Let’s Goyang!

I bought a bottle of 100% Agave Tequila from the Duty-free shop at KLIA when I returned from China a few months back.

Some of you may not be aware of it, but most mainstream Tequilas aren’t made from 100% agaves. By law in Mexico, a Tequila only requires to be 51% agave. The rest of it usually consists of added flavorings and coloring. Tequilas not made from 100% agave are called ‘mixto’. But you’ll find its not usually displayed on the bottle.

A Tequila made with 100% agave is truly special. And it reflects it in the price. My bottle cost me about MYR$150, the equivalent of some 12 year old Scotch Whiskys and VSOP Cognacs.

I’ve only ever tried 100% Tequila once when I was in Singapore early last year. I remember it was in a Mexican bar and it was a 100% agave Blanco (unaged) made into a Margarita. I recall fondly that it was the best Margarita I ever had.

The bottle I bought is a Don Julio Reposado (aged over six months, but under one year) and I tried it out for the first time straight up. I’ve never had a Reposado before.

This particular brand says that their Reposado was aged for eight months in oak barrels. Therefore the color of the Tequila was a very light straw color, very similar to a Sauvignon Blanc (a white wine).

The texture was almost abit syrupy as it clung to the sides of the sniffer glass for quite long after swirling it. And after having a sniff and a taste of this, I don’t ever want to go back to drinking ‘mixto’ Tequilas again!

It has the typical aromas of Tequila, but abit softer. And it is also more complex with hints of fruit like apples, pears and citrus. When I tasted it, it was incredibly smooth - like a Scotch Whisky. There also wasn’t alot of that harsh ‘bite’ or ‘burn’ that is always associated with lower-end Tequila and is what turns people away from it.

This is the best Tequila I’ve ever had. And I will be making a Margarita with it shortly. So check back for updates!

This entry was posted on Monday, November 27th, 2006 at 8:28 am and is filed under Cocktails. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.