Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Educating Margarita, i Norge

Herradura Reposado
Tequila 100% De Agave

40%abv
$56.80(CAD)

$48(USD)


Still in Norway. Still loving it.

We enjoyed this out of a 950ml(!) bottle from Mexico that Tante(Aunt) Anne had at her flat in Oslo and brought out to Viksfjord for us to enjoy. She doesn't know from where it came or when. We made Margaritas, but a few of us needed to enjoy this straight to familiarize ourselves with our mixing ingredients. It also suits the usual format of this blog.

Reposado means "rested" and this 100% blue agave tequila rested for 11 months in oak casks. It is available in 50 countries, and apparently the UK is not one of them. Please let me know if I am wrong. Tequila is basically made like whisky, except that the fermented liquid that is distilled is not a grain but comes from pulped agave plants. Like whisky, tequila is generally distilled twice and matured in oak barrels. Tequila comes from a region generally around the city of Tequila, or more generally where blue agaves are grown.

TASTING NOTES:

Sweet and sour, peppery, hot and soft all at the same time. Very exciting. Horseradish. Fennel. Moldy wood. "Taking a deep breath it makes the hair all over my body stand up! Severe goosebumps! Sticking my nose deep into the glass there is no alcohol burn at all"- Kristin

Soft and spicy with cinnamon hearts and licorice. Bang! impact. Lemon sourness with a cake-batter sweetness. Lingering dry desert sandy effect, with herbal notes, white pepper and oak.

SUMMARY:

Oak maturation has really softened the impact and added flavours most would not expect in tequilas, and from what mates have been telling me for years, there is a whole world of tequila out there to explore. As nice as this is, I don't need a new spirit-based tasting mission in my life right now, but don't let that deter you. This is very tasty stuff that also affects your head quite differently than whisky; it feels more silly and quick that whisky, if that makes any sense. More research needed... Tasty and enjoyable stuff tho.
Almost a waste to mix, but man oh man what a cocktail this thing made. Flavours of pepper and spice balanced beautifully against the sugar and lemon in the margarita. Let's have another...

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1 comment:

sku said...

Good review! Being in Los Angeles, I'm a big tequila drinker and Herradura is one of my favorites. I love the smooth taste of the reposado, but the anejo (aged) is fantastic, aged 25 months, the taste is smoother and more oakey.

I must confess, however, that I shudder at the thought of pouring the stuff into a margarita, the way you might feel about using a fine single malt for a whisky and Coke.