Blue Agave Research

[Grunt]

A couple of years ago we had a great discussion with regard to the relative acceptability of several brands of tequila. Well most of you decided that this Mexican nectar was not your drink of choice. From that time I have spent countless hours (on your behalf) studing the merits of various brands.
Well, I believe that I have found the consumate drink!!!
While continuing my research in "Old Town" San Diego, I came across two rather steeply priced varieties:

Don Julio Real Anejo and Herradura Surprema Anejo .

Both brands were priced at $ 45.00 per shot (not bottle). Well not having the discretionary income of Mr. Bridge, I am afraid that I was not able to give my research the attention that it demanded.
Then I realized that this was about more than me and mere money. This was for all the tile mechanics out there.
So I jumped on a bus down to Ensenada to see if I could complete my studies at a slightly lower tution price.
Well I found a spot where a man (or woman) could enjoy the same brands at a greatly reduced price.
Having overcome the sticker shock and with a pocket full of pesos I spent the entire evening completing my avowed task.

So the result of my years of dedicated research (on your behalf of course).

1. Good (I stress Good) tequila should be sipped like a fine Irish whiskey.
2. Good tequila should be sipped in an open air bar in Mexico.
3. If you have never had a $ 45.00 a shot tequila, you have never tasted tequila.

I know now that you have seen how seriously and long suffering I am in my pursuit of the perfect beverage, that many of you will want to sponsor my next (if not financially at least in spirit) while I seek out the worlds best Saki.

Remember that I am not running for any political office so you can rest assured that the monies dedicated to this work will be spent on the task at hand.

Yours in further educational pursuits,

Mike

[Sponsored Links]

[ceramictec]

I agree to all of your above post except #2.
the Florida Keys in an open air bar works for me. ;)


Try some WOKKA SAKE, not much out there that compares.

[dgunnels]

I'm more of a wineaux however, I will agree that there is something special about a high end tequila. For daily use I'm a big Sauza fan. I have had occaision to sip a Quervo deFamilia. Priced at about $120/750ml U.S., I compare it to liquid candy or nectar. Mike is right, you should try it at least once. You won't believe it.

[ddmoit]

I am by no means a tequila expert. But, the only tequila that didn't cause me t wince a little is Cazadores Resposado (http://www.shopritewines.com/sku14179.html?utm_source=Google%20Products&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Cazadores%20Tequila%20Reposado) . I judged it to be good enough to sip instead of just shooting it.

A properly administered tequila buzz is nice. :loaded:

[kate42]

:wave:

I never mess around with a good thing. I mostly never drink anything but BEER (I have been known to sip a glass or two of Baileys Irish Cream).
http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/beersmiley1.gif (http://www.millan.net)http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/barsmileys.gif (http://www.millan.net)
There is nothing like a cold frothy beer. You can sip it. You can chug it. It's beer for me http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/octoberfest1.gif (http://www.millan.net)

:D

http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/xmasban1.gif (http://www.millan.net)

[dgunnels]

"I like beer. It makes me a jolly good fellow. I like beer. It helps me unwind and sometimes it makes me feel mellow." Tom T. Hall

Kate where to you get all the cool graphics? They are always the best!

[John Corley]

Grunt

If you can get Habu Saki let me know. When I was in the Marines (in Okinawa) we drank it like water. Can't find it anywhere now. :stirpot:

[John Bridge]

Mike,

Let me be the first to thank you for all your research on behalf of the gang. Unfortunately, I swore off the hard stuff way back before I married Patti. Haven't had but beer and wine since. And anybody who would spend that kind of money for a shot of burro piss ought to be . . . Oh well. :D

How y'all doin' up that way?

[kate42]

for a shot of burro piss
John
Very funny :lol2:

[Chris the Rep]

Nothing like sipping Sortilege on a cold night. Fine Canadian whiskey flavored with real maple syrup. Surprisingly, not as sweet as you would think. Great after dinner.

One of Canada's finest exports....

I am regrettably out of my favorite winter drink and can't get it here. Last time I was in Canada, I brought in all that my friends and I could bring in.


Chris

[Hamilton]

Thanksgiving my wife and i took the kids to some friends house in san diego.
I was of course the designated driver and remember most of what happend :)
The rest were pretty :loaded: All very professional folks enjoying a holiday
with friends mind you. Cutting through all the fat, our friends vacation in
mexico quite a bit and just love to drink. Now, i do like my tequila in small
doses,... maybe one shot. Love the flavor and how smooth it is. We began
talking on the subject and i was informed by several very merry people
that La Pinta(pomegranite tequila) is very yummy. It isn't $45 a shot, but
it is a pricey bottle and harder to find outside of mexico. :tup2: Im sure
its around here and there, they sell it at my local corner store but i havent
had the opportunity to try it yet.

[cx]

Finest Tequila I've ever tasted was not identified by any name onna label. Didn't have no label. :)

Years ago my rock man usta go home to Mexico every year about this time. One year he came back and gave me a clear glass bottle with a cork in it. "Muy bueno Tequila," quoth he. Well, it was all that and more. Some of the finest sipping liquor I've ever laid tongue to, and I was once a real commonsewer of fine alcohol.

Never did really find out where he got it nor who made the stuff. And now ol' Garcia is in a nursing home and doesn't ever get to go home any more. I'd take him down there my ownself if I thought he could remember where he got that Tequila, though. :)

Oh, and it had a worm in it, too. Well, somethin' dead that kinda looked like a worm. :D Don't know if that's a common practice for bootleggers of Tequila, or if they thought that's what made the good stuff good. :shrug:

[kate42]

Oh, and it had a worm in it, too

Tequila does not have a worm in it.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990702b.html

[T_Hulse]

Saw a documentary on it recently. Said that most of the tequila in the US is diluted by at least half with other liquor or liquid.

My old helper, Juan, told me that the only brand worth drinking is Cazadores (with the deer on the label), said it's the only one that never gives him a hangover the next day. He also gave me a complete run-down on how they home-make it where he's from. I've got a blue agave myself, but it's still less than a couple feet high, long ways to go. :drevil: :stirpot:

[Grunt]

Upon reading this post my "research assistant" (read Tile Lady) was kinda upset that she did not get the recognition that she felt like she deserved in our quest for the consumate beverage.

Kathleen do you have a graphic which depicts my TA (teaching assistant) regaling the crowd with Elvis and Buddy Holley songs while dancing with the entire wait staff. Oh yea and I don't think she actually remembers the bus ride home.

Brian I have no argument about the Keys, I have always considered myself a psuedo "Parrot Head". Some day maybe you can take me to your favorite bar and I promise to give an unprejudicial opinion.

Thanks for responding everyone and for the "true confessions".

Yours in the constant search for the perfect night cap.

Mike

[kate42]

Mike :wave:

I hope this will do.

Tile Lady Thanks for all your help.http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/no1friend.gif (http://www.millan.net)
http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/margaritasmile2.gif (http://www.millan.net)http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/yaysmiles.gif (http://www.millan.net)

Buddy Holly? Boy that is really going back in time. :D


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[TravisFling]

I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Mexico for two winters in a row. No better way to earn credits in college than to punish your liver for 4 months, IMO...

I was lernt a few tings bout da ol Agave Love, like...
1. When you shake it da little bubbles should come out on top lookin' kinda silvery...
2. If you're unfortunate enough to have some not so great tequila, then get some corona's, or sol, and drink it down to the bottom of the neck, and put a shot of said tequila in it... 6 of those = :yipee: :dance: (If you end up with pooh-pooh wine, it is great mixed with coca-cola... called a Calimocho in Espana)
3. Great Tequila is delicious, and is wonderful sipped... I prefer a hammock on a beach, but open air anything is just wonderful for that.

I like the Cazadores and Patron Anejo for everyday drivers, along with a Cohiba Cuban...

[dgunnels]

Said that most of the tequila in the US is diluted by at least half with other liquor or liquid.

Unless tequila is marked as 100% agave or blue agave it is refferred to as "mixtos." It is usually cut with vodka.

[dl]

Tequila is the only hard liquor I'll drink anymore. I've tried all the affordable (<$50) ones and Sauza Hornitos is my choice. I've tried the longer aged ones (12 to 18 months) and IMO they aren't as good - perhaps smoother but lacking the taste. In any case don't waste your money on anything less that 100% pure agave - skip the "mixtos", pretty much anything under $25. Ain't like vodka where the cheapest are just as good.

Always shoot the first one then the rest are good to sip :yeah:

- DL

[dgunnels]

I'm a Sauza Hornitos fan as well. I particularly enjoy it during the summer as it seems to have a lighter more refreshing taste and body. An excellent value for the money.

[John Bridge]

"I particularly enjoy it during the summer as it seems to have a lighter more refreshing taste and body"

I would imagine that by the fifth or sixth you have a VERY light body. :D

[MudMaker]

it is great mixed with coca-cola... called a Calimocho in Espana)
and I thought I invented that drink.....Quervo n coke - not too bad..
better than rum n coke, I think..


Ain't like vodka where the cheapest are just as good.
DL,
You can drink Kamchatka, Absolute, and Grey Goose and tell me they taste the same?
Ok, then how about Belvedere and Chopin - they taste like Smirnoff??
Me thinks you are kiddin us..

[dl]

> You can drink Kamchatka, Absolute, and Grey Goose and tell me they taste the same? Ok, then how about Belvedere and Chopin - they taste like Smirnoff??

Didn't say they taste the same, but the standard for vodka is "no taste" and in blind tests the cheapies or straight diluted ethanol consistently come out on top.

NY Times blind taste test (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/dining/26wine.html) and $13 Smirnoff was hands down favorite.

- DL

[Grunt]

For my fellow "tequila-o-philes"

"Mescal refers to any alcohol made from agave, a cactuslike plant grown everywhere in Mexico. Tequila, on the other hand must be made from blue agave and like Champagne in France may only be produced in a designated region (primarily the west-central state of Jalisco. Mescal is treated to lo gusano a.k.a. the worm. Some distillers claim the slimy critters add to the taste, while others say it's just a gimmick."

Maxim Magazine, January 2008, page 83.

Yes I know what you are thinking, but I only read it for the articles.

CX - you were drinking the cheap stuff, and Kathleen was right (once again).
The graphics were great, thanks Kathleen.

No stone left unturned in my quest for information.

Mike

[MudMaker]

Don... I don't care about some blind guy tasting Vodka..
Kamchatka tastes like crap compared to Absolute..
Maybe since it doesn't have a taste, it burns better goin down.. :rolleyes:

[MudMaker]

Ah Jalisco... Pronounced Haleesko.. Guadalajara..
1981, A bottle of Reserva del Patron, Reposado was given to me with my name on the label..
Kinda neat. Never opened it.
What's it taste like? or was suposed to taste like?? :shades:

[dl]

Frank, IMO Patron is pretty good stuff, and here's the results of a blind taste test that agree. Note that the Patron they tested was Silver - their Reposado imo is in the same ballpark as Hornitos. It costs twice as much but you get a nicer bottle :clap2:

btw it seems rather silly to mix silver and reposado in the same taste test :shrug:

1. Jose Cuervo - 23.5 (lowest score)
2. Don Julio Blanco - 30
3. Pepe Lopez Premium - 35.5
4. 1800 Silver - 36
5. Patron Silver - 37
6. Hornitos Sausa - 49! (highest score)

- DL

[kate42]

:wave:

Oh, just give me my beer.


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[Grunt]

Come on now, you folks didn't even read my last post!

I feel like my extensive research is falling upon deaf ears.

Oh well I did enjoy the "article".

Mike