Don Julio Añejo Tequila

My mission to expand my palate and truly appreciate some good sipping tequilas has driven me to compare community scores with availability in my local area and I was surprised to see a brand I actually recognize score so high. Odd as that may seem, I know as much about Tequila as an average potato. So if I recognize a brand, I assume it to be rather mainstream. That said, it is WAY too early in my tequila game to be brand snobbing anything, so here goes: The nose on this Anejo rides heavily on grassy agave. Although I initially hated that smell, I'm starting to come around. Dig a little deeper and you'll get a sweet creamy vanilla and caramel swirl and some chocolate covered orange candies ( don't laugh it's a real thing. I had it once and don't recall what country its from ). On the taste, there is quite a bit of sweet up front. Chocolate covered caramels with the softest touch start off the first taste. But be forewarned - about 95% of the taste and finish aren't this sweet so after each successive sip, these softer notes fade away. Grassy agave makes its presence known throughout the taste and as it goes down, spice opens from the center of your tongue outward. Prickly sweet cinnamon with some underlying citrus pith brings a tannic and zesty quality about the taste. The finish assertively hangs on to the spice and tannins. It's odd to call it oaky, because the overall tasting experience is so much brighter than most whiskies but all I can really compare this to is tannic oak, cinnamon and once again - that herbaceous, grassy agave flavor. Like I mentioned before, that agave flavor is not my absolute favorite and for an Anejo, I was really hoping for a sipping experience with more sweetness and complexity. This actually reminds me more of Reposados I've been given than an Anejo. It's good but... not my favorite.

So I'm thinking a bottle of 1942 would be a good way to go, but finding one and then shelling out 200$ for it is chore enough, but WAIT maybe Don Julio Anejo might be a close second to the pricey and somewhat rarer top top shelf Don Julio. The nose on this is dark, only moderately sweet, candy cinnamon, nearly a burnt quality of cinnamon bark, this is by far the forward and overwhelming note. Perhaps some vegetal even some savory mezcal and fruit sugar notes underneath trying to peak through all that hot cinnamon. The front keeps true to that cinnamon motif, there is some slight hints of vanilla and sugars, it's amazingly light and low in ethyl tones, not much else develops it's just more mild warm cinnamon sweetness as it fades to finish. The cleaness is impressive as it's completely free of any real chemical or artificial type tastes, smoothness comes to mind as a descriptor. What you get out of Don Julio Anejo is largely dependent on your penchant for that big cinnamon note that is prevalent from start to finish. Again it isn't overly sweet, and not cloying, in fact more of a dark, baking cinnamon note is what really lies beneath. All and all this isn't a bad Anejo at all, but you find more complex Anejo's in Casamigo's, Expresiones del Corazón, and Adictivo. Don Julio Anejo winds up being a tequila I would drink, just not one I would go out of my way for. Cheers!

Nose- fruit forward nose with vanilla and a dusting of powdered sugar. There are some sweet agave nectar notes but nothing too sweet or cloying. In the background is a hint of black pepper. Just enough to keepnthis from becoming to much of a dessert. Palate- coating and viscous. Absolutely no burn on the entry. There are some caramel notes that make themselves apparent, vanilla bean, and custard. The background reminds me of bourbon as I quickly pick nutmeg as a barrel spuce. Really nice sip that makes you want to take another Finish- finish is medium, and very smooth without burn. It reveals a little bit of wood shop on the finish, but nothing where I would regard it as a flaw, just maybe a weakness if anything. Some may actually prefer the tad bit of drying wood. I could give or take Overall- This is one of my favorite sipping tequilas to date. It plays well for a bourbon drinker in that it has many of those same notes- vanilla, caramel, barrel spice like nutmeg. It is sweeter but not cloying or artificial. When other anejo tequilas are now commanding prices in excess of $100 this does the trick at about half of that. I would hate to say it is a "bang for the buck" bottle, as there is quality of craftsmanship in every sip. I will say though you absolutely get your money's worth.

This is rich with some nice cinnamon spice, toffee, dark chocolate, peppermint, anise, and vanilla. It has more richness but less complexity than the reposado. I like it less. There's a surprising amount of mint up front. The flavor is mellower than that of the Reposado, almost to the point of being bland. There's some more richness to the caramel and the mouthfeel is oilier, but it isn't sweeter. Fruit comes out with some varied tropical elements of pineapple and papaya mixed together. There is some nice chocolate richness hanging out in the background, but I'd like to to be stronger. Overall, my gripe with this tequila is that it is too mild, much like an American Single Malt. It's smooth and an easy sipper with relatively little spice. The mint doesn't keep kicking you either. That said, you really need to get into it to enjoy the complexities and that is just deeper than most people will want to go. I like the richness and sweet undertones, but this drink really needs to be fuller. The finish is quite nice though, emphasizing a richer version of that Don Julio flavor. This is a nice sipper, but it could really use some more presence. Ultimately, the flavors here play better together than those of the Reposado do, but I'm not convinced that this is necessarily a better package as a whole.

I'm currently watching the Sergio Leone classic "Duck you Sucker" which is basically about an Irish Terrorist and Mexican Gangster that blow a bunch of stuff up with dynamite. Seemed like a good time to pull something Irish and something Mexican out of the old collection for a taste. Green Spot and Don Julio Anejo it is. I think I read somewhere that people are trying to sue Don Julio for false advertising about the juice not being 100% agave? Say it ain't so ese! Although to be fair, if it tastes good, does it actually matter? Nose: The sweet agave is front and center, so if this isn't 100%, the blender is one hell of a maestro. Vanilla, caramel and bit of blood orange. Palate: Smooth as the polished hood of a cholo's lowrider. Vanilla, citrus peel, coriander, white pepper and agave. Finish: Dry, earthy and herbal. Finishes with a bit of bitter dark chocolate. Whatever the Don is doing, it's working for me. Put whatever the hell you want in this, just don't change the recipe.

Nose - agave, prickly pear, bamboo, green spicy wood, buttery lemon, tomato, lime, apple, grass, honey, vanilla, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - bright agave, green wood, black pepper, mint, vanilla, butterscotch, toffee, floral spice, marshmallow, caramel, sweet tobacco, clove, cinnamon, wisp of smoke, mild alcohol bite, finishing fast with fading pepper and green flavors. This is my first tequila review, after focusing exclusively on whiskey. My prior experience with tequila was rail shots with salt and lime, so I never really gave myself a chance to enjoy quality ones. I find the Don Julio to be pretty good and believe that it stands up against many of the whiskies I’ve reviewed. Looking forward to experiencing more of them.