with a guy once who had a ranch on the Mexican border and he brought over some of the good stuff that apparently doesn't get exported. That was as good as any fine whisky. No idea what it was, but it was way better than anything I;ve ever bought in a store.

 

I always hated tequila. Someone here told me if I get 100% blue agave tequila it was better. Bought some of that, and it's still pretty bad. Weird taste, I both like it and hate it at the same time. I guess better than the other tequila I just hated.

 

Mass-market tequilas are for frat pussies, you should get acquainted with the broader scope of artisanal mezcals.
This is a good place to start.

Currently enjoying a 120-proof 'punta' made from 'Tobasiche' (Karwinskii varietal) agave in Oaxaca.

 

I'm a long-time mezcal aficionado, and I recently learned that tequila is, in fact, a type of mezcal, and not the other-way-round as I'd previously believed.

This is an interesting thread to me, because I've always felt subjectively that the euphoria caused by good-quality mezcal\tequila feels different than that of beer or grain-based alcohols. IMO, it feels a bit more 'up', makes me more gregarious and social. Not a huge difference, but I think I feel it.

I just finished a nice bottle of Los Danceras, was very happy with it, now sipping my way through a Montelobos limited edition. I drink it neat, sip it like scotch.

 

Not necessarily good value, but very, very good.

 

Some mezcals do seem to impart a certain 'high', which for me is part of the allure. They are to be sipped with consideration, mezcal shots = stupid for many reasons. These plants have to age for 10-30 years for the profile to develop fully, the spirit is a very complex beast worthy of respect and contemplative tasting.

BTW, I think you meant Los Danzantes

 

I heard that ritual of shooting tequila with lime and salt was because of the low quality tequila flooding the USA in the 60s/70s. The only way to consume it was to drink fast and chase it with lime. It's never something I thought was necessary, i only did because it was fun. But never with good tequila.

 

That's believable, also, most spirits mellow with age; a very recently distilled mezcal can have a strong ethanol kick, even those of good quality. In such cases, leaving the bottle to rest for a few weeks / months in the cellar makes a difference.

 

Good tequila should be sipped from a small snifter, like a good single malt scotch, imo.

 

BTW, as tasty as some tequilas are, the Tequilana agave is one of the mutest-flavored varietals (that's why the barrel-aged varieties are so popular).

 

I do like some good tequila myself as well. My favorite isn’t quite tequila but it is a liquor made from Agave, it’s the Il Kêyóte from Cannon Beach Distillery in Cannon Beach Oregon. Everything they make is incredible, but this is the best thing they make. If you’re ever in Oregon or passing through I’d highly recommend either going there or at least grabbing a bottle

 

Quite right, that will teach me to 'get my forum on' with a mezcal in hand. Good catch.

Just a bit of further trivia....tequila is similar to champagne in that it is a type of mezcal that can only be called tequila if it comes from a very specific region of Mexico. https://acapulcos.net/mezcal-versus-tequila-whats-the-difference/

 

Location alert set

 

My wife gets a bit wild when she drinks tequila, we never run out.

My favorite is El Tesoro Paradisio. Aged for 5 years in French cognac barrels, it's a bit pricey; but very tasty.