At the end of May, I traveled with some of my now former AY26 graduate students on an optional 2-day staff ride trip to Gettysburg. On the evening of the first day after a full schedule traveling across the battlefield and listening to one of my faculty colleagues, a subject matter expert on the U.S. Civil War, discuss in detail the tactical and strategic aspects of events, a group of the students and I shared spirits, cigars, and great conversation. I brought a number of bottles to share including this newly opened bottle of Fortaleza Añejo Tequila, lote (batch) 76-A. It was a hit with the group.
Produced by distillery La Fortaleza/Los Abuelos (NOM 1493) in Tequila, Jalisco, Fortaleza is made by fifth generation master distiller Guillermo Erickson Sauza. The tequila is made using Blue Weber agaves at least 8-years-old grown in the Jalisco Valley cooked in brick ovens (hornos) for 36 hours, aguamiel (sugar) extraction using a mechanical tahona stone wheel, open-air fermentation in wooden tanks for four days using a family yeast strain, 2x-distillation in small copper pot stills to 46% ABV (92 proof) proofed down to 80 using natural spring water, and aging for 18-24 months in American White Oak ex-bourbon barrels that have been shaved and re-charred.
A medium-dark amber gold in the glass, this añejo has medium-short viscosity in the glass and moderate creaminess on the palate. Earthy aromas of cooked agave, dried berries and raisins, freeze dried pineapple, creamy caramel and light butterscotch, light vanilla, light cinnamon and nutmeg, toasted nuts, dried orange peel, melting butter, and floral and herbal notes waft out of the glass. On the palate the flavors mirror the aromas with the addition of robust toasted oak reminiscent of the aromas on a toasted barrel-finished bourbon, hints of bittersweet dark chocolate, honeyed dried fruits, black pepper, allspice, cloves, cardamom, black pepper, and anise bitterness. The overall flavor profile is defined y robust baking spices, toasted oak, black pepper, cooked agave and bittersweet dark chocolate. The finish is moderately long at 8-10 seconds.
Fortaleza Añejo is undoubtedly a treat, well-made in terms of its processes and delicious on the palate. It’s unfortunate that it has become so difficult to find most places and usually is priced at varying degrees of ridiculous secondary prices. It’s well worth a buy if you can find it for a reasonable price which, in my view, is below $125.
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