Tequila.

[boomchakabowwow]

I rarely drink. health reasons for the most part.

but I do tiny tiny servings occasionally. I typically have a good bottle of rye whisky about for a sipper once every few months. but lately, my taste have rediscovered tequila. not the lime slice, salt slammers. nope. I am talking small batch, 100% zero additives, traditional tequila. the best thing, nothing is that expensive. I started looking for a small batch that got great reviews..but it has reached Pappy status. hahah. Fortaleza Anejo. nope again. that is something like an $80 costing $299....nope.

I have a decent Reposado. it is very silver looking. but it is La Gritana. I assume it is light colored because they didnt add any colorings or flavors. it is so smooth!! I like a tiny glass for sipping. this one is women owned and small batch. they use 100% recycled glass for the bottle. another one is Tequila Ocho. no additives..easily found. really good!!

I dont generally drink the mainstream bottles. nothing hawked by movie stars either. the choices are as interesting as the search.

my good friend is all about Mezcal,but I am a Luke-warm fan.

 

[MarcelNL]

this one i my fave, tasted the Aneja version on a rainy morning on a festival after watching a Mexican crew do a traditional stunt on a 100ft pole so I may have liked it more than I should have ;-) Main issue is that it's not available over here
https://marcasdetequila.com/abandonado-tequila-review/

 

[Greasylake]

I am a fan of Volcan de mi tierra, corzo is good too, and neither are particularly expensive. Volcan is around $60, and corzo is less than $50. Admittedly, I haven't tried a huge amount of tequilas as I don't drink a whole ton, and I like some variety so I rarely drink the same thing twice in a row. Mezcal can be good if you get a good one but I am sort of like you, a luke-warm fan. Have you tried Sotol though? That's an interesting one that I have recently fallen in love with. Desert Door distillery is here in Texas and I find their stuff to be really wonderful, small batches made with wild plants sustainably harvested from the surrounding ranches

 

[coxhaus]

There are lots of Tequilas around. I have not had any of the above Tequilas but if you can compare them against the ones, I drink I would have a good basis. Here are a few I use. I use the silver Patron for Margaritas, Don Julio Reposado for drinking and Teremana for Ranch Waters. We have a sipping Tequila which I don't have any right now as Covid has made it in short supply. It runs about $86. My other ones are much cheaper.

I probably have other Tequilas in my cabinet, but they come and go

 

[boomchakabowwow]

that Teremana looks interesting!!!

 

[coxhaus]

that Teremana looks interesting!!!

It seems to have the best flavor for Ranch waters. I don't use it for Margaritas. A Ranch water is Topo Chico, Tequila and fresh lime.

Ranch waters are really good in hot weather. It is poured over ice. A ranch water is a shot of Tequila and a shot of fresh lime juice. I add a half of a squeezed lime to the glass as the green color adds to presentation. Then fill with Topo Chica in an old fashion glass. I start with ice in the glass.

 

[Dan-]

I like tequila, but I could not do ranch water. Faves are añejos from Casa Noble or Herradura.

 

[Corradobrit1]

Mezcal for me, but like all spirits there are good and bad examples. Never been disappointed by the Del Maguey brand of single village artisanal mezcal's.

 

[coxhaus]

I will look for your Tequilas in the future to give them a try.

This is our favorite Tequila to drink. It is hard to find.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...kf0BuM&w=429&h=600&itg=1&hl=en&source=sh/x/im
I have not drunk many Mezcals. Del Maguey looks interesting.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

my friend has moved on from Del Maguey. he is so off the reservation, slippery slope, whatever.

he has a cabinet of high end Mezcals the makers bring him from mexico. they became friends over the 100 year old bottle of hennesey i left at his home. it was the greatest ground breaker for their friendship. i am thrilled to have tasted and gotten buzzed off some, but it is all gone. my fault for leaving a mysterios bottle at the home of a boozer with friends that are boozers and hand deliver Mezcals. i think he has $1000 bottle. nuts. tastes fine, but the oddest buzz. like a high.

 

[MarcelNL]

I love a great mezcal...indeed , they leave a weird buzz...

 

[chefwp]

I used to like to sip on this, I think it runs about 50 a bottle. I can't find it around here, but when I visit relatives in Northern Virginia I sometimes snag a bottle.

 

[robzilla]

I rarely drink. health reasons for the most part.

but I do tiny tiny servings occasionally. I typically have a good bottle of rye whisky about for a sipper once every few months. but lately, my taste have rediscovered tequila. not the lime slice, salt slammers. nope. I am talking small batch, 100% zero additives, traditional tequila. the best thing, nothing is that expensive. I started looking for a small batch that got great reviews..but it has reached Pappy status. hahah. Fortaleza Anejo. nope again. that is something like an $80 costing $299....nope.

I have a decent Reposado. it is very silver looking. but it is La Gritana. I assume it is light colored because they didnt add any colorings or flavors. it is so smooth!! I like a tiny glass for sipping. this one is women owned and small batch. they use 100% recycled glass for the bottle. another one is Tequila Ocho. no additives..easily found. really good!!

I dont generally drink the mainstream bottles. nothing hawked by movie stars either. the choices are as interesting as the search.

my good friend is all about Mezcal,but I am a Luke-warm fan.

Thanks for the rec on La Gritona. Great sipper, indeed.

 

[DitmasPork]

I rarely drink. health reasons for the most part.

but I do tiny tiny servings occasionally. I typically have a good bottle of rye whisky about for a sipper once every few months. but lately, my taste have rediscovered tequila. not the lime slice, salt slammers. nope. I am talking small batch, 100% zero additives, traditional tequila. the best thing, nothing is that expensive. I started looking for a small batch that got great reviews..but it has reached Pappy status. hahah. Fortaleza Anejo. nope again. that is something like an $80 costing $299....nope.

I have a decent Reposado. it is very silver looking. but it is La Gritana. I assume it is light colored because they didnt add any colorings or flavors. it is so smooth!! I like a tiny glass for sipping. this one is women owned and small batch. they use 100% recycled glass for the bottle. another one is Tequila Ocho. no additives..easily found. really good!!

I dont generally drink the mainstream bottles. nothing hawked by movie stars either. the choices are as interesting as the search.

my good friend is all about Mezcal,but I am a Luke-warm fan.

Current tequila in the kitchen—great stuff.
I don’t have anything against mainstream tequilas, or anything endorsed by movie stars—as long as enjoy the tequila.

 

[ethompson]

I typically pick up El Tosoro for the house. La Gritona I've had and found pretty darn solid. Cascahuin blanco is my go to for margaritas or Palomas in the summer. Fortaleza also makes an appearance sometimes.

Also really enjoy mezcal, but obviously selection is very dependent on location. For something you're likely to find anywhere Del Maguey gets you a decent quality / value. Not the best but never going to be bad. 5 Sentidos is what I usually keep around. Also have enjoyed bottles by Chocola, Los Nahuales, and Farolito.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

the eagle has landed!!! my friend found me a bottle at retail price!!

stoked!!

Fortaleza Reposado.

 

[coxhaus]

It is a very nice tequila. My wife loves anejo version best. I really like either to drink.
They are hard to find.
Enjoy.

 

[parbaked]

the eagle has landed!!! my friend found me a bottle at retail price!!

Nice...I can come up this weekend if you want to cut it with a half gallon of meat sauce from Cordon Bleu!

 

[woyuskinny]

I am much more of a fan of mezcal, especially since I have never had one that I could tell was spiked with vanilla extract. I have no problem with tequila, but the last three bottles I tried (two gifts to me) were so ridden with fake vanilla they were barely drinkable (actually not drinkable). One of these was casamigos and the other a herradura anejo (which was clear due to some filtering). Totally gross. For my own buying, I'm only interested in blancos of either, as I like the agave notes. If you want to see what proper barrel aging of spirits can do, look towards Scotland, not Mexico. I have had a few 'high end' blanco mezcals in the last couple of years at bars that were very poor quality - all tails - just muddy wet dog fir. Just because some dudes sit around a clay pit and catch the spirit into plastic jerricans does not make it good 'ancestral.' There is no proper accountability for agave spirits in Mexico. Same goes for all rum in my opinion too.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

I won’t buy a tequila if there is a Hollywood type associated with it.

I trend towards reposados. Mine are darn near clear. Like a blanco. No colorings or vanilla added. My friends think they are silvers until they take a sip.

 

[Juna]

I won’t buy a tequila if there is a Hollywood type associated with it.

I trend towards reposados. Mine are darn near clear. Like a blanco. No colorings or vanilla added. My friends think they are silvers until they take a sip.

Normally I would agree with you. Most brands that celebrities associate with are nothing more than marketing and a money grab. That being said, this is some of the best tequila I’ve had and the story behind it is that George and Rande went out to find the best tequila possible for their own personal consumption.

 

[Dan-]

Normally I would agree with you. Most brands that celebrities associate with are nothing more than marketing and a money grab. That being said, this is some of the best tequila I’ve had and the story behind it is that George and Rande went out to find the best tequila possible for their own personal consumption.

Casamigos gives awful hangovers, sadly. Even reposado and añejo.

 

[Juna]

Casamigos gives awful hangovers, sadly. Even reposado and añejo.

oh no! I have been fortunate in life to rarely get hangovers regardless of the type or amount of consumption. I do have a tendency to drink water like a camel though… the only tequilas I typically get headaches from are non 100% agave “tequilas”

 

[lumo]

Like most new hobbies, I tend to splurge, try a lot to find my preference. Living in LA now with easy access to quality, additive free tequila helps. I'm not into celebrity brands either, though I've heard good things about Codigo 1530, owned by George Strait.

 

[SwampDonkey]

I am a fan of Volcan de mi tierra, corzo is good too, and neither are particularly expensive. Volcan is around $60, and corzo is less than $50. Admittedly, I haven't tried a huge amount of tequilas as I don't drink a whole ton, and I like some variety so I rarely drink the same thing twice in a row. Mezcal can be good if you get a good one but I am sort of like you, a luke-warm fan. Have you tried Sotol though? That's an interesting one that I have recently fallen in love with. Desert Door distillery is here in Texas and I find their stuff to be really wonderful, small batches made with wild plants sustainably harvested from the surrounding ranches

Had my first sotol experience a few months ago, I really liked it!

 

[rocketman]

Several years ago my wife and I were in Guadalajara for a several day class, and the organizers arranged a tour of Herradura tequilaria which occupied almost all day. Starting with an introduction, then into the agave field for harvesting, then following the entire process including the steaming of the agave, etc., etc.,
Toured the warehouse for anejo storage. Then a very nice seated lunch on the grounds.. I really don't think I would buy from anyone else.. Total quality from beginning to end. The other end of the sprectum was also years ago when we spent a week in Oaxaca in an isolated vintage grist mill on the side of the vallley.
That trip also included a visit to a mescalaria.. Very interesting, but the control of the process was just the jefe, not a rigid process which produced the same every time.. I would still buy both, but for quality Herradura.... Then turkey hunting in the mountains of western Chihuahua, the sotol... Once at an isolated gas station about 80 miles from pavement... Priced about the same per liter as gasoline, about as desireable to drink.. And then in Sonora similar circumstances.

 

[MarcelNL]

good home made rustic booze should hurt a little, Moonshine, Mezcal, Poitin, Grappa, I like the civilized versions yet I always have that nagging voice in my brain that wants the raw version (if clean and palatable, there is a point where it becomes rocketfuel).

 

[woyuskinny]

That casamigos was WAY over the top with vanilla flavoring (for me).

 

[boomchakabowwow]

That casamigos was WAY over the top with vanilla flavoring (for me).

Me too.

 

[Bagotnj]

I like to have a high end and low end tequila. For high end, Casamigos tequila is great in a strong "authentic" margarita. I keep whatever cheap tequila I can find reserved for sugary, watered down drinks.