Cdigo 13 Year Old Extra Aejo
This is not only one of the oldest of the new tequilas, it is one of the oldest and most expensive tequilas in the world. Although all of Códigos aged tequilas are matured in red wine casks, after being aged for thirteen years in French white oak Cabernet barrels, this extra- extra añejo is finished for an additional six months in French Cognac casks. The final results are nuances of sweet, aged vanilla typical of barrel-aged tequilas, but closely followed by whiffs of cocoa powder and cinnamon, and then a lingering middle taste of earthy peat and exotic spices. But after spending such a lengthy time in wood, 70% of this precious tequila was lost to the angels share, leaving just enough of this golden elixir to fill 350 decanters, with a few barrels held back for further aging.
Sipping Tequila Is One Of The Most Sophisticated Ways To Enjoy The Spirit
Sipping tequila is one of the most sophisticated ways you can consume this agave spirit. If you want to fully enjoy sipping this fine spirit, youll want a stylish glass.
The best glasses for sipping are larger and tulip-shaped, allowing for the aromatic compounds to gather in the middle, rise to the opening, and delight all of your senses
You can enjoy sipping your tequila neat, on the rocks, or with a splash of water. The perfect sipping glasses will add to the overall experience, while also showcasing its beautiful color.
For some inspiration, try checking out glasses like the Oaxaca Tequila glass, a Venero Crystal glass, or Dragon Glassware Diamond glass. Even a simple Rock Style Old Fashioned Whiskey Glass is sure to up your tequila sipping game.
How To Order Tequila Without Sounding Like An Idiot
Rethink the lime and salt.
Tequila, the Mexican spirit made from blue agave, is one of the worlds most beloved yet misunderstood liquors. All too often, low-quality tequilas served internationally are blended with additives and bottled in fancy-looking containers, and high-quality ones are shot back with salt and lime, compromising the sophistication of its flavor.
While everyone should feel empowered to drink liquor any way they want, were offering a simple guide to make sure you dont embarrass yourself when you order your tequila neat. The part where you embarrass yourself happens after.
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Yes You Can Sip Tequila Instead Of Taking Shots
There may not be any other spirit out there that inspires the same chanting of “Shots! Shots! Shots!” at a bar quite like tequila does. After all, it’s most common to see tequila served up in a shot glass, with a salted rim and a wedge of lime. The salt is supposed to make the tequila burn less, with the sour acid from the lime balancing out the experience and enhancing the tequila’s flavors.
And while shooting tequila is certainly still an acceptable option, there may be better ways to enjoy it.
Sipping on a glass of tequila, much like sipping bourbon or scotch, can be an experience on its own. Using a proper tasting glass or even a wine glass is a great way to let the notes of the tequila wake up as you take small sips. It can definitely be a sipping spirit if you learn to accept it as such.
Best Highlands: Tequila Chamucos Reposado
Courtesy of Total Wine
Region: Jalisco | ABV: 40% | Tasting Notes: White flowers, Stone fruit, Sea salt
Though other expressions have since been added, Tequila Chamucos was founded in 1994 as a reposado-only, so you can be sure that its producers are dedicated to the style.
Made with organic, high-mountain agave cooked in a brick oven and distilled in a stainless steel alembic still, it is triple-filtered and then aged in both American and French oak barrels. All of that renders one smooth sip. Floral on the nose, it has the bittersweet fruitiness and briny undertones to keep you coming back for more.
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Reserva De La Familia Extra Aejo
Last year marked the 25th anniversary of this highly coveted limited editions annual release, which is sourced from the Jose Cuervo familys private reserves of tequilas that have been made with ten-to-twelve-year-old fully mature agaves. That quarter century mark was the inspiration for the La Rojeña distillery to add an Extra Añejo to the Reserva de la Familia lineup for the first time. Aged in both French and American oak barrels for a minimum of three years, the honeyed, toasted agave and oak flavors are heightened by the addition of some tequilas as old as thirty years. This is a snifter-worthy pour.
Sipping Vs Shooting: The Tequila Etiquette Guide
Have you ever found yourself holding 1-2 ounces of tequila in your hand and not having any idea whether you should tilt your head back and joyously propel the liquid into your mouth, or slowly sip it and appreciate its goodness? Sweet! You’ve come to the right place. Since both shooting and sipping have their time and place, we’ve put together some suggestions on when and why to do each.
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Other Reasons We Love This Brand
Compoveda focuses solely on extra añejo, or extra-aged tequila, rather than releasing a full expression line as many brands do. For extra añejos, the spirit legally must be aged for a minimum of three years in oak barrels. Compoveda Extra Añejo exceeds that, aging for nearly six years in two different types of oak. While delicious enough to drink every day, Compovedas broad appeal to nearly every palate also makes it ideal to have on hand as a special occasion or celebratory sipper. If you dont want to take our word for it, try this: In a blind tasting against a 12 Year Pappy Van Winkle, all but two participants favored Compoveda!
Plus, $5 from every bottle sold goes to Isla Urbana, a non-profit that helps bring reliable, clean water systems to Mexican communities in need. Compoveda Tequilas direct contribution helps with the purchase and installation of rainwater harvesting systems in schools, homes, and farms.
Gin Or Other Clear Liquors
“I like to stick with gin and diet tonics, or any type of clear liquor with diet tonic or club soda. The only difference between tonic and diet tonic is that diet tonic doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup. The mixers can be the worst offenders. When it comes to liquor, I try to stick with the clears. Clear liquors like silver tequila, vodka, gin, and clear or white rum have less sugar compared to the darker liquors. The darker the liquor, the bigger the hangover.” Gina Consalvo, MA, RD, LDN, CDE, NCC
“Drinking one ounce of vodka mixed with water and a lime totals about 65 calories. Gin and a tonic amounts to about 55 calories. It would be possible to have one of these drinks and not ruin a person’s diet. One glass of white wine totals about 120 calories. The key would be to keep these drinks to a minimum and only have one drink for a female, and one to two drinks for a male.” Jim White, RD, ACSM, owner, Jim White Fitness & Nutrition Studios
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Sipping Allows You To Savor The Flavors And Aromas
The best way to truly appreciate the subtle flavors of tequila is by sipping it. The flavors can be described as earthy, spicy, smoky, or whatever aromas you discover because it is made from the heart of the blue agave plant.
This complex taste comes from harvesting mature plants that are at least seven years old before they are roasted in brick ovens. Then, they are shredded with a roller mill to produce a classic caramel color and sweet aroma. This allows the sugar cane juice to ferment naturally in stainless or copper pot stills for six to eight days creating high-quality tequilas.
Sipping tequila slowly allows you to savor each sip, enjoying its full flavor.
What Is Tequila Made From
Tequila is made from the extracted juices of the agave plant. By law, tequila must include at least 51 percent Weber blue agave, and the majority of tequilas exclusively use that variety. The agave juice is fermented and distilled, and the tequila is diluted to bottling strength. Tequila destined to be reposado or añejo is aged in wood barrels for two months to a few years. Silver tequila is unaged, but can rest in stainless steel for up to two months. Gold tequila is the only style that can include coloring and flavoring additives.
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What Is The Smoothest Tequila For Shots
10 Best Tequilas for Margaritas and Shots in 2021
- Best Overall: Casamigos Blanco Tequila at Drizly.
- Best Top-Shelf: Milagro Añejo Tequila at Drizly.
- Best Cheap: Sauza Silver Tequila at Drizly.
- Best Mid-Priced: Herradura Silver Tequila at Drizly.
- Best Añejo: Don Julio Añejo Tequila at Drizly.
- Best Blanco/Silver: Espolòn Blanco at Drizly.
- Best Reposado:
How To Drink A Tequila Shot
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In Mexico, tequila’s homeland, people often drink it straight, sometimes with a side of sangrita.XResearch source Outside Mexico, however, it’s common for tequila to be served as a shot, along with salt and a slice of lime or lemon. These additions help to compensate for the harshness of lower-quality tequila, and are consumed in a specific order, as outlined below.
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There Are Multiple Steps To Making Tequila
Tequila certainly is at the top of the list for the number of steps taken to produce the complex spirit. First thing’s first, tequila must start with harvested agave which can take six to 12 years to reach maturity. Agave farmers harvest the plant by hand, cutting the heart of the plant known as the piña. Next, it’s cooked for one to two days to break down the sugars and bring out the flavors in the plant. Once the agave is cooked, the plant is pressed and the liquid is extracted. Some distilleries are still using a traditional stone called a tahona to press the plant, which is made out of volcanic stone. The stones are two tons, which are hand-chiseled, making them quite difficult to procure as an investment.
Once the juice has been extracted and added to wood and steel tanks, the yeast is added to start the fermentation process, turning the sugars into alcohol after 24-96 hours. Once fermented, the liquid is distilled two times, and then, depending on the type of tequila, it may be moved to an oak barrel to be aged.
The agave used in the process can also create differences in the finished product. While all tequila must be made in Jalisco, the highlands sit at a higher elevation and get a lot of sun. That means the agave grown in the lowlands gets less sunlight and doesn’t have many residual sugars in the plant. Typically, a highland tequila may be more fruity or tropical, whereas as a lowland tequila may be a bit lighter in flavor.
Pay Attention To The Type Youre Ordering
Joven tequilas are typically Blanco mixtos bottled with added coloring and flavoring. They tend to be cheaper, which is why theyre a popular choice for bartenders cranking out mixed drinks.
Another thing to avoid? Getting wrapped up in the star power of whichever celebrity is attached to a bottle. The biggest mistake people make when ordering tequila is choosing based on the label, says José María. They need to understand the tequila beyond commercials and George Clooney and Hollywood types.
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How To Drink Tequila Like A Non
Before we get into the details of how to drink tequila like a Mexican, lets take a good hard stare at how the rest of us tend to approach the subject of tequila drinkingor should I say tequila slamming.
More often that not, it goes a little something like this:
Ditch The Salt And Lime
If you need to take a moment to recover from this bombshell, we understand.
Unless you’re tasting a bunch of tequilas and want lime to cleanse your palate, I say noand definitely never use salt, adds Steele. Rather, tequila should be sipped thoughtfully.
Its always good to understand the expression by itself, so neat is always better, just to sip it, same as a good scotch or whiskey, says José María Dondé Rangel, a bartender at Cosme in New York. Once youre used to it and know the flavor by itself, you can go ahead and mix in a cocktail.
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Why Trust The Spruce Eats
Colleen Graham is a beverage writer with over a decade of experience writing about cocktails and bartending. She has visited tequila distilleries in Mexico, tasted countless tequilas over the years, and wrote a book on the spirit.
Kate Dingwall, a sommelier and spirits writer, updated this roundup. She has been writing about wine and spirits for five years and has visited the Jalisco region over a dozen times. She has even harvested her own agave.
Sipping Tequila Pays Homage To Mexican Culture And Tradition
If youre reading this, chances are that you are familiar with taking shots or drinking cocktails with your friends at the bar.
Surprisingly enough, this isnt how the Mexican culture intended us to drink this fine spirit because it doesnt encourage proper appreciation of the liquor.
If you want to try drinking tequila like an enthusiast who knows how to fully appreciate it, then follow the Mexican cultures lead they can teach us quite a few things about sipping correctly!
In Mexico, tequila is meant to be sipped. To take sips of tequila is a cultural tradition and shows respect for the quality of the drink.
It is sipped slowly in between conversations and sips of beer. You not only relish the flavor of the spirit but also relish the company you are sharing it with. So before you drink your tequila, remember to show respect for the liquor by sipping it with good company. Salud!
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Best Aejo: Don Julio Aejo
Courtesy of Reserve Bar
Region: Jalisco | ABV: 40% | Tasting Notes: Caramel, Baked yam, Ginger
Don Julio, Chasse notes, takes care of its raw materials. When the producers were planting their fields, they used much more land than other producers and spaced the agave out so as not to overtax the soil and sap it of its nutrients. Thats important when the plants take so long to come to maturity, and it leads to some lively flavors in the spirit.
Hurley notes the baked yam, toasted oak, caramel and vanilla notes that two and a half years of wood aging give this añejo. But its round, sweet qualities are balanced out, says Chasse, by a gingery, peppery spice.
Good to Know: Want to nibble while you sip? Try fatty things with a crisp blanco, like guacamole and chips, a grilled steak and carnitas tacos. For aged tequilas, Hurley advises dark chocolate. And any sipping tequila goes great with spicy or salty foods, chased by a Mexican lagerjust the way the distillers like to drink it themselves.
Some Tequila Can Be Aged For A Really Long Time
When it comes to spirits like whiskey, aging can be a selling point for a bottle. A whiskey that has been aged for years might hold more value, as there was so much care and technique put into making the product. But that same concept isn’t seen as often for tequila, and that is why you may be used to seeing more Blanco tequila than anything else.
If tequila is Reposado, Añejo, or Extra Añejo, it means that it spent some time in a barrel, but even with Extra Añejo, the aging is typically only three to four years. Mexico’s climate can be tricky when it comes to aging a spirit, as much of the spirit can evaporate from the barrels. For years, the concept was very uncommon, and the classification of Extra Añejo wasn’t even introduced until 2006.
But an aged tequila can still be worth it for a producer, given the complexity it offers. Patrón released a ten-year aged tequila in 2019, a length of aging that doesn’t happen often for tequila. Because of the high temperatures it was aged in, it was able to take on a super complex flavor profile, proving that letting tequila age for longer just might make for an incredible drink. Tequila certainly is known for its uses in margaritas, but if you can get your hands on a well-aged option, it just might be worth a sip.
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