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LALO Blanco Tequila

LALO Blanco Tequila is produced by LALO – a smaller, Mexican-owned brand based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2019 by David Carballido and maestro tequilero Lalo González, who is the grandson of Don Julio González Estrada (yes, THAT Don Julio). As a brand, they aim to celebrate modern Mexico with a pure, high quality product that honors the agave plant. Their Agave is sourced from the highlands of Jalisco, and is hand-picked at between around 6-7 years old. It gets steamed for 20-32 hours in a special brick oven, and then rested for about 18 hours, before having the juices extracted via roller mill. The juice is then fermented with […]

Clear liquid in a glass bottle with a blue label

Sauza Hacienda Tequila

Now that the weather’s finally starting to warm up, It’s finally time to make some refreshing tequila cocktails. The first bottle that caught my eye was the affordable Sauza Hacienda Tequila Silver. Emmeline has previously reviewed a product from Casa Sauza, Sauza 100 Años, so more history on the brand can be found there. Sauza Hacienda is produced using a gentle extraction method. This is when the agave juices are cooked only after being extracted from the pina. Like all of their other tequila, Sauza Hacienda is produced in La Perseverancia Distillery in Jalisco, Mexico. BOTTLE SPECS ❖ Spirit: Tequila Silver ❖ Distillery: La Perseverancia […]

Agave Boom Prickly Pear Tequila

Agave Boom Prickly Pear Tequila is produced by Casa Maestri, and distributed by the Houston-based company Mexcor. The brand website proclaims that the goal with Agave Boom was to create a “new tequila for the new generations”, although it’s not immediately clear what they mean by this, as the production process they describe seems fairly standard. Each version features a fun, comic-inspired bottle design, including a 3D embroidered agave plant. Their agave is sourced from Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, and roasted in a traditional oven for about 36-56 hours. It is then shredded, fermented in wooden vats, and distilled twice. This unaged blanco […]

round ceramic bottle with blue lettering that reads Grand Mayan Extra Aged and hand painted flower design

Grand Mayan Tequila Extra Aged

After spending a large portion of last year exploring budget and/or mixing spirits, I was grateful and excited to come out of the holiday season with a handful of higher priced bottles. And, since it has been far too long since I last experienced a higher end bottle of tequila, my most anticipated bottle was Grand Mayan Tequila Extra Aged. Family is important to Grand Mayan Tequila. The company was founded by Carlos Monsalve, a long-time veteran of the tequila industry. His family continues to play a significant role in the entire production process and Carlos works especially closely with his son, Carlos Jr, to carry on the family […]

Clear, rounded bottle with black and white label and filled with straw colored liquid

Espolon Tequila Añejo

After recently reviewing Espolon’s Tequila Blanco, I was interested in exploring more of their tequila products. Fortunately, I ended up with this bottle of Espolon Tequila Añejo from a recent work gift exchange party. This was one of my first experiences with Añejo tequila, and I was excited to see how it would differ from blanco and reposado. If you want general information about Espolon, you can read my recent review of Espolon Tequila Blanco. Espolon Tequila Anejo is produced in the same facility and using the same base ingredients. The main difference is the Añejo is aged for a minimum of 11 months in American Oak barrels, followed […]