La Casa de Santana

I've always been a huge fan of Carlos Santana. And of course I love good tequila. So how lucky am I that two of my favorite things have come together? Yes! Santana has become the official spokes-guitarGod for Tequila Casa Noble. Now, Noble is not my favorite tequila, and the main reason for my apathy is that CN is triple-distilled. I prefer double-distilled tequila. So, if I were advising Santana on which tequila to endorse, I would have gone a different way. On the other side of it, I can think of no better artist to represent a top-shelf tequila than Maestro Santana.



SOUL de agave: Enjoy this video in which the legend Himself expresses his spiritual connection with Mexico, while celebrating music and life with Casa Noble

Now if Guillermo Sauza could promote Fortaleza by recruiting say, um, Shakira!

Many Happy Tequilas!

Una Mas, Por Favor!

Well, this past weekend could not have been more filled with good agave if I’d had dreamed it. First, on Friday we attended a good friend’s wedding. Dave Fiorito and his lovely bride Laura are both tequila lovers and readers of this blog.
The bar at their awesome reception at The Endicott Estate in Dedham, MA was stocked with Cazadores Anejo. Now, I said in a previous blog that I had been disappointed with the Caza Repo the last couple time’s I’d tried it, having liked it a lot before. I also mentioned that I’d never tried the anejo because I would not pay that much money to be potentially unhappy with the juice. I know David read that blog, and whaddya know, there it was at his wedding! Caza Anejo! Coincidence? I think not! I loved it and will buy it again in the future. Best of the Cazadores line-up for sure.

I had brought the couple a bottle of Espolón Reposado as a gift there to the reception. Well, when the Caza ran out, guess what the bride did? Yup! She ordered, “Drew go get that bottle from the gift-table and we’re gonna open it and enjoy it right now!” And you can’t turn down the request of the bride, now, can you? We killed off the Espie in about 15 minutes. Oh yeah! Fun wedding!

Then, the next night, my band Twang ‘em High! played our favorite place, ChiliHead BBQ in West Bridgewater. As you know they have one of the best Tequila bars here in Mass. While we played, we enjoyed shots of Casa Noble Reposado and Corralejo Reposado. I was spreading the word over the microphone, and the bar sold a lot of tequila that night – way more than usual, thanks to my between-song tequila banter.

Salud!

Riding The Blanco!

And the winner is...

Anyone who knows me knows I love blancos (aka silver, platinum, crystal, etc...), those crystal-clear first squeezin's of the slow-roasted agave. Como relampago en una botella - It's lightnin' in a bottle. I feel a good blanco is where it all starts. If the blanco's fresh and full of agave and spice, it bodes well for the whole line-up. However, sometimes I like a blanco and don't like the rest of the offerings. Sometimes I like a reposado but don't like the blanco. For instance, I like Corralejo repo and dislike the blanco. Same with Cazadores. Same with Patron. Hated the new high-end offering by Cuervo, their blanco called "Platino". Oily stuff. $60 per bottle. You can put lipstick on a pig, right? Herradura "silver" is my default margarita juice. Even the reposados I like tend to be young, gently rested tequilas that still lean more towards white than amber. The lighter the better, both color-wise and taste-wise. Blancos tend to be fruity, citrus-y, floral, nutty and peppery. Fresh. Bright. Spunky. Punchy.

And yes, I often keep a bottle in the freezer. I like it cold and I don't care what the Tequila officionados say.

So, what, in my not-so-humble opinion, are the best blancos? Well, keep in mind there are many that I have NOT tried. Therefore I will rank the ones I have:

6) Herradura Silver - great for 'ritas and very sippable too. Has alot of alcohol burn, which is typical of blancos.
5) Corazon Blanco. Love this one in the freezer. Has a nice blue agave bite.
4) Casa Noble Blanco -- actually like this better than their reposado
3) Partida Blanco -- Silky smooth and full of agave flavor and spunk.
2) Chinaco Blanco -- EARTHY, aromatic stuff. Very rich for a blanco. Love the whole Chinaco line-up.
1) Espolon Blanco -- this one has everything! It's super flavorful, chock-full of blue agave flavor and punch, with a sweet buttery finish that's easy on the tongue. Lower than average alcohol burn.

Reposado Death-Match!

I originally posted this on my new favorite web-site, Tequila.net, a great source for tequila reviews and all things agave.

Did my own reposado tasting last night. Here they are in order of first to last:

1) 1921 Reposado Special Reserva
2) Casa Noble Reposado
3) Corralejo Reposado
4) Corralejo Reposado Triple Distillado

*Keep in-mind I'm trying to train my pallette to taste and review, but I'm a total rookie at it (veteran drinker, rookie reviewer). I know what I like and I have good taste, I think. I can tell bad from good, but this "notes of cooked sweet potato" thing is completely new to me.

Long story short, the 1921 was the smoothest and fullest of the lot. The aroma is really sweet, the notes I scrawled say: nutmeg, amaretto, almond, vanilla, lilies etc. Then the taste: Honey, agave, red chili peppers, posole, and earth. Best finish, least burn. Niiicceee!

The Corralejo 3D I didn't like much. The nose was earthy, mossy - almost peetey and strong on alcohol. I scribbled, "cactus". The initial taste on the tongue is nice, silky and buttery. Then comes agave. Then the tang starts, first like kiwi then it goes to metal and burns out to ash. Overall a strong alcohol presence with a very sour aftertaste. This bottle might actually be off. Maybe sat on a shelf too long. I'll use it in margaritas.

The Corralejo Reposado I already like. It's light and fruity and floral. Smells like lime, pear, almonds and lilacs. It hits the tongue a bit hot, but is strong on agave. I also tasted wood and pepper. It's a nice blend of agave, fruit and spice. Aftertaste a tad sour. A good, well-balanced every day tequila. Sip it or make 'ritas.


La Familia Casa Noble

The Casa Noble Reposado has been reviewed a lot on tequila.net, so I won't go too far. I liked it almost as much as the 1921, but for different reasons. Like the 1921 there is smoothness and sweetness, but the CN has a distinct agave blast, I call it the agave punch, which is surrounded by many other flavors of fruits nuts, spices and wood. In general it's more "pungent". My notes: Aroma -- wood, rose, vanilla, pine nuts, raisins. Mouth-feel/taste -- silky, a bit oily, big agave punch, wood, earth, charcoal, minimal alcohol burn. The CN is complex and layered. I'm not a pro taster, so read the other reviews on Tequila.net. I still like the CN "Crystal" blanco better.

Casa noble on Blogger: http://www.casanoble.blogspot.com