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- Spirits of Mexico
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- Del mar Fairgrounds
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- Spirits of Mexico
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- u4rik
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- Don Fulano
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- Fortaleza
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- Puerto Vallarta
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- Jenny Riviera La Gran Senora
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- Dirty-licor de tequila
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- Ti Tequila
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- Montalvo tequila
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- tequila celestial
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- moonshine tequila
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- Dos Armadillos
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- Dos Armadillos
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- Casa Amigos
It must be Christmas in September. I am (If you didn’t already know) a huge tequila fan. So, when a friend told me about an annual tequila event in sunny Del Mar, I got packed and headed to the airport. The Spirit of Mexico: Mexican Spirit Tasting Festival is an event I will return to every year. This year it was held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds next to Del Mar Race Track. It was a great location for a great event. Over 30 vendors pouring their best Tequila, Mezcal and Rum from Mexico. Some of the vendors were small distilleries only producing 1000 bottles. The big boys, like Herradura and Milargo, were also there. As I walked into this event, I felt like a kid about to open all his gifts under the tree. My sights were set on tasting ALL the spirits being poured. In the end, I ran out of time not enthusiasm. It was speed dating with 30+ lovely ladies. Of all the lovely ladies I dated that day, these were my favorites:
U4rik Tequila. Just launching in the US and international markets. Smooth…hints of lite vanilla, oak and agave. 100% puro de agave.
Don Fulano. 100% puro de agave. Reposado. Full oak, agave nose. Mouth; agave on the front, smooth finish of French oak and caramel.
El Cachabilla. 1000 bottles in US. Small production from Tequila Mexico. 100% agave. Extra anejo…yeeeeaa!!! Double distilled. All the hint of agave, oak, vanilla, caramel and lite smooth tannins.
T1.. Blanco ultra fine.100% de agave. double distilled, triple filtered. The Reposado looks and smells like a Blanco but has classic Reposado flavor. Anejo.. agave and pineapple goodness.
T1. “Tears of Horona”. Double distilled extra Anejo. The nose was of wood, tobacco. and agave. Mouth; Orange blossom, agave and caramel. Nice…
On a side note, T1 is a creation of Master Distiller German Gonzalez Gorrochotegui. Master Distiller of Chinaco. T1 is his new brand.
Mexican moonshine. Double distilled, triple filter in Kentucky oak whisky barrels. 18 months in barrels, 100% puro de agave. Nose of honey, wood and agave. Mouth; agave, tobacco and balanced tannins.
Critalo Tres Marcos.. Extra Anejo. The nose is awesome pineapple sweetness. There is smoke and caramel on the tongue. Really good. The 3-5-7 blend is a blend of three-year old, five-year old and 7-year-old tequila. It had a strong agave nose.
The price point for these ranged from $45 to $80. Well worth the investment. The following also deserve mentioning.
Cantina Fortaleza. Resposado. Nose of agave and pepper. 100 % de agave. Mouth; Lite pepper, agave and oak.
La Gran Senora.. Jenny Riviera line of Signature tequila . Reposado, 100 % de agave. Agave front, full agave and tannins on the finish. I was not a fan of the Reposado but I did like the Anejo. It had a nice vanilla agave nose. Agave on tongue with lite tannins.
Casa amigo. Reposado, 100% agave. Agave, vanilla on the nose. Mouth; Full agave and tannins on front and back. The Anejo was the same with a little more oak on the finish.
Dirty Tequila Liquor. Pineapple and cinnamon. Tequila version of fireball whisky.
Tequila Celestial. 100% puro de agave. The Reposado had heavy tannins and agave. The Anejo was the same but with smoother tannins and oak.
In the end, I had the opportunity to meet some of the best tequila makers in the world and taste the results of their hard work. I can’t wait to see what is under the tree in December.