After the roaring successes of
vodka night and
pinot noir night, my friends got together yet again for another double-blind taste test, this time, tequila. Our methodology was identical to the previous tests, to the standard caveat applies: we all drink together and talk about it because it's more fun that way, even if it may introduce some bias. Also, I turned everyone loose to buy their own choice of tequila to bring and test rather than dictating the choices myself, so if your favorite brand isn't here, blame an unnamed friend of mine who didn't show and thus didn't bring it.
The plan was to do all blanco/plata/silver or otherwise clear tequilas. However, I was also interested in what people thought of aged tequila, so I had a couple lower-end reposados to try and see if anyone might prefer the reposado style to any or all of the blancos. As it turned out, one of my friends failed and brought a reposado instead of a blanco, so we ended up doing a mini taste-test of the three of them. I'll cover that at the end.
For the blanco portion of the night, we had 6 contenders.
Contestant #1:
Patron Silver
100% Agave
$46 for a 750 mL bottle
This won't be a total hodgepodge. There will be some brands you recognize. I'm glad that one of my friends brought it, as it's such a big name premium tequila that it's important to see how it stacks up.
Contestant #2:
Sauza Blanco
Undisclosed percentage of agave
$15 for a 750 mL bottle
I know that some of you said to do only 100% agave tequilas because they're better, but I definitely disagree. I think it's important to test that claim and see if we can tell the difference between a 100% agave tequila and a cheap tequila. Even if we do all think it's terrible, it'll be a bar by which we measure the others.
Contestant #3:
El Jimador Blanco
100% agave
$20 for a 750 mL bottle
I'd never tried this one before last night
Contestant #4:
1800 Blanco
100% agave
$23 for a 750 mL bottle
This tequila seems pretty widely available, but I'd never managed to try it before last night, either.
Contestant #5:
Asom Broso Silver
100% agave
$37 for a 750 mL bottle
I'd never even heard of this brand before I went to the liquor store to pick out a tequila I wanted to bring. My friend and I, rather than getting two $20 tequilas decided we'd rather pool the amount of money we wanted to spend and try something more expensive. We went with this one because it was dead on with the amount of money we wanted to spend and because the bottle is fantastically phallic. Even if we hated the tequila inside, the bottle would make a great conversation piece.
And finally, Contestant #6:
Two Fingers Silver
Undisclosed percentage of agave
$20 for a liter
I don't think I'd ever heard of this one or seen this in the store, either, but the gf got it on a recommendation and went hunting to track it down.
Results!
Our grand champion was a pretty big favorite. Two guys who were mostly trying the tequila as shooters rather than sippers rated this one 4th, but six of the 10 people in attendance all rated this their #1 tequila, and with enthusiasm. I found that it tasted deliciously of vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and butter on top of a pleasing touch of classic agave flavor. It went down very smooth. This was the last tequila we all tried (although we did pass a few more around for a second try so people could make their comparisons), and as soon as I smelled it, I knew I had my winner. That tequila was:
The tequila we ranked second was also nearly a consensus. Almost everyone ranked it #2 or #3, with a couple #1s and one guy who hated it. I found this tequila to be surprisingly buttery, to the levels of some chardonnays, as well as having a pleasant hint of lemon and pineapple. That tequila was:
In third place, we started getting more diversity of opinion. Some thought this was alright, some didn't care for it. I thought it had a flavor that reminded me of corn tortillas, oddly, but everyone thought I was crazy when I said it tasted like that to me. It had a hint of spiciness, but it was not as flavorful as the first two. It was pretty easy drinking, though. That tequila was:
The fourth place tequila we found to be very fiery. It didn't so much burn in the back of your throat, but it burned on the tongue. It also had a woody character, so this might have been aged briefly in oak but not long enough to be a reposado. Some of us didn't mind the fieriness and enjoyed the wood (I ranked this #3), but others found that character pretty off-putting. That tequila was:
In fifth place, most of us found this tequila pretty banal and insipid. Even the people who didn't care for the 4th place one didn't so much like this because there was so little to it. However, the two shooters ranked this #1. If you want a shot that doesn't taste like much and goes down easy, this would be a decent pick, but if you want something delicious, don't bother. That tequila was:
And finally, the big loser of the night had some sort of unpleasant character in the aroma and the taste that no one liked. I called it "old sock," but that's not quite right. It wasn't really all that bad -- no one hated this as much as the worst vodkas -- but given that there were tequilas we liked much more, this dropped to the bottom. By process of elimination, that tequila was:
All in all, it was a fun and surprising result. I'll confess, I was a little disappointed to see one of the most expensive tequilas on top, but I also didn't know that tequila, esp. a blanco tequila, could have as rich as complex a flavor as the Asom Broso did. The Patron does seem to exceed it's reputation, but it's not quite as much of a ploy as Grey Goose. No one hated the Patron as much as they hated the Grey Goose, although I suppose it has a higher price tag to live up to. The two shooters both said before we started the tasting that Patron was the best tequila they'd ever had. They both ranked it dead last. But of course, Sauza was the big shocker. It was actually the first tequila we tried, and when I tried it, I thought there was a good chance it would be my favorite even before I'd tried anything else. I thought it was fantastic, and it's quite a steal for the price.
I'll put the reposados in the first reply.