Herradura Blanco Tequila

Probably my favorite tequila distillery, this seemingly new product is what most other distilleries end up releasing first, whereas the classic Herradurra silver that's slightly aged is tough to find competition in. The real fun here is finding a tequila that is literally anything other than 80 proof, and even though 6% more isn't all that different, I'm hoping it's the bare minimum to be detectable on the palate. Honestly the strangest part is the bottle itself with it's list of oddities: somehow missing 50ml, being perhaps the only 700ml liquor bottle I've ever seen, not to mention that, despite the clear polish in design, art, embossed glass, and the added box packaging, this is also equipped with an explosive anti-tamper ring seal, twist-off cap, and ugly aerator in the neck. The nose is fairly aggressive with the ethanol vapor as well as an unrefined cleaning solution, but there's enough agave and a bright vegetal base that keeps it from being too off-putting. Digging a little deeper with repeat smelling, there's just a touch of cocoa as well as some florality amongst the strong overall tone. The flavor really starts off sharp, with an almost pinching hit of ethanol on the tongue that isn't related to spice or peppercorns that's usual for unaged tequila. There really aren't any notable tastes up front except for very aggressive and tough raw agave, and although the proof isn't high enough that you'd be able to tell without reading it on the bottle first, it makes it hard to focus on any softer notes until long after it begins to fade. Speaking of, the finish has very basic notes of what was on the nose (cocoa, florality, vegetality), but is too bland overall, and makes for a fairly unenjoyable neat experience. Although I'm not disappointed for supporting the Herradurra line in any way, this is easily my least favorite expression from them, and it's not even close. Those 45 days that the silver variant spends in the barrels originally seemed really pointless, but now I can see that it certainly contributed enough to distinguish it from what feels like a half-ready, half-top-shelf, questionable volume of a bottle.