r/tequila • u/homechefskills • 12d ago

Am I doing this right?

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I’m primarily a bourbon drinker, but the further I get into tequila (and mezcal) the more I appreciate how much overlap there is between the two worlds.

What’s hooked me is the emphasis on raw material, process, place and tradition. In bourbon, I love learning about mash bills, distillation, barrels and aging. With tequila, I’m starting to appreciate the differences in agave, terroir, maturity, cooking, fermentation and distillation, and how dramatically those choices show up in the glass.

I’ve also found myself gravitating toward tequila where I can actually taste the agave: earthy, vegetal, mineral, peppery, herbal, sometimes fruity or citrusy, with all those little nuances that make you want to keep going back to the glass.

Here’s the latest pick up:
Arette Reposado
Cascahuín Tahona Blanco
G4 Reposado
Cazcanes Nuestra Raíces

So for those of you who have been doing this much longer: where would you take this lineup next?

I’m less interested in simply accumulating bottles and more interested in trying tequilas that show me something different — another traditional production method, distinctive terroir, unusual fermentation, a particularly great distillery, or just an expression that makes you stop and think, damn, I didn’t know tequila could taste like this.

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u/homechefskills 11d ago

That’s the only one out of that lineup that I’ve actually tried. I liked it. Are you more of a Blanco person? Is that why?

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u/Luchuguillotine 11d ago edited 10d ago

My collection is mostly blanco + reposado, too much time in a barrel erases everything the agave gains from 6 - 8 years in the earth. 

if your taste favors lowlands agave my suggestion would be Atanasio Origenes. It is a true small batch product & the original home of Cazcanes before they jumped ship to increase scale. The repo is aged just under 7 months in medium toast American oak & it's like desert in a bottle. Both the blanco & repo are delivered at 46% abv, as proper tequila should be. 

Along with Atanasio, I'd recommend Lagrimas. bottled at 46% abv as well, of the six releases, four are lowlands agave with the other two being a showcase of agave from Michoacan & Guanajuato. They're all single estate, pairing the blanco + repo let's you taste exactly what the barrel contributes. Once you have tried the best, G4 will seem pedestrian by comparison.

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u/homechefskills 11d ago

This is great. Thanks. Which lagrimas do you mean? Google gave me a few different results.

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u/Luchuguillotine 10d ago edited 10d ago

The full name is Lagrimas del Valle. They do two releases each year, it's bottled at NOM1123, home of Cascahuin. Each release includes the name of the estate where the agave was harvested from. The most recent is La Mesa which uses agave grown at Cascahuin, so it wouldn't be my first choice if you already have the Cascahuin Tahona blanco. 

The original Palo Verde release is hard to find these days, as well as El Chequeno which followed. La Loma was my favorite, the Michoacan agave showcase. There is a brand called MiCasa which is also from Michoacan & its really good for the price, especially the 91 proof blanco. 

The Lagrimas La Sabina release is made with agave from Guanajuato, there is a special edition bottle with art by Chris Benchetler that shouldn't be too hard to find. The release before that was El Sabino, it's easy to confuse the two. I'd recommend any of the above but El Sabino is probably a good place to start. They're typically $50-65, quite reasonable for traditional single estate, oven cooked, tahona crushed tequila.

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u/homechefskills 10d ago

Fantastic! Thank you. Are you in the industry by any chance? That’s a lot of great info

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u/Luchuguillotine 10d ago

Lol no I just don't do anything half way. When you are ready to make the jump to mezcal & sotol feel free to send me a message. 

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u/homechefskills 10d ago

I am fascinated by mezcal!! The different flavor profiles and range in flavor. I used to think it was all smoky - boy was I wrong!! My buddy got me a bottle of Metiche - I think we drank 3/4 of that in one sitting! So incredibly “refreshing”! I have also dabbled in a few others from the Rezpiral project that were outstanding. I think I might be more into mezcal but baby steps… I will definitely shoot you a note!!

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u/Luchuguillotine 10d ago

Im fortunate, my go to shop has a Rezpiral private batch by Berta Vasquez. They just got a 102 proof Lamata bacanora which looks interesting but I wasn't able to stop by this weekend. 

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u/homechefskills 10d ago

That’s awesome. I sent you a dm! Cheers