Distilled: Tequila

Straight Shooters

By: Dan Dunn

Tequila will worm it’s way into your heart if you let it

Ah, tequila. Beautiful but troubled, it’s gotten a bad rap and is often misunderstood. I guess you could say tequila is the bar’s wild child, although with the emergence of premium brands it’s become a staple of the sophisticate set as well. It’s made from agave, a cactus-like plant that resembles the top of a pineapple and grows primarily in the sunbaked highlands of Jalisco in Central Mexico.

Eons ago, the Aztecs made a ceremonial drink called pulque from the plant. When the Spanish looted the place in the 16th century, they brought pot stills and turned pulque into North America’s first indigenous liquor. Tequila earned its wild reputation early on, making soldiers trigger-happy and loosening up the women.

There are four types of tequila: blanco, which is aged in oak barrels for less than 30 days; reposado is aged two to 12 months in charred oak barrels and is mellower than a blanco; añejo spends at least 12 months in the barrel; and an extra añejo, the richest and darkest of tequilas, rests inside the wood a minimum of three years. Here are some choice selections from each category.

Cazadores Blanco

It’s got a bit of a bite on the front end, but softens up with essence of liquorice on the way down. Cazadores is always eager to play with others in mixed drinks, and due to its eminent mixability, it’s one of the first brands this sauce-soaked scribe calls for when ordering a margarita or daiquiri.

Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo

Since parting ways with Van Halen, Hagar has achieved tremendous success rocking people’s worlds in a different sort of way. His Cabo Wabo Reposado offers a delectably pure expression of the blue agave from which it’s distilled. The 80-proof reposado smells like a florist shop and is bursting with citrus flavor.

Tequila Don Julio 1942

This delicious añejo is the color of a Hawaiian sunrise and tastes like dulce de leche spread on an apple wedge. There’s some spice to it as well, but it balances the sweetness rather than overwhelms it. The 1942 is aged at least two and a half years in American white oak barrels, and is made with the company’s most exclusive distillate.

Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario

An extra añejo centuries in the making. Aniversario is a blend of the most select tequilas in the Cuervo family’s reserves. And by select we mean very expensive. As in, if you have to ask how expensive, you can’t afford it. Right up front you’ll encounter notes of butterscotch and vanilla, tempered with a little pepper. The finish reveals chocolate and a bit of honey.

Photo: Eric Driggers