El Primero de Uno

T1 Tequila Uno to Launch This Month.

A very pretty bottle in a tequila-world of pretty bottles

A new ultra-premium 100% agave brand, T1 (Tequila Uno), crafted by German Gonzales, will make it's US debut September 10th thru 12th at San Diego's Spirits of Mexico Festival. It will be available in Texas and California only for the first several months, with northeast distribution set for early 2010. I for one, or should I say "for uno", will be anxious to taste this top-shelf offering.

T1 Tequila Uno

The Curse of Pale Rider!

Posada knew how I feel right now...

I am truly cursed!

Talk about a grown man crying! Well, some of you already have been following my valiant attempts to get a bottle of Fortaleza Blanco from a store in California and a bottle of Don Valent Blanco from my sister. These were "birthday gifts" for my b-day on June 5th. Well, for some dark comic relief, here's how things stand as of today...

I, the Fortaleza: The first bottle that arrived was tainted due to rotten cork. Even Guillermo Sauza took an interest in the problem, but ultimately I sent the bottle back to Ramirez in LA. Once they recieved it, they sent me a replacement. This whole thing took more than a month. I finally got the replacement and guess what? Not as bad, but still a sour bottle of tequila. Cork looks dark and crappy, juice smells and tastes sour and metallic. At this point I'm not sure what to do. Maybe it's the actual shipping from west to east coast that's causing the problem.

II, the DV: It took about 5 weeks for my sister in Denton Texas to acquire a bottle, and it took the help of the local distributer there, Robert Sturdenvant. It was special-ordered through a store in Lake Dallas. Sis, a tequila lover herself, couldn't resist and opened the bottle for a taste. Next thing you know, she and a friend had consumed the whole thing! Happy birthday to me! So, she special orders ANOTHER bottle and two or three weeks later I get a Fedex saying it's been shipped. That was yesterday, Finally, I thought, I'll have some new juice by the weekend! Rejoice!

Then, tragedy! TODAY I get an email from Fedex saying the shipment will not be completed due to damaged contents. Yes! Can you believe it? The freakin' BOTTLE BROKE! Holy shit!

OK, well, I give up!

Fuck it!

100% Puro de Sangre

Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Friends: A Bottle of O-Positive. Serve Warm!

My wife and I are fanatically addicted to the HBO series, "True Blood". For those who have not watched it -- or read the books -- the story is set in a world where vampires have come "out of the coffin" so to speak, to live and coexist with the rest of us mere mortals. What has made it possible for vampire-kind to shed their shroud of secrecy (and theoretically stop killing and feeding on people) is the invention of a synthetic blood, aptly named "Tru-Blood". It comes in bottles labeled with the different "flavors"; O-Positive, A-Negative, etc. Before consuming, the bottle must be briefly heated in the microwave to 98.6 degrees.

Our favorite character on the show is the flamboyantly gay Lafayette Reynolds, artfully played by the young actor Nelsan Ellis. By day Lafayette is the fussy, "don't fuck with me I'm hungover" short-order cook at Sam Merlotte's Bar & Grill. By night, he prowls the vampire underworld as a male prostitute whose vamp johns pay him with vials of their own blood. You see, vampire-blood, or "V", as its known, is a powerful hallucinogen when ingested by normal humans. Oh yes! Thrill seekers pay big bucks for just a few drops of The V. It is very illegal, and very addictive. (Not only that, if the Vamps find out you're dealing their blood, we'll let's just say that's the end of you! You see, Vampires have been killed for their blood).

So basically, Lafayette is a gay whore and "V" dealer. Love it!

So, why on earth do I blog about this on Rancho de Tequila?

Because there's a subversive little product-placement situation happening on this show, and it has to do with Tequila.

You see, while some people are imbibing "V" or Tru-Blood or Beer, Lafayette is never without his glass of Patron. He is regularly seen padding around with a high-ball glass of silver and a twist of lime sunk in to the glass. No ice. When Lafayette runs low, he walks out from the kitchen and around to the bar at Merlotte's, grabs the Patron bottle and tops off his glass. At noon!


Lafayette with his ever-present glass of Patron...

Anyone who knows me knows I am no big fan of Patron, but I do love this aspect of the character of Lafayette. He likes Tru-Agave! Pura Sangre!

I wonder how much the Patron company pays for this subtle -- this subversive -- product placement?

True Blood's HBO Homepage

La Fortalezaaaaaah....

Finally, after weeks of failed attempts to get a bottle of La Fortaleza (Blanco), a bottle arrived today. Also known as "Los Abuelos" -- see header photo -- aficionados describe Fortaleza as "The Holy Grail of Tequila" or even "Tequila Crack". "Get the crack!", they told me. So I did. El Cracko Mas Fino has arrived! Obviously I have high expectations. We shall see...


Sauza Cinco Generaciones: The Venerable Label of La Fortaleza

A Close Encounter With E.T.

Score! Normally $40 to $50 or more, I scored a bottle of El Tesoro Anejo at the New Hampshire State Store for $36.00

I haven't phoned up ET (El Tesoro de Don Filipe) in a few years. I was in an Americana Band called Lucky 57 in the early and mid 2K's, and we drank a little (OK, maybe more than a little) El Tesoro. Since then I've discovered other high-end Tequilas and sort of forgot ET. When I joined Tequila.net, I saw that many members really like and value ET. Apparently, it's sort of an essential bottle, as far as officionados are concerned.

So I went to my local store to buy a bottle, Lukes, as they have always carried it. But no! To my surprise and dissapointment, they no longer offer it. They said they could order it in, but "I would not like the price". It would be $54 -- for the blanco! The reposado and anejo would be more.

So lucky me, today I was on my way back from a couple days in NH and of course stopped at the NH State Liquor Outlet. And, BOOM, they have ET Anejo on sale for $36.99. Now, I would have preferred a reposado or blanco, but they did not have those. So I bought it.

I have just now tried it, and while I would not put it in my top 5 or maybe even 10, it's a really nice, well-balanced sippin' anejo. Has a nice blend of agave and wood.

And the price, shall we say, was "out of this world!"

Here's the El Tesoro Anejo review page on Tequila.net

ET's main web-site

The Ballad of El Grado...

New Ultra Premium Tequila Makes a Spirited Launch in to US Market

Here comes another new Tequila for the well-tuned palette and well-heeled wallet. El Grado calls itself "Tequila's Crown Jewel". Can't wait to taste it, although availability will be limited to Texas and California initially. (Y'know what's great? Having a sister in Texas who can send me bottles of Tequila!)

Tequila El Grado Press Release on Tequila.net

El Grado Spirits Main Site

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

The Partida Nectarita

!Muy refrescante! Una Tequila mas, por favor...

OK! I may have just mixed up the perfect Margarita. And I have made some GOOD 'ritas before, so this is sayin' somethin'! Without dilly-dallying around, let me get straight to the recipe:

We're using Partida Blanco Tequila. One might argue that a $50 blanco is too good to make a 'rita with, but I say, it's too good NOT to make a 'rita with. The other ingredients are Triple Sec, a dash of Presidente Mexican Brandy, Key Lime Juice, and the secret weapon, about a teaspoon of Partida Agave Nectar (aka Agave Syrup) a honey-like syrup made from the Blue Agave in the same way maple syrup is made from tree sap. Shake it up good with plenty of ice!

For inspirational images and some nice Spano-Mexican music check out the Partida Margarita Web-site, here.

The Tequila Revelation, New York, 1992

The First One Was Free! The Legendary Cattle-Car Bar at The Rodeo, NYC

My agave quest began a relatively long time ago -- long before the more recent Patron-driven 100% agave revolution began in the USA. It was October of 1992. My band was playing the prestigious CMJ (College Media Journal) Music Conference in NYC. We had the great fortune to be placed at The Rodeo Bar, one of the convention's official venues. This was appropriate because then, as now, we played a twangy Texas-style music. The big thing about playing the Rodeo was that 1) they paid the bands and 2) they fed the bands for free and 3) they even provided free drinks! Great place! See, they were the ONLY place that paid the bands. At all the other venues the bands played these "SHOWCASES" for free, and it was really pay-to-play because of the expense of doing it. So like I said, we were lucky as hell.

So we played and had a good gig and enjoyed the other bands on the bill and ate at the adjoining (excellent) Tex-Mex restaurant, then called "Albuquerque". The bar itself was a converted actual cattle car, and this very nice bartender named Erin took a liking to us. The night wore on, and before you knew it, only my bass-player and myself remained at the cattle-bar with Erin. We had been drinking beers and were now in the mood for a tequila shot. Erin then says, "Guys, you need to try some REAL tequila!" She pointed up to the top of the bar to some dusty bottles hidden in the shadow above the bar-lights. "Our Mexican cooks bring this stuff up from Mexico when they come back from visiting home. It's their private stash," Erin said. Our eyes got big. Would there be worms? Scorpions?

But without further ado and at no charge she lined us up three shots from three different bottles and we tasted them.

Damn dude! The lights went on in technicolor. Flavor! Spice! Smoothness! Wood! Baby!

Then the lights went out.

We literally fell off our bar-stools and staggered our way out to the NY streets at about 3 am. I still have NO memory of getting back to the hotel.

I had no idea what labels were on those bottles, so I couldn't tell you what I drank that night. But for the rest of the 90's and up until now I have sought out the best tequila available. And in the mid '90s there was not much available. At first it was stuff like Hornitos and Conmemorativo. Then I think, yes, it was Don Julio that a Mexican buddy of mine brought back from Mexico. It was not yet available in the US, or at least around here. Then came Tradicional and Herradura and El Jimador and Cabo Wabo and El Tesoro and then Patron came along and the blue floodgates of agave opened.

Thank you Erin, wherever you are! This is all your fault!