Espolòn Blanco Tequila

This is the famous Blanco tequila that either everyone has overlooked or everyone has realized is merely decent. My take is that this is a really interesting drink. I normally drink scotch, so any change of pace could be interesting, but I taste green tomatoes and green figs up front. That good then gives way to bitter and watery vines to some extent, but the sweetness from the fruit never fully disappears. This is an impressive deep drink and while it is not my usual choice, it is a great success. Green tomatoes and green figs are easy to detect. There is not an overwhelming amount of spice here. It tastes like a vegetable garden with some smokey tomato mixed in to give it life. As far as tequilas go, this is not a challenging one as there is umami from the smokey tomatoes topped with plenty of sweetness in a way that is vaguely reminiscent of ketchup. Bitterness, saltiness, tartness. This has flavors across the board except for the oilyness. Like Oban 14, this is terrific in the right circumstances, but is quite sweet in the wrong ones. It's cheap tough, so it is always a good mixer. Oban 14 has some more fruit, flowers, and alcohol, which pushes it up a notch in some situations, but pushes it down in others. On balance, it's a fair match up, but Oban 14 is noticeably better. Espolon's balance is good, but the flavor is fairly subdued. Sweet, vegetal,a little smokey. It has a hint of a spicy kick to it, but not too much. It's fairly rich and tasty with adequate complexity. There is an odd cereal note in here that mixes with green figs to make a refreshing expression. It has some mineral and is a bit mild, but it's smooth and not bad. There isn't a tremendous amount of complexity here, but there are a few flavors going on. Being on the sweet side is nice, especially since it doesn't taste at all like icing sugar. There's some nice smokiness that mixes in some herbal flavors too. Cabeza is a more robust expression, but this is still pretty good. There's a lot of mineral in here and it isn't terribly strong. Really, it's quite weak and bland. There's some of that tomato flavor, but there isn't a ton else going on. El Tesoro is richer and more interesting, though it does sometimes just start to taste like bitterness. This is a fine tequila that is perfectly suited for mixing - in fact, it would make an excellent mixer - but it is too forward with the minerals to be great for sipping. There's some umami and of course it is kind of sweet and there are the usual mild floral notes mixed with herbal elements and some smoke. Ultimately, it has a lot of flavors, but they have some trouble showing themselves, so it's more of a mixer than a sipper. I appreciate the lack of bitterness on the finish, but that isn't enough to make this a nice sipper. There are more minerals than I'd like but there is some nice sweetness and fruit with some interesting tomato flavor. This finish has lots of fruit and tomato, which is pretty nice. The umami does gradually come out more and that is a huge help.

Made with 100% pure agave and that’s what you want when drinking tequila. It’s crystal clear w a lot of viscosity. There are obvious agave notes on the nose w some other fruit, like pear or melon or something and oddly, soap. Interesting! Maybe it’s my glass. I get agave on the palate also. It’s creamy w a little welcomed heat. The agave stays with you for a little while and it’s pretty damn smooth. Overall, this is a perfect value priced blanco tequila for your margaritas and palomas. And it’s great chilled for shots too. But, don’t just put the bottle in the freezer and pour it in a glass. I like to shake it up real good with ice and then strain it into a glass so it’s a little deluded and really cold. Yeah! Am I going to sip this? Probably not. For sipping, I get a smoky, aged tequila. But for shots and cocktails that call for blanco tequila, I highly recommend this bottle

At $20-25 a bottle it's pretty much impossible not to say this is a great value tequila. This works great in cocktails and is a great choice for a bars well blanco tequila. The nose is pretty simple and light with earthy notes. On the palate it's a touch watery, sweet with pepper and a bit oily. The finish kind of reminds me of a smooth vodka, with some spice and a touch of heat. I wouldnt necessarily recommend this neat but it's not terrible and for the price you can do much worse. I would probably put this in the 2.5 to 3 range neat but I bumped it up to 3.5 because of the price and its use in cocktails.

Bland, This tequila smells like tequila and not much else. When I taste it I get some cleaning product type flavors along with the agave. The drink is quite oily in a bad way too. I use this tequila to mix with, and it actually does reasonably well here. In margaritas the orange liqueur and lime shine through, and it works. it's a safe choice for margaritas, but it isn't interesting at all, and must be mixed. You can probably get better options for the same money.

I needed a cheap tequilla for mixing and this caught my eye. I never buy blanco tequilla and typically only mix with reposado but something about me caved. Pronounced aroma of smoked agave for a clear liquor. Sea salt and oak. Zero ethanol. Smokey, sweet with floral and even a slight vegetal note but again no ethanol. Wow. For the $20ish I paid I expected much less. It’s no anejo or mezcal but manages to keep smoke and agave alive and well. Deceiving.

An intense, Agave Spirit by Campari Mexico, S.A. de C.V. [NOM1440] in Jalisco (Los Altos Southern), Mexico crafted with an Autoclave. It has an aromatic birth with notes of cooked agave, earth, fruit, herbs & spices; while a harsh life adds notes of citrus, vanilla & grass; that led to an intense death of medium length with notes of pepper, cinnamon & solvent. February 2024