Tequila

by **Elliot** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:47 am

I've been a bit adventurous lately and tried an anejo tequila. I can taste more difference between individual brands of whisky than between this aged tequila and aged rum. Anyone have a similar experience with tequila or any other spirit?

by **Badmonkey** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:48 am

The first time I tried a horizontal tasting of fine tequilas I was stunned at the scope of differences and range of flavours. It's a drink I definitely want to learn more about.

by **Frodo** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:08 pm

Hi Elliot:

Which Tequila did you try?

by **Elliot** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:17 am

Milagro Anejo. I typically use Milagro Silver for mixing, and I have a bottle of Milagro Reposado waiting to be opened. They're all 100% agave, which is why I was surprised as to the taste. I'm also interested in trying Sol Dios Anejo once some of the newer kosher stock comes out

by **Frodo** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:10 am

Elliot wrote:I've been a bit adventurous lately and tried an anejo tequila. I can taste more difference between individual brands of whisky than between this aged tequila and aged rum. Anyone have a similar experience with tequila or any other spirit?

Haven't tried Milagro yet. Some Reposado went on sale a while ago - didn't bite.

I think Tequila and rum taste totally different. Rum can be soft and silky or full bodied in my (limited) experiance but tequila is always light. The 100% agave versions (puro) have more of this citrus-y flavour that is usually not found in rums. The anjeo's can get kind on cognac-y, and I can see some rums approaching this.

I think the lighter silkier rums can share some flavours with anjeo tequila, just as say - Makers Mark can be considered a bridge between heavier bourbons and Cdn whisky. If you know what to look for, rum cannot have the flavours (citrus/agave) that tequila intrinsicly has. But at a super aged level, the oak can dominate, and take over any spirit I would guess. In my limited experiance with rum, I would say rum would stand up to aging more that tequila would.

by **corbuso** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 11:15 am

Whisky like any brown spirit has more character than any white spirit (e.g., Tequila, gin), because their are distilled at a lower strength (about 70% ABV for Whisky vs 90-95% ABV for Tequila), so most of other flavours are basically removed. Also white spirits are not matured and can't gain additional complexity.

Corbuso
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http://www.whisky-news.com

by **Frodo** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:07 am

corbuso wrote:Whisky like any brown spirit has more character than any white spirit (e.g., Tequila, gin), because their are distilled at a lower strength (about 70% ABV for Whisky vs 90-95% ABV for Tequila), so most of other flavours are basically removed. Also white spirits are not matured and can't gain additional complexity.

Corbuso
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http://www.whisky-news.com

Hi Corbuso:

1) Re: spirit str of tequila. Well, it depends on the tequila. The bulk companies distill high up there, and then add water to dilute, whereas boutique distilleries distill exactly to 38-40% and bottle this. There are strict rules about the strength you can distill tequila - I'm not sure at this moment what the specifics are.

2) Re: white spirits can't gain additional complexity. Well, I guess that's true. But it doesn't mean that they are not complex to begin with. Feel free to try El Tesoro, Herradurra, or Casa Noble Blancos. They do have some complexity, with flavours such as herbs, pepper, and citrus comming out in droves. Feel free to try Tanqueray 10 as a complex white spirit although some of the complexity comes from herbs added. I've also heard about aged white rum, where the coulor from aging is removed by chill-filtering. Not sure how this tastes, but responces to it have been very good from Ed Hamilton's website (http://www.ministryofrum.com).

In theory I would agree with the ideas you put forward. Generaly spirits that are not barrel aged can miss an additional layer of complexity coming from the oak casks. But there are interesting exceptions. I've had an absolutly fantastic Mezcal at 48% abv that had loads of character and complexity.

I don't know alot about gin, but I would guess there is room for complexity to be present with all them herbs (and spices I think) added. Vodka connisouers remark that this one tastes better than that one, although there are degrees of difference. With the recent explosion of premium vodkas out there, some of it may be conspicuous consumption. But I think people comming from cultures where vodka is drunk neat could probably tell good quality from poor.

Just my take on things.

by **Choochoo** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 4:29 pm

Frodo – What Rum’s have you been most impressed with?

So far the Cruzan Single Barrel is what I like best, but have had only limited experience with other brands. I enjoy the Rum web sites out there, but some of the tasting notes are a little too vague.

I had a small sample of Pyrat XO recently. It's very sweet with a strong orange and butterscotch flavor, almost like a liqueur. It’s not a flavored Rum, the taste comes entirely from the cask. It’s very interesting, quite good – hope to pick up a bottle over the next couple months.

I may hit the bars this weekend and look for some of that aged white rum, If I form any opinions I’ll share them. On the surface it seems very odd to chill-filter color out of aged rum, but I wont judge it before trying it.

by **Frodo** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:08 pm

Hi Choochoo:

Re: rums I've liked. Well, the best I've had was the Santa Theresa 1796 featured as the spirit of the year in Malt Advocate. It's been a while, but I liked the light herbaccious nature of the stuff. After this, I'd say Barcello Imperial being a highly charged mixture of flavours such as baked apples and cloves. Nice. Ron Matusalem 15 is a light, oaky, silky rum, and ron Abuello Anjeo is chock full of baked apples. El Dorado 15 is wonderfully large bodied and very sweet - I think of it as the Macallan of rums. Appleton 21 is also fantastic but challanges the palate like the Imperial does. Cruzan Single Barrel is also very good, and quite a wallop in flavour delivery. I'd have to say those are my favourites.

I've tried Appleton 12yr but wasn't taken with it. Big molasses taste which is the base ingredient it is made with, but I don't like this (dominant) flavour. The Appleton 21 has the oak dominating in a much bigger way.

If you're going to rum bars, you might want to compare rums from different countries, as they all have their own traditions of making the stuff. Former French colonies in the caribbean often make something called rum agricole (sp) which is made from sugar cane as opposed to molasses. Aged rum of this style is often referred to as rum vieux. It might be worth it to compare this stuff with regular rum from Jamaca, Trinidad or the Dominican (for example).

Hope any of this helps.

Might want to look out for Barbincort from Haiti. Well known and universally respected.

by **Choochoo** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:33 pm

Hey Frodo, thanks a lot, I appreciate the info!

I look forward to trying more of the stuff, seems like it's well suited as a warm weather drink.

by **Frodo** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:28 pm

Null sheen!

by **Choochoo** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 4:38 pm

Hey, I found a bottle of 23yo Ron Zacapa at a local store. It costs around $40. I'm picking it up today, and will be trying it tonight. There are glowing reviews of it throughout the web, should be interesting.

Rum certainly is easier on the wallet. Don't think I'll be seeing a 23yo whisky for $40 anytime soon, not that I'd mind if I did

by **Les Paul** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 4:16 pm

My favorite Tequila is Patron Anejo; it is delicious. I also have the Patron Silver and 1800 Anejo.

by **Frodo** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:50 am

Going from feedback on Mumpsimous forum, if you like Patron, you might want to try Don Julio next. Both are very soft with somewhat retiring flavours compared to other tequilas. Don Julio is a little more "present" going by what others are saying, and I would say probably significantly cheaper. I have Don Julio Blanco and Anjeo at home, I just haven't opened them yet...

by **Frodo** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:56 am

Choochoo wrote:Hey, I found a bottle of 23yo Ron Zacapa at a local store. It costs around $40. I'm picking it up today, and will be trying it tonight. There are glowing reviews of it throughout the web, should be interesting.

Rum certainly is easier on the wallet. Don't think I'll be seeing a 23yo whisky for $40 anytime soon, not that I'd mind if I did

1) Yes, I did see rave reviews about it at http://www.ministryofrum.com website. And at that price, well...

2) I agree with your second observation. The only thing that I don't like about rum is that there is no governing body that can dictate what "rum" is. By tradition, we know what it is, but legally people can make some interesting spirits and call them rum. Kinda like Armut (I think) claiming it's whisky when it's made from sugar...

by **Choochoo** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:04 pm

The Zacap is quite good. It has a very rich liquorice finish to it. It’s more of a special occasion bottle, being so rich and syrupy I wouldn’t feel tempted to go with it as an everyday drink. Very glad I have it, but the Cruzan Single Barrel is still my #1 rum so far, it’s the perfect mix of quality accessibility – a easy everyday drinker with enough going on to keep it interesting.

As to your second point, it always does pay to do research before buying a bottle of rum & make sure you know what you're getting. My first purchase was a 1993 Plantation Rum from Trinidad, I bought it totally blind, only reading on the bottle that it was aged for 9 years. It’s a decent Rum, but after reading up on it I found that it’s mostly made in France, only importing raw materials from outside.

by **robs42** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:08 pm

Just in case anyone gets the wrong idea I've got to correct Frodo's last post:

2) I agree with your second observation. The only thing that I don't like about rum is that there is no governing body that can dictate what "rum" is. By tradition, we know what it is, but legally people can make some interesting spirits and call them rum. Kinda like Armut (I think) claiming it's whisky when it's made from sugar...

Amrut actually is an Indian single malt (about 3 years old) and would definately pass the SWA's regulations if it was made in Scotland. There was a rum called Amrut XXX (I believe made by the same company), but now they call their rum Old Port Rum of which I've heard some very good reviews, but some not so as well.

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:24 am

I have a bottle of Amrut in my collection which I bought for "Novelty Value" to add to my "Others" section. This sits with some examples of Welsh whisky and some Bavarian (Slyrs) single malt.

I can also confirm that Amrut is indeed a real single malt and although I haven't personally tasted it, I have heard some reasonable comments about it.

WH

by **Frodo** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:37 pm

OK, I might have misunderstood here. I remembered from a whiskycast episode that there is some kind of "issue" between the SWA and the Indian international trade office (or its equivilant). The SWA were up in arms about an exeedingly high taraff they were facing (something like 500% :shock:

), and the Indian reps were also not happy that their "whisky" wasn't allowed to be sold in europe due to the label saying whisky but it is made with sugar.

Perhaps I misunderstood. Cheers for the correction! I really need to be more responsable in my posts!!

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:41 pm

You got it right, Frodo, but obviously they were talking about brands other than Amrut.

by **MGillespie** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 1:09 am

Right, Frodo...Amrut does qualify as "whisky" under the EU regs, but not the stuff Indian distillers make with molasses that they'd like to sell as "whisky" in Europe.

Mark

by **anejospirit** » Thu May 25, 2006 7:10 pm

[quote="Elliot"]I've been a bit adventurous lately and tried an anejo tequila. I can taste more difference between individual brands of whisky than between this aged tequila and aged rum. Anyone have a similar experience with tequila or any other spirit?[/quote]

I feel there are a lot of differences in Anejo tequilas and tequilas in general, a study was done where they have found more than 600 aromas in the category, which is double of those in Cognac or Whisky.

One of my favorite Tequilas is [b]Casa Noble Anejo[/b] complex with aromas cooked agave, cherry, citrus, mint, vanilla, coffee bean,, chocolate, maple...

by **Di Blasi** » Thu May 25, 2006 7:26 pm

Tequila is quite nice when it's a good one, and must be 100% de agave in order to be real tequila, maybe not by the rules or whatever they go by, but in order to avoid sickness the next day and to truly enjoy a fine spirit. I've had ones aged in oak casks for 4 years, and yes, it gives them color and greater complexity of course. I really like the peppery and green bell pepper characteristic of a good tequila. In fact, believe it or not, I find a slightly similar characteristic of that green bell pepper in Laphroaig 10y!

Tequila

Tequila

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Re: Tequila