By
George Brozowski
In
my highly opinionated opinion Tequila should either
be sipped or slammed but never, ever mixed with some high
fructose fruity mixed mess. I just really love the taste of
agave and I want to taste it in every mouthful. The best example
of sipped or slammed I have relates to Super Bowl XLVIII in
which the Seahawks mutilated the Broncos. If you were a Seahawks
fan you could have poured yourself a snifter of tequila and
savored it slowly while enjoying the game and the high score
and ultimately the lopsided victory. On the other hand, if
you were a Broncos fan you could have slammed a shot of tequila
after every Seahawk score, and that slamming could have started
virtually a few seconds into the game when Seattle first scored
and proceeded until the end of the game when the final score
was 43-8. Those slammers would not have just eased the pain
of the loss but might have made you forget you even watched
the game, either way a totally therapeutic result.
The
El Jimador Blanco is an un-aged silver tequila while the Herradura
Reposado is a golden colored, aged tequila that has rested
in oak barrels for 11 months. I must again express my prejudice
here as I actually prefer a good silver tequila over an aged
tequila. Yeah, I know that's ass backwards since the aged
tequilas are smoother, more complex, richer in aromas and
deeper in taste and way more expensive but all that complexity
makes them start to taste similar to bourbons and cognacs
and even scotches and I like the straight up taste of agave
and I get the biggest taste profile of agave from the silver
tequilas and that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
The
boys and girls down at El Jimador sent me
one hell of a presentation case with their Blanco.
It weighed as much as a titanium brief case and was about
the same size but it was a pale blue. Inside there was a USB
drive with printed information and to top that off there was
an electronic presentation folder that when opened played
a video. That's one whole bunch of electronics for a tequila
touted as "hand harvested" but it was all sure mighty
impressive. El Jimador Tequila Blanco looks like pure clean
water as it sits in its newly designed bottle with its newly
formulated label, mighty impressive for a $20.00 bottle of
tequila. The nose is mild with agave, a touch of vanilla and
just a hint of alcohol. On the palate the agave takes several
steps forward and really shines.
That
is followed by a vegetative after taste and that hint of vanilla.
It has a medium body, and is smooth on the palate. The finish
is medium in length and also smooth leaving a clean taste
of agave in the mouth as well as a trace of tingle. At this
price point this is an excellent blanco tequila and perfect
for either sipping or slamming. On the rocks the agave taste
steps back considerably and the entire taste profile becomes
quite laid back. I do believe I prefer it straight up.
The
Herradura Reposado is a pale golden color
and comes in a bottle with a lucky horseshoe for a label that
lets you know they have been distilling this stuff since 1870!
The nose is very, very subtle with just a hint of agave, a
hint of oak and a hint of age. Just 11 months in the barrel
has mellowed this tequila quite a bit while giving it some
interesting depth. On the palate the complexity of tastes
presents itself in a bourbon like back and a hint of agave
in the front with oak somewhere in the middle, it's complex
but not complicated, it has depth without being too deep.
The finish is short and smooth leaving just a hint of agave
on the palate. This is a very nice mid-priced ($40.00/750ML)
aged tequila that should be sipped and savored and never slammed.
On the rocks the agave somehow actually comes forward and
more in focus giving it a bit more of a distinctive taste,
go figure, but go enjoy.
For
more Rants & Raves click
here.
http://www.eljimador.com/
http://www.herradura.com/