New Bottle Highlight Series: Tequila Ocho Reposado Barrel Proof – Las Raíces (2024 field)

Produced at distillery Tequilera Los Alambiques (NOM 1474) in Arandas, Jalisco, by master distiller Carlos Camarena, Tequila Ocho Reposado Barrel Proof – Las Raíces is made from 7-10-year-old Blue Weber agave which is cooked in stone/brick ovens (hornos) for 48 hours including a 24 hour cooling down period. The aguamiel is extracted using a roller mill and fermented in open wooden tanks for 100 hours before being 2x-distilled in small copper pot stills. This barrel proof reposado is aged 3x longer (6 months) than the 8 weeks and 8 days the regular reposado releases are aged. It is bottled at 101 proof (50.5% ABV).

Light straw yellow like the regular reposado, this barrel proof is from Lote #RLA-044-BP and was bottled on 15 May 2025.

The Las Raíces (The Roots) agave field is located less than 8km from the distillery on a gentle hillside at 7.145 feet above sea level. There are groves of ash, oak, & poplar trees dividing the field into two parts. The soil is red clay typical in Los Altos with high levels of iron & potassium. Agave has only been planted here 2x in the past quarter century. The harvest was approx. 142,000 fully mature agave plants in 2024 (3,500 tons) with an average per piña weight of 55 pounds with a high 32% brix level per plant.

Beautifully viscous in the glass, Tequila Ocho Reposado Barrel Proof – Las Raíces has aromas and flavors of sweet cooked agave and baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, light cloves), chocolate, caramel, vanilla, fresh herbs (rosemary), sweet tobacco leaf, black pepper, orange peel, some fruit notes, and light oak/barrel notes. There is a kick of black pepper, and some oak tannins and barrel char on the finish.