LIQUOR.COM - TEQUILA GRAND TASTING

Photography by Jerry T. 
contributing www.liquor.com photographer
 

***Zengo*** www.richardsandoval.com
turned into a Tequila and Mezcal extravaganza in the middle of Saturday afternoon, thanks to Liquor.com. I had such a blast at the Rum Grand Tasting about a month ago so when I was invited to the Tequila Grand Tasting, how could I possibly refuse? The fifteen brands that we had the fortune of having our way with were; 1921, Alacran, Charbay, Don Julio, Karma, Illegal Mezcal, Luna Sueno, Mijes Mezcal, Oro de Oaxaca Mezcal, Pierde Almas Mezcal, Riazul, Scorpion Mezcal, Talero, Tanteo and Tierras.

I decided to try the tequila blancos first, Resposados second, Anejos third and all of the Mezcals last! I had a feeling that I would be twisted by the end of the event, but I was up for the challenge! I went to each station; smelling, tasting, schmoozing and listening as much as I could! I was on the hunt to see who had the best products on the market and was ready to get a little bent in the process!

I walked around with a couple of friends and some “hot blonde” with big boobs from the Alacran station stopped my guyfriend to chat. Next thing you know my guyfriend got all exited and the blonde vanished right before our eyes as my guyfriend was left talking to some bald dude about Tequila! A classic bait and switch but it always works! Alacran’s Blanco tequila was delicious and tasted a bit like saki. Another one of my favorite Blanco Tequilas, was Talero Tequila which was organic and very smooth. The president of Talero Tequila, Dylan Doherty said, “We don’t inject our agave plants with anything extra and don’t rip them out of the ground prematurely like all of these other brands.”

My favorite resposado belonged to Don Julio – which had a great cocktail station too! See below for cocktail list. Mixologist Brian Van Flandern designed the cocktail list and it was a pleasure to pick his brain for a few minutes as he mixed us some bangin’ shots! Luna Sueno had a delicious resposado as well as Riazul. Riazul’s Brand Ambassador, George Summer was a sweetheart and even told me that he would buy me a couple of rounds outside of the event. Wink, Wink.

 Anejo’s are my favorite type of Tequila. The complexity and similarity to scotch has me hooked! You don’t go around shooting Anejo Tequilas, you go around sipping them. It’s for the mature and evolved drinker. I may not be too old but I’ve been throwing them back for quite sometime now. My favorite Anejo Tequilas include; Tierras, Don Julio 1942 and Riazul. I didn’t get to try Don Juilo’s Real Tequila which retails for about four hundred dollars a bottle because they didn’t have a bottle at their station. I call shenanigans!

 By this point, I was feeling a little "nicey nice." It was finally time to visit the Mezcal stations. Scorpion Mezcal was very good. I didn’t love the Scorpion Mezcal bottle but then again, am I going to drink the bottle or the booze?  Barbara Sweetman was great to chat with and said, “Remember, Tequila is a type of Mezcal.” Hmm… I thought it was the other way around, interesting! Pierda Almas Mezcal gave me this beautiful book about agave plants and the making of Mezcal. Their mezcal was excellent and easy to drink. Illegal Mezcal was my favorite because of the smoothness, smokiness and ability to maintain its complexity. They gave me a bunch of stickers and gave my guyfriend a bottle with about two shots of mezcal in it left because my guyfriend was raving about it! 

The event was over and everyone was packing up to leave. My guyfriend and I walked out and decided we were going to search for a place where we could eat some Mexican food. We were walking in the street when a police car stopped my guyfriend. My guyfriend walked over to the police car and bent over to talk to the cops. I saw my guyfriend pull the almost empty bottle of mezcal out of his back pocket which was sticking out and why the cops even stopped him to begin with! 

 The officer in the driver’s seat grabbed it from my guysfriend’s hand and I saw my guyfriend say something but I couldn’t hear. I saw my guyfriend point towards the venue and I ran over there immediately to interrupt them by saying, “officer, don’t listen to him he’s a herb!” The officer replied, “Excuse me, I’m talking!” I said, "sorry officer." The other officer in the passenger's seat said, “chug it and throw the bottle away.”  My guyfriend responded, “You really want me to chug it, officer?” The officer in the driver's seat who is still looking at the bottle said, “This doesn’t have a stamp on it, this is a federal offense.” My guy friend and I both gave each other the holy shit are we going to jail face?! 

My guy friend then said, “I don’t know why it does not have a stamp, officer.” The officer in the driver's seat looked at us for a moment then told my guyfriend to throw the bottle away immediately! My guyfriend threw the bottle away in the garbage can on the corner and the cops drove off. Thank goodness that no one got in trouble! Talk about living up to it’s name! Illegal Mezcal! 

FEATURED COCKTAILS

PINA PERFECTION                            

Don Julio Resposado Tequila  1.5 oz.          

Fresh Pineapple juice        1.5 oz.

Fresh lime juice             0.5 oz.

Agave Nectar                 0.25 oz.

Club soda                    0.25 oz.

Fresh rosemary               1 Sprig

Garnish: Rosemary Sprig

Glassware: Highball or Collins glass

Preparation:

In a shaker, muddle the rosemary. Add the tequila, juices and agave nectar, and fill with ice. Shake and strain into a highball or collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with club soda and garnish with a rosemary sprig.

AGAVE DROP

Don Julio Blanco Tequila  1.5 oz.

Agave nectar              0.5 oz.

Fresh lime juice           0.5 oz.

Garnish: Lime wedge

Glassware: Shot Glass

Preparation:

Add all the ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake and strain into a shot glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.