REVIEW – Patrón Reposado Tequila – Agave Spirits+ Journey

NOM 1492 – Patrón (Patron) reposado doesn’t coat the sides of the glass for very long after a swirl. It is a very light yellow. Before tasting after the initial pour, I let it aerate for 10-15 minutes.

On the nose there are aromas of cooked agave, quite strong vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch (like a caramel or butterscotch candy), a very light hint of pepper, honey, light citrus and hints of fruitiness (light), and a hint of a melting butter aroma with some oak influence. The aromas are very nice and better than the flavors.

On the palate, there is a quick sweetness and vestiges of vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch that made their appearance on the nose (but they are initially hard to discern over the alcohol; this changed on subsequent pours). On the first pour there was a very strong hit of alcohol. The sweetness lingered on the palate despite the alcohol and the pepperiness with oak tannins and anise-like bitterness on the swallow. The finish was very short with that bitterness on the back palate lasting the longest. Though hot on the sip, the heat didn’t remain long in the throat and chest on the swallow, unlike, for example the heat of Codigo 1530 Blanco.

On subsequent pours after further opening up, the aromas remained the same and continue to be very pleasant. There was more change on the palate with the sweetness, pepperiness/alcohol heat, oak tannin/anise bitterness coexisting and melding much more harmoniously than they did in the initial new pour. Patrón Reposado has become a notably more pleasant sipper as it continues to open up. The finish remains rather short with much less/shorter bitterness than it had on the neck pour.

UPDATE (20 OCT 2024):

For the last tasting session, I finished the reposado mini bottle. I used a Riedel tequila flute glass and allowed the tequila to rest for 15-20 minutes.

On the nose, the alcohol remained quite strong even after the bottle’s been opened for over one month. The aroma profile was still quite subtle & light. There were light hints of cooked agave and baking spices, caramel & butterscotch (like a caramel candy chew), a citrusy fruitiness, butter, honey, & light pepper.

On the palate, there was an initial sweetness of cooked agave/baking spices and citrusy fruity sweetness followed by a hit of pepper and an anise/oak tannin bitterness. The mouthfeel remained buttery/oily/creamy, though the finish was still short. The hit of alcohol and pepper at the end of a sip remained pretty strong, not mellowing much with age (since the bottle was opened). The flavor profile remained more balanced than on the initial tasting. The flavor profile also remained quite light, likely because of the carbon filtration, though the flavors are not unpleasant and still seemed to improve the longer the reposado aerated in the glass.

Patrón reposado is not an unpleasant tequila, despite it being lighter on flavor than other reposados around the same price point. The price remains the main hurdle for me with Patrón, just like with the Silver (blanco/plata), though I liked the latter much less in terms of its flavor profile. At $50-55 pre-tax for a 750 ml bottle of Patrón Reposado, it is just harder to pull the trigger and buy a bottle because it is just not as flavorful as other reposado options around the same price point in my area, such as the Tequila Ocho’s reposado expressions. For about $10-15 more, I could also get El Tesoro Reposado, which is a favorite of mine. For $8-15 less, I could buy two other more flavorful options in Siempre’s NOM 1414 reposado ($41.99) or El Tequileño’s Reposado Gran Reserva ($52.99).

BLUF, I’m still undecided if I’ll take advantage of an ongoing sale this month on a Private Barrel Select version of Patrón Reposado for $54.99 instead of the usual $59.99. There are aspects of the reposado’s flavor profile that I like, but it remains a bit underwhelming for the price point.