El Tequileño is a fantastic, widely distributed and fairly priced brand produced at distillery Jorge Salles Cuervo y Sucesores (NOM 1108) in the Tequila Valley – this blanco is my fastest bottle kill (19 days & I don’t drink every day nor drink tumblerfuls at a time). Made with Highlands (Altos) Blue Weber agave steam cooked in autoclaves, which the distillery has used since its founding in 1959, roller mill macerated to extract the aguamiel, open-air fermented in concrete vats for 48 hours near 150-year-old mango groves (fruit flies influence the fermentation), and 2x-distilled in copper pot stills, El Tequileño Platinum is bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV) using mineral-rich spring water from the Tequila Volcano – the distillery is one of only four distilleries permitted to do so. The blanco is rested 14 days in huge American White Oak vats (pipóns), mellowing some of the “sharper” blanco notes some people find challenging in blanco tequilas.
The lot under review is PLX03-090224 and was bottled on April 9, 2024. This review is based on multiple spaced out tastings using Riedel Tequila Flute and Denver & Liely Mezcal glasses.
COLOR: Crystal clear with shards of silver in the light
AROMA PROFILE: Lovely, alluring, soft aroma profile – Sweet cooked agave & baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, anise), light white & black pepper, citrusy fruit, citrus & citrus peel (lime & tropical citrus like pineapple), delicate floral notes, Honeydew Melon & light honeyed fruits, minerality, herbal/grassy/vegetal notes, & light vanilla mixed with fruit.
PALATE: Cooked agave & baking spices (anise, cinnamon, & nutmeg) followed by a hit of black pepper, minerality, vanilla, herbal/grassy/vegetal notes, citrus (lime) & citrus peel, Honeydew Melon & tropical fruits. The finish includes a bit of anise bitterness mixed with the agave, fruit, & citrus – Cooked agave/fruity, spiced, mineral-forward, & floral flavor profile – I think this would be a great blanco to introduce people who think they don’t like blanco tequilas to because it has a lighter, more mellow, & fruity profile with a kick of spice & black pepper to balance out the sweetness.
MOUTHFEEL: Medium viscosity
FINISH: 8-10 seconds
VALUE: Delicious blanco tequila – super sipper – that’s widely available and always fairly priced.
ALWAYS ON THE SHELF? Yes
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