Tequila El Mayor Añejo

Rating: 14/23 I recall this being a fairly mild anejo, but a SBS nosing with El Padrino Anejo revealed this to be the fuller and more complex of the two. I'm feeling good about this tasting, so let's see. N: I get wood, but not a super rich scent. There are some stewed agave notes, which bring in some astringency and a little herbaceousness (so, lime). There are some peppery notes with a bit of cinnamon and some butterscotch. Not a super complex nose, but a more present one than in El Padrino Anejo. There are some more subtle hints of tropic fruit under the surface, but they're hard to pick out. P: The palate is richer than the nose with more wood tannins leading into more pepper, some toffee, and agave. The white pepper lasts, bringing in more of that herbal element and leading into a bit of lime. The complexity isn't very exciting, but the profile is solid and fairly well balanced. It's not as in balance as Partida Blanco and it's still fairly mild, but it's a good anejo for the price. F: The finish isn't super long, but it maintains the wood and agave. The lightness is further emphasized here, suggesting a slightly mild spirit (perhaps in the ballpark of Espolon) that was aged on the short side. All in all, a solid mixture of tequila and wood aging. It seems like a mediocre tequila aged in a mediocre fashion, but the result is probably a bit of an improvement. The blanco may not be a good value for the money, but for an anejo, the price and quality seem decent on this one. I'm looking at a 12 to 14 here, possibly a 15. I'll go with 14 for now. In direct comparison, Partida has a surprising presence and I think I'd take that over this by a solid margin, which is funny because I initially considered this to be clearly superior. I wouldn't say that this is vastly inferior though.

Rating: 13/23 This is the last pour in the bottle and I'm trying it side by side with Lunazul Reposado. N: Decently rich. There's definitely a decent amount of wood influence, with standard toasted American Oak spiciness and hints of vanilla. I get the agave's vegetal flavor as well, along with some mineral notes from its youth and a bit of caramel. There isn't much going on here, but it isn't bad. P: The palate is a lot better than the nose. It's fairly rich with plenty of wood and spices, as well as a some agave syrup melding into sweet caramel. I get some of the agave vegetal and somewhat herbal flavor and plenty of vanilla. There is mineral as well, but it isn't overwhelming. I'd call this a kind of light añejo, but it's still reasonably full. It isn't all that complex though. F: The agave flavor lingers with the wood for a while, but the minerals and vegetal element along with a bit of cinnamon burn gradually take over. It's pretty meh. I can't say I am a big fan of this, but it's a perfectly serviceable tequila. I'm torn between a 13 and a 14 for it. I'm leaning toward rating Lunazul Reposado, Cabo Wabo Blanco, and this 12, 13, and 14, respectively, but I'm still very borderline on all of this. I'm going to try something bold and do a cross-category comparison to try to ground my rating here. Wild Turkey 101 is my quintessential 14 at this point, so let's see if this meets that bar. Hmm, no. This is less complex and less tasty. It could be the lower ABV, but, regardless, I like this less. Jim Beam Black is more of a 13 (though I occasionally think it might be a 12) and this is pretty close to that. I like this a bit more than the Jim Beam, but not enough to move it past a 13. I think that means I'm landing on ratings of 11, 12, and 13, unfortunately.

Neat. Nose is lots of agave, oak, some dried fruits, earth, vanilla, caramel. Taste is sweet agave, oak, caramel, hints of vanilla and dried plums and raisins. The sweet flavors are balanced with some green herbs, spicy cinnamon, black pepper. Finish is moderately sweet balanced with oak tannins, pepper and cinnamon. Moderately full mouthfeel, minimal heat. Overall top tier in its price class. Sweet and rich, but with enough spice and tannins to keep it from being cloying. Additives seem minimal. This is a repeat buy for me as a daily sipper

An elegant, 100% Blue Agave Tequila aged for 2 years in first-fill white oak casks, by Destiladora González González in Jalisco, Mexico for Luxco. It has a delicate birth with notes of caramel, ripe pear & a hint of wood; while a juicy life adds notes of grilled squash, mango, honey, pepper & oak; that leads to a light & rich death with hints of agave, vanilla, fruit, smoke & cream. October 2018 / January 2019

This is a solid añejo and while there isn't much special to it, it's a bargain. It's a bit on the light side for an añejo, but the flavor is balanced and nice without alcohol harshness. There's some prickly spiciness with notes of cinnamon and vanilla mixed with a bit of caramel that is really more of a cooked agave flavor.

Well, where do you start? I was broadsided by the flavor and I have to say it’s tequila with a oak barrel taste. Towards the end it did taste like a bourbon. It was sipped with no ice. Initially a short road of tequila flavor with a bourbon finish. I would definitely purchase this bottle again.