TACOS AND TEQUILA

 

 

 

 

Drew and Crew

Tacos and tequila is one of my favorite events.  San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz California was an excellent location choice.    The weather was perfect and the crowd was friendly and festive.  The event was festival style with multiple choices of tacos venders, margarita bars, merchants, bands and of course tequila tasting.  I did notice that there were not as many tequila reps this year as there were last year but, the ones that were there this year were great. 

I had a chance to hang out and talk to Drew Garrison from Dulce Vida, about tequila.  We had a great conversation and I learned that Dulce Vida allows their tequila to go through malolactic fermentation.  Their tequila is 100% Puro  Agave, one of the highest rating given by the Mexican Government.  They have a blanco that is done in stainless steel and they also have infused tequilas.  Their agave if from Arandas, Jalisco Mexico.  I found the Organic Blanco to be lite to medium agave flavor, easy over the tongue.  It could be drank with just a cube of ice.  According to Drew, it is available at Bevmo and Total Wines.  Price range is $22 to $24.

Don Antonio Aguilar

I had the pleasure of meeting Cesar Garcia from Real de Jalpa.  He is the Rep for Don Antonio Aguilar Mezcal.  If you are one of those people that turns their nose up when you hear the word Mezcal,  I guarantee Don Antonio Aguilar Mezcal with change your mind.  It is a Mezcal with a lot of the same qualities as tequila.  Real de Jalpa own their own fields in Zacatecas Mexico.  They produce approximately 6,000 liter a day.  Cesar brought for Reposados with him.  They ranged in age from 4 months to 11 months.  For Mezcal, they were not smokey.  I found them to be earthy with good agave flavors.  The older reposados had more oak notes and easy finish.  Price range from $30 to $60.

Blue Iguana Tequila

Blue Iguana Tequila was the surprise find.  It is double distilled from agave from the Highlands of Jalisco.  They were pouring a 2 months, 4 months, 7 months, 11 months and an 18 month tequila.  The 7, 11, and 18 month olds were aged in whiskey barrels.  I found the tequila to be very neat and clean.  Good agave flavor with a short smooth finish.  Well balanced oak notes from the whiskey barrels.  According to the Rep, it can be found at Raley’s for $28 to $35.

Azunia

Another surprise find was Azuñia.  100% Puro de Agave from the Valley of Jalisco. Azuñia is hand harvested and roasted in traditional clay hornos.  The blanco and reposado good agave flavors that were not overpowering.  An earthiness that was complemented by lite oak notes.

We had a Fantastetic time.  Made some new friends, ate some tasty taco and tasted some excellent tequilas.  I am looking forward to the next event.  Where ever that may be.

Ciao for now

Brax

 

 

 

 

Spirits of Mexico

 

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.