Olmeca Altos Plata Tequila

Rating: 12/23 N: Nice savory herbal and vegetal notes. Spice (white pepper) with some musty cardboard coming out. A little mint. Faint orange rind. It has a bit of earthiness and faint smokiness in with that cooked agave savoriness. A meatiness really starts coming out as I let the glass sip and I'm not sure if that's going to be cooked agave or poor quality distillate. On to the palate to find out. P: Not quite what I was expecting. It's smooth and kind of watery at first until some peppery harshness kicks in. It plays up the musty cardboard big time. There's also fresh ginger. I get some fruitiness, but it isn't big, bold, tropical flavors. Maybe a bit of banana and apple. Vague herbal and vegetal notes form a base, but they don't make it particularly rich or interesting. There's kind of a bitterness that could be lime rind. Some minerality that has some faint brine to it. I'm kind of underwhelmed by this palate. I feel like there should be more going on and the taste should be more substantial. It's a bit muddled, a tad sulfuric, and a little harsh. It would be fine in a cocktail, but I don't think I'd sip this neat. F: musty cardboard, vague herbal and vegetal notes. A bit of minerality, but it isn't a super light and thin finish. - Conclusion - Próspero Blanco strikes me as better than this initially. They have similar flaws, but Próspero has less emphasis on them and some nice tropical fruit flavors to balance it out. Except that the alcohol is much more apparent in the Próspero. I'm quite confident that Tapatio Blanco and Partida Blanco are better than this though. So for scoring, this looks like it's landing in the 11 to 14 range. I'm thinking a 12 is most likely. Thanks @ctbeck11 for the sample :)

Enjoying neat, freshly opened bottle. The nose is bright and crisp. Some citrus, mineral, touch of agave and pepper. Also, on a fresh bottle, a significant herbal note of bitter tarragon that could be a little polarizing (I personally enjoyed it), but it fades after some air time. The alcohol presents itself as more of a slight minty sensation rather than any type of burn. Tasting is remarkably smooth..as in no burn at all. Flavor wise, it starts with a mild agave and white sugar..a nice general fruity, floral, citrus, herbal (tarragon?) that's almost gin like without the juniper. The finish is sweet black pepper. There's an overall mineral quality, but not particularly salty, that really gives this a softness in mouthfeel and tames the bite Overall, soft, smooth, balanced, delicate flavors on the bright end.. I could put this bottle on some ice and sip by the pool all day. The flavors would get lost in a mixed drink, but it would be very smooth. Definite bonus for value, as I prefer this to several other blancos that cost at least double

Nose - stewed agave, black and white pepper, minerality, clove, oily sautéed vegetables, vegetal earthiness, nutmeg, mild briny smoke, mint, grassiness, lemon lime citrus, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - sweet cooked agave, ginger, creamy vanilla, black pepper, citrus zest, rocky minerality, mint, nutmeg, clove, savory brine, fresh cut grass, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with vegetal, cooked agave, and ginger citrus flavors. This is a really nice one, and an amazing value. It’s almost half the price of Patron Silver and I find the nose and palate to be richer and more interesting. I think this is slightly better than the Olmeca Altos Reposado. It is a mainstay on my bar and has become the house tequila for cocktails, although it’s not at all a disappointing sipper, just not quite as full and complex as some of the hallowed expressions from NOM 1579 and 1139 to name a few.

There is a lot going on with this tequila and not all of it is good. Overall, it's fairly sweet followed by a sharp hit of alcohol that rounds quickly towards the end accompanied by peppery notes throughout. I read that some of the people working on this were from Kentucky. This makes sense because there is some whiskey quality floating about. There seems like a lot of talent went into this. This spirit does not taste like a bottom shelf bottle for sure. There is some depth here for sure. I think in the right niche cocktail, this liquor could shine. This tequila gets 2 stars overall. It is a nice attempt, but I think it misses the mark. I believe there is better tequila to be had at this price point. As a side note, the bottle is very nice, but the topper at first glance appears to be a cork and is really a screw top. This feels a bit cheap.

Earthy, Herbal and Fruity: This tequila tastes and smells deeply earthy at first. It tastes like the agave plant and the ground it came from, its super deep and dark, I don't really enjoy it. On the second sip, that goes away, and all I can taste is the aftertaste I get from orange juice. I don't like the clash of those two flavors, at first I taste the earthy darkness, but then I get overtaken by that orange juice taste, very weird mix. This tequila is okay for the price, its got some unique stuff going on. In a margarita it tastes like I mixed orange juice in there because of that tates I was talking about earlier

Great quality and price for a blue agave. Earthy agave, then a clean grassy, citrus, and mineral taste. Medium-coating mouthfeel. A little saline/mineral bitterness in the finish. Not a true sipping tequila (although you can). This is a great mixer and daily choice for cocktails. Hard to beat, especially at this price point.