Review: El Rey Anejo Tequila

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Free sample bottled provided by El Rey.

AT A GLANCE

• Owned by: Citryve International

• Distilled by: Tequila Cascahuin (NOM 1123), El Arenal, Jalisco, Mexico

• Agave: Tequilana Azul

• Cooking: Brick Ovens

• Crush: Roller Mill

• Fermentation: Stainless Steel Tanks

• Still Type: Stainless Steel Pot Still with Copper Coils

• Spirit Type: 100% Agave Añejo Tequila

• Strength: 40%

• Price: $50

Tequila El Rey Añejo is a 100% agave tequila from Tequila Cascahuin NOM 1123, in the lowland valleys of Jalisco. Tequila Cascahuin was founded in 1904 by Salvador Rosales Briseno and they allow at least two percent of their agaves to flower. While this is a good start, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and Universidad Autónoma de Mexico have suggested that a minimum of 5% of agaves (about 200 per hecter) should be allowed to flower to maintain both a healthy bat population and enough genetic diversity in the plans.

According to the brand, 8 year old blue agaves are harvested from the lowlands surrounding Mount Cascahuín outside the town of El Arenal. The agave piñas are halved and then cooked for 72 hours in brick ovens. The cooked piñas are then shredded and pressed with a roller mill and the juice is pumped into large open top fermentors made of stainless steel. The must is allowed to ferment with the ambient yeast in the distillery before it is double distilled in stainless steel pot still that have an internal copper coil. The coil serves the dual purpose of heating the contents of the still and helps remove any sulfur from the spirit that might taint the flavor. After distillation, the añejois allowed to mature for 14 months in both toasted and charred American oak barrels. After aging, the tequila is filtered and bottled at 40% ABV.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: On the nose there are nice aromas of black pepper followed by barrel notes of caramel and vanilla which is to be expected with an añejo tequila. As the tequila sits in the glass more of the green agave notes start to show through.

Palate: On the palate the tequila is very smooth with zero alcohol burn. The añejo draws a nice sweetness from the barrel which presents as flavors of caramel and vanilla, which then blends nicely with spice flavors of cinnamon, black pepper, layered with citrus and cooked agave.

Finish: On the finish the spirit lingers with beautiful flavors of orange marmalade and roasted garnet yam.

Conclusion: The El Rey Añejo is simply delicious and a fantastic value at $50. The tequila strikes a perfect balanced between the underling agave character and the barrel notes picked up during maturation. This is an excellent añejo which should be enjoyed neat, or used to make a decadent Oaxacan Old Fashioned or even a standard Tequila Old Fashioned.

El Rey Anejo Tequila Review | Tequila Aficionado Sipping off the Cuff

Review: Miel de Tierra Añejo Mezcal

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Free sample bottled provided by Preiss Imports.

AT A GLANCE

• Owned by: Miel de Tierra

• Distilled by: Doña Teresa Rubio Murillo in Jalpa, Zacateca

• Agave: Tequilana Weber Azul

• Cooking: Autoclave

• Crush: Roller Mill

• Fermentation: Stainless Steel Vats

• Still Type: Copper Alembic Pot Still

• Age Statement: 2-5 Years

• Spirit Type: Añejo Mezcal Artesanal

• Strength: 40% ABV

• Price: $65

Miel de Tierra Añejo Mezcal Artesanal is distilled by maestra mezcalera Doña Teresa Rubio Murillo in Jalpa, Zacateca. The agaves are harvested at 10 years old and then cooked in autoclave. The cooked piñas are then crushed with a mechanical grinder, before being fermented in stainless steel vats with a commercial yeast. Given the flavor profile, my guess is the juice is being fermented without the fibers. After fermentation, the must is double distilled in a copper alembic pot stills and the spirit is aged in virgin white oak casks. Doña Teresa then selects casks that had aged between two and five years, vatts them together, and proofs the spirit to 40% ABV before bottling. The town of Jalpa is just 40 miles from the border of Jalisco, so given its proximity, it is not surprising that this mezcal is made almost identically to may añejo tequilas. According to the brand, Miel de Tierra shares a portion of the profits from every bottle sold in helping to conserve wild honeybees in rural Mexico.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The nose has a lot of wood character, which is not surprising given its age. The aroma consist primarily of sweet aromas of caramel followed by light spicy notes from the oak, and a hint of black licorice.

Palate: On the palate, the flavor has a delicate character from the wood with virtually no flavors from the agave.

Finish: Wood notes of vanilla, caramel oak slowly fade on the finish and ends very soft and light.

Conclusion: Miel de Tierra Añejo is a bit of a disappointment in that all the agave character seems to have been lost during the maturation process. Given how it is made, my guess is that blanco spirit is so clean and well made that, what are probably very delicate flavors and aromas in the joven just get lost in the two plus year of aging. Because of this most fans of mezcal will probably not be excited by this. However, at $65 this is still a pretty good deal for an añejo and would likely appeal to a large number of Tequila drinkers who prefer smooth and sweet añejos without much agave character.

For more information watch my review with Mike Morales on Tequila Aficionado’s Sipping off the Cuff.

Miel de Tierra Añejo Mezcal Artesanal Review | Tequila Aficionado Sipping off the Cuff

Tequila Aficionado's Sipping off the Cuff: Ayate Tequila Añejo

Here is the Sipping off the Cuff review of Ayate Tequila Añejo that I participated in with Mike Morales of Tequila Aficionado. Ayate Tequila Añejo is madea at  NOM 1519 in the highlands of Jalisco and it is "is aged for two months in new American barrels, then transferred to used French oak barrels for a resting period of four months and finally finished in Chardonnay barrels for six months." Ayate Tequila Reposado retails for $95 for a 750ml bottle.

State 38 Distilling: The House Built on Agave

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Designed by Gail Sands

From the early 2000s, “Tequila” and “mezcal”—Mexico’s most famous agave spirits—have experienced significant growth in popularity and consumption in the United States. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (DISCUS), imports of Tequila into the US have grown by 92% since 2002. In 2014, Tequila sold 13.8 million cases in the US, 6 million cases less than all Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey. Given this growth, it is no surprise that US craft distillers have tried their hand at agave spirits. However, there are a couple of significant differences from Mexican and US agave spirits. First, while a few US distillers have tried to mirror the Mexican process of making agave spirits from whole piñas, the vast majority simply uses agave syrup. Second, US distillers cannot call their spirits Tequila or mezcal because
those are protected terms that refer to specific appellations of origin.

Despite difference in production and naming from their Mexican counterparts, a number of US craft distillers have brought agave spirits to market. For most US distillers of agave, their agave spirits often sit on the fringe of their portfolio, often playing 2nd or 3rd fiddle to some other brown spirit made from grain or sugar. State 38 Distilling however, is quite different. State 38’s entire portfolio of spirits, including their vodka and gin, are fermented and distilled from agave.

Sean Smiley, owner and head distiller of State 38, is not the most obvious candidate for creating the US’s only all-agave distillery. Smiley is a petroleum and process engineer who started by home brewing before he decided to open a distillery. But, unlike many former home brewers turned distillers, he did not make the obvious transition into whiskey. His choice to focus on agave seems even more strange in Colorado, the 38th state to join the union, and bursting with craft whiskey; and in Golden, of all places, with its long  association with the Coors Brewing Company.

Smiley explained that even though he tried making whiskey and rum, he did not think either were as intellectually challenging or interesting in their flavor profile as agave. Part of the challenge he faced during product development was to find a yeast strain that could fully attenuate agave syrup and give him a flavor profile he liked. He pitched his yeasts at a specific gravity of 1.070 and noticed that most quickly drop to 1.040 SG, but stalled out and would not attenuate much beyond that. Incidentally, Vapor Distillery (formerly Roundhouse Spirits), ran into a similar problem, which is partly why they suspended production of their Tatanka American Agave Spirit. However, Smiley persisted. After experimenting with 45 different strains, Smiley found his ideal yeast.

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The Young Ace, reposado agave spirit, The Clever Jack blanco agave spirit and The Pious Queen vodka are part of the agave-centric spirits line distilled at State 38. The distillery also makes an agave-based gin. Photo courtesy of State 38 Distilling

All of State 38’s spirits start off as Fair Trade 100% Organic Raw Blue Agave syrup, which Smiley buys from Mexico. The syrup is separated into a half dozen or so 55-gallon stainless steel drums and diluted to 1.070 SG before he pitches his yeast. Smiley explained that because the agave was naturally
rich in minerals, he did not need to add nutrients to the fermentation. Once the yeast is pitched, the drums are wrapped with an insulating blanket to help maintain their temperature.

When fermentation has finished, the contents of a drum are transferred to the first of Smiley’s 250-gallon still that Smiley built from a used milk pasteurizer.

Both State 38’s Vodka and Gin are triple distilled. State 38’s vodka is stripped and then gets two passes through Smiley’s finishing still with its 6-plate column. After the third distillation, the vodka is proofed down, filtered and bottled. The gin, however, takes a slightly different path. For the third distillation, Smiley fills a vapor basket with Colorado juniper and a number of other gin botanicals. Once the gin has been vapor infused, it rests in a new charred oak barrel for one month before it is proofed down and bottled. Until recently, Smiley’s vodka was the only agave-based vodka sold in the US but, so far, no one else is distilling an agave-based barrel rested gin.

All of State 38’s agave spirits are twice distilled and matured in full-sized, new American white oak barrels with a #3 char from Independent Stave. After the finishing run, Smiley fills one of his barrels and lets it sit. His blanco agave spirit typically rests for five days before the barrel is emptied, proofed, filtered
and bottled. Meanwhile, Smiley’s reposado and anejo agave spirits mature for two months and 12 months, respectively, before they are bottled. Given all the media attention about the existence or non-existence of a barrel shortage, Smiley’s maturation schedule for his four aged spirits seemed like it
would burn through new barrels pretty quickly. However, he explained that, given the current after market for barrels, it is actually more cost effective for him to buy new barrels, use them once and then sell them to local breweries who use them two or three more times.

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Sean Smiley and his wife Jessie show off a 250-gallon still that he constructed from a milk pasteurizer. Jessie went into labor a few hours after this picture was taken and their son Jordan was born in the wee hours of the next day. Photo © Bill Owens

Like many small distilleries around the county, State 38 is growing their business because people in their local market like what they taste. Their tasting room, modeled after an 1870s mining town saloon, does a good job of introducing drinkers to the idea of US agave spirits. Their Agave Reposado
has the distinct vegetal notes that one associates with a young, or lightly aged, Tequila. Its flavor profile, balanced finish and bottling strength of 90 proof, make the reposado an excellent candidate for margaritas. The Agave Anejo is likely to appeal to whiskey fans, or those drawn to extra-anejo Tequilas. Sitting in a new charred barrel for 12 months, the agave picks up a
ton of barrel notes. The palate is full of vanilla, caramel and sweetness, with an underlying note of green agave. Bottled at 80 proof, State 38’s Agave Anejo is a very smooth and tasty spirit worth sipping slowly throughout an evening.

Unbound by Tequila or mezcal’s legal definitions, Smiley plans to add complexity to his agave spirits by blending different varieties of agave syrups. While Smiley currently uses syrup from blue agaves, this past summer he purchased the remaining maugey organic agave syrup from Vapor Distillery. Maugey is a variety of agave, which traditionally has been used to make a low alcohol “beer-like” beverage in Mexico. Smiley stated that, when distilled, maugey has a fuller and earthier character compared to blue agave. He believes that a blend of maguey and blue agave will layer new flavors and add nuance, similar to the way that whiskey or brandy distillers use multiple varieties of grains or grapes to create flavor profiles.

State 38 has helped break new ground in the US with their range of agave spirits. Smiley and a handful of other craft distillers around the country have successfully demonstrated that agave spirits can be much more than just Tequila. US Agave spirits produced from syrup, like Smiley’s, are helping
to define the character of a new category of spirits. It will be interesting to see how the category grows as a whole, but if the history of the craft distilling industry is any indication, innovation will be the norm.

Origionally published as part of the "Defining Craft" series in Distiller Magazine (Winter 2015): 106-111.