Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol Añejo

Rating: 13/23 E: Much (much!) lighter than Desert Door Aged. N: Interesting. This is more of mellow, light, standard tequila nose. But it smells good! I get a lot of the underlying spirit despite the substantial (2 year) age. It's sweet with some sort of rich (though not really full) caramel agave mixed with brined olives and sweet candied fruit (glace apricots, most prominently). The complexity is decent and in spite of the lightness, there is a delicate elegance that smells quite enticing. P: The palate is unfortunately not as sweet and delicious as the nose, though I do get the same flavors. What hits me first here is that the palate is lighter with a that usual sotol harsh spiciness along with bitter agave. As that starts to dissipate though, I get some light caramelized agave flavor bringing in some sweetness and then a little more richness and light, sweet apricot notes. There's a little bit of spearmint as well. It's a pretty good palate, but it doesn't strike me as anything amazing. F: The finish just kind of fades out to a greater extent than the Desert Door sotols did. The agave and apricot linger here though. The agave balances the light caramel and bitterness pretty well. The sotol's nose again deceived me and I'm left kind of disappointed by the palate and finish in comparison (though the finish does again come in to save the palate). I guess this is just how sotol is. I have to say that I kind of like this one. It's slightly interesting and has a bunch of good flavors. I'd like a lot more fullness and some more complexity, but it's a pretty decent sipper. I think I liked the aged Desert Doo'rs personality better, but this is certainly much more approachable. It actually reminds me a fair amount of Patron Anejo. It's good, but nothing amazing. I'm going to start this at a 13, but I have a bottle, so I'll rerate it later. And maybe I'll get a bottle of Desert Door Aged at some point.

Rating: 13/23 Bottle kill tasting here. This is going to be more of a rating than a tasting though. My initial thought is that I like the complexity here. There's a lot of earthy and spicy nuance. It's also really light though and there are no great flavors that grab me. I think it's competitive with Prospero Añejo (11), aside from the Prospero's weird flavor. This is more balanced. Fortaleza Blanco Still Strength (17) kicks this to the curb. Partida Añejo (15) is also substantially better than this, though it's closer than the Fortaleza is, more like the range the Prospero is in. I don't have any reason to move this from the 13 I previously had it at based on this comparison. So, a 13 again. Yeah, this seems right between the Prospero and the Partida.

Tasted this at a wonderful inner harbour restaurant in Victoria, BC that has a wide selection of Mezcal - Cafe Mexico. The price was high, up there with a good scotch at C$16 (US$12.50) for an ounce neat. I don’t know what Mezcal costs but this seems rich for a spirit aged less than 3 years. The drink is very light, almost watery which I guess is from the low abv. Sweet and very pleasant. Reminds me of a cola flavoured candy with some fruit notes. Colour is very light and I don’t get much (any?) smoke. Light spice on the finish, likely from the French oak barrel. Any downside? No, pretty good but maybe even too easy to drink. This at 46% might just be outstanding.

Barva: Vybledlé zlato Vůně: Sladká a zakulacená. Velmi karamelové, vanilka, čokoláda. Zároveň lehce nakyslé - smetana, vařená zelenina, marshmallow, lehce minerální. Chuť: Opět velmi zakulacené a krémové - karamel, čokoláda. Na pozadí náznak proslazených okurek, avokádo, nezralé mango a meruňky. Travité. Dozvuk: nezralé tropické ovoce, sladký černý čaj. Lehká kořenitost a florální tóny na závěr (s lehounkým závanem kouře). Hodnocení: Příjemně pitelné, na svůj věk nečekaně komplexní, zakulacené a šťavnaté zároveň. Cena ještě celkem rozumná - není co řešit, tohle je velmi příjemné překvapení 85/100

Very earthy nose, with caramel, wood, cola and briny notes. Earth dominated taste as well, with some pepper and wood. Seems a bit watery. Ultimately it tastes ok but it’s muted and boring.

I’m not much of a tequila guy and I heard anejo was the way to go. I’m a little disappointed though. Pretty smooth and a little Smokey. Can taste ash and botanical as well.