Anyone drinking tonight... or, today??

I just brought a Mexican market bottle back signed by Filipe - the head distiller and owner of El Pandillo. That’s Cristina, the owner of Volans, next to him.

 

That is so cool, she is a nice looking lady.

 

Only the best…Coors Light!!

 

To each there own brother..

 

Mezcal Wednesday lineup from this week.

 

We put on our second event.

“Terroir of Tequila NOMs”

Merriam-Webster defines terroir as “the combination of factors including soil, climate, and sunlight that gives wine grapes their distinctive character.” Terroir has its roots in wine, but it’s not exclusive to it. Let’s expand on that definition - terroir is the taste of a place.

If you consider how the taste of a place ties into tequila, there are 3 things that individually will affect the taste of authentically made tequila solely based on their geographic location:
- Agave plants
- Ambient yeast strains
- Water source

We recapped how to taste and woke up our palates with Tequila Ocho Blanco. Then we dove into the blind tasting. Attendees were instructed to sip and take notes individually, with a focus on comparing pour 1 vs 2 & 3 vs 4. Then we had small group table discussions, followed by a large group discussion as a collective. Then we revealed the bottles and the fact that we had only been tasting 2 different tequilas, but bottles of both tequilas before and after they had a NOM change.

By pour order:
1 - Excellia Blanco NOM 1139, Highlands. **This was special. One of only a couple of brands to ever be produced at the legendary Tequila Tapatio distillery. With a 2012 production date, everyone got the rare opportunity to sip something that has been out of production for nearly a decade!**

2 - Excellia Blanco NOM 1110, Lowlands.

3 - Siempre Blanco NOM 1438, Lowlands with natural spring water.

4 - Siempre Blanco NOM 1414, Highlands with deep well water.

We had a highlands vs lowlands and highlands vs lowlands with a water source change. It made for a great blind and an even better discussion.

 

I need to get out more often.

 

I did get my new tasting glasses though.

 

This afternoon I am going for the Arte Nom 1414, salud

 

We did a blind tasting yesterday at our friend’s restaurant before it opened.

Reps have been dropping off tequilas to try that they want him to buy and carry. So we did a blind tasting to see what was worth bringing in. All we were told was that “there are 16 pours, we’re doing it completely blind so I’m not telling you what any of the bottles are but don’t be surprised if the majority aren't very good”



So one guy poured 5 glasses of each bottle and had them all lined up. He made a 1-16 key of what was in each row of glasses. Then I went and labeled each glass of the back row with letters A-P in a random order and made a key of what number matched what letter. The guy that poured everything got the letters, the rest of us we got the numbers.

We individually sipped and took notes. We matched the letters to the numbers, discussed each pour, and then revealed what it was.

The results were awesome. Of our 5 people everyone liked 2,8,12, and 16 - which was G4 Blanco, Arette Blanco, Fortaleza Blanco, and Lalo. We all picked out the 4 top tier offerings that came from the back bar. Morgan and I both successfully named Fortaleza without knowing it was even involved.

The next tier down had split opinions on Corrido Reposado.

Everyone was in agreement that everything else was bad.

And then there was a clear loser. It’s so bad that3 of the 5 people didn’t even bother tasting it after nosing it and the 2 that did regretted it. I never could have imagined a spirit that bad could actually exist…

 

a gentlemen jack’s is in order

 

I (Colorado Agave Collective) cohosted Vago Mezcal for an event on Wednesday.



Then we went to Death & Co for an event Lalo Tequila. Lalo (the guy) was awesome. He's the grandson of Don Julio, when the family sold off the Don Juilio brand all the family members had to sign a non compete that they wouldn't start wouldn't start a tequila brand. Lalo was 12 at the time so couldn't legally sign a contract, fast forward a couple decades and here we are

 

Just got back from Cabo, Mexico vacation with the wife no kids (was really for Mom, not Dad). First time either of us have done all-inclusive believe it or not.

Day after returning I get the news that the bank unexpectedly (for me lol) closed the doors on my employer’s company, all employees laid off immediately. Savage cuz I had a salary…. And deposit is paid on custom dom sliders that now are ready for me.

But,
on the bright side had a blast and drank my ass off in Mexico
They had killer Old Fashioned cocktails at the RIU Palace.
so I finally found the Maraschino Cherries in Canada.
Canadian Whiskey is in order.

 

best one at home yet

 

Damn, sorry to hear about the job!

Sounds like a successful vacation, though. What kind of old fashioneds were they making?

I went out to dinner with an old friend Saturday, and afterward she made me a Scotch old fashioned that was fantastic!

 

Thanks dude
Signed a new company contract today, same $/year

*edit: it was the old fashioned you led me onto - muddled fruit, sugar, bitters, whiskey, splash of spring water, jumbo cubes

oh man I can’t do the scotch! LOL

 

Protip on old fashioned, add .25oz of jamo orange. Luxardo cherries FTW.

Drinking this tonight, vacation:30!

 

Score!

I stopped at a small liquor store on my way up to do some camping. I was looking for a decent bottle of tequila to do Palomas with. I had pretty much settled on a bottle of Fletcher Azul Blanco, when this caught my eye. I thought I was seeing things. A part of me was very tempted to buy all of it, LOL! But, I grabbed two bottles and some ice and headed out. Looks like I'm going to be having some fancy ass Palomas tonight!

 

I picked up two cases of Diet Coke and put my United States of America flag up.

 

But we got a shower coming so I rolled it up. Its got a wooden pole.

 

Cracked this tonight. Hot as Bookers usually are and full of tobacco and oak.

 

My local liquor store keeps getting more Tequila in. I decided to try Volans, and grabbed a bottle of G4 before they run out again.

 

Volans and G4 is a fun comparison, they are both made the same way at the same place. The only actual difference is the water source, but the taste profile is very different.

 

Haku Japanese Vodka (rice) + club soda + fresh lime + Rolland Garros

 

Cheers! I don't think I've ever tried rice vodka. How is it?

 

Cheers, all!

I must be in a Florida mood. I'm having a Rumrunner to celebrate the beginning of a 4 day weekend of camping, fishing, and wheeling.




I also got a tip from a friend that Total Wine had Fortaleza Reposado, so I went for a ride yesterday as soon as I got the message. I got lucky, as there was only one bottle left! Woohoo!

 

I’ve posted this beer before, from my hometown, Langley.
It’s exceptional.
I’m having one with Costco tacos for dinner, then I gotta fill truck gas on the city limits, and buy mini cupcakes for my youngest’s 2nd birthday tmro.

 

I recently decided to try making traditional old fashioneds, but with Añejo tequila. And, it's fucking awesome, if you ask me.

Anyway, I'm camping at Council Grounds in Wisconsin, beautiful place! And, enjoying an old fashioned made with Flecha Azul Añejo. I decided to try it because I keep noticing it at liquor stores, and the price isn't bad. Seems like a good mixer Tequila so far.

I originally tried the old fashioneds with Severo, which is another one I tried out of curiosity. I wasn't sure if I liked it, so I decided to use it for mixers. It ended up being very good in an old fashioned, and now I think I might have to get another bottle.

Cheers, y'all!

 

Hennessy and hot sauce