El Burro was the venue.
Tequila tasting was the objective.
Our job was to taste our way through 8 tequilas and vote on the most preferred.
We had 4 white tequilas and 4 reposados to taste.
To explain; there are 5 kinds of tequilas.
Blanco, white or silver tequila, this is un-aged, and bottled after distillation.
Joven, or young, which is a mix of Blanco and Reposado.
Reposado, or rested tequila, which has been aged for up to a year in oak barrels.
Anejo, or aged, aged for up to three years.
An finally, Extra Anejo, or extra aged, which is aged in oak for more than three years.
Our tequilas were;
White; Olmeca, Jose Cuervo, Olmeca Tezon, Silver Patron.
Reposado; Olmeca Supremo, Jose Cuervo Especial, Olmeca Tezon, Reposado Patron.
Here are the results.
Winner of the White/ Silver category; Patron Silver.
Some of the judges tasting notes mentioned “Herbs and cinnamon on the nose, vegetal, peppery,hint of coconut. On the palate; ”Smooth, soft, subtle, mild agave, dry.”
Winner of the Reposado category; Olmeca Reposado.
Tasting notes were, on the nose, “banana, coconut, lemon, cedar, herbaceous”. On the palate people found it to be “Smooth, vanilla, rich,spicy,cinnamon,pina colada”
In general, our tasters were surprised at the complex nuances of tequila, and saw it as a spirit of elegance and depth that could be appreciated and enjoyed straight. Some saw it as a shame that the fine tastes disappeared most often into overly sweet colourful cocktails.
The tastings were conducted blind, at room temperature.
The judges, L_R, Bianca Coleman, Martin Tucker, Nic Haarhoff, Neil Pendock, Maggie Mostert, Ishay Govender, Hennie Coetzee.
JUDGES.
Nick Haarhoff – proprietor, El Burro.
Bianca Coleman – Journalist.
Neil Pendock – Drinks Correspondent, Sunday Times.
Maggie Mostert – Food writer aka Black Delilah.
Hennie Coetzee – Food and drink writer aka Batonage.
Ishay Govender – Food writer aka Foodandthefab.
Martin Tucker – Mr. Beer, general all round knowledgeable person, aka Mrtuckbox.
Thanks to Nic Haarhoff of El Burro for the warm hospitality, excellent eats and treats and the best Margarita I’ve tasted this side of the Orange River.
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Yay! – Patron Silver won!
Thanks Clare for a lovely tasting!
Nice fun interesting piece – good to learn something from a piece like this. Excellent excellent bottle pics. You do them yourself?
Thanks for the comment Michael. Yes, these are our own pics.
clare, why did you not include the excellent tequila made in the karoo? it skops mexican butt, big time!
Were the tequilas downed with the traditional salt and limes? I’d like to volunteer as a professional judge for your future tastings. I am a qualified Fundi sommelier (with a double distinction for pouring) and so have excellent tasting skills. How much do you pay tasters?
Actually Fortunato, downing tequila with salt and lime is not a traditional way of drinking it. In the past, some of the tequila was such gut-rot that the salt and lime thing was the only way of getting it down.
Thanks for the offer of being a professional judge, I am very flattered. I am, however, unfamilar with the qualification of “Fundi Sommelier”
And we do not pay our tasters.
Hi Ampie,
The Tequila from the Karoo is not Tequila at all. Only Tequila made in the the Jalisco Provence in Mexico is real tequila. The Mexican Government will sue anyone else who uses that term, unless it’s made in Jalisco. Just as only Champagne made in Champagne in France can be called Champagne.
In fact, I believe the guy making the spirit in the Karoo has stopped calling it Tequila, although I am sure it’s pretty good stuff – as I’ve heard great reports.
AdventureAlan RT @Mackspill: RT @mrtuckbox: Great night, great tequilas. RT @Mackspill: Tequila tasting results from El Burro … http://tmi.me/9abwf
JoelWynne @mrtuckbox @mackspill “all round knowledgable person”? Is that a real title? Why didn’t you just say “likes to drink. a lot”
Cederdog @gabyrosario @mackspill dig to get involved in next one. Perhaps an Anejo tasting? Got some beauties!
mrtuckbox Great night, great tequilas. RT @Mackspill: Tequila tasting results from El Burro last night.http://bit.ly/fC3oZb
Liquidity_SA Patron Silver Number 1!
RT @Mackspill Tequila tasting results from El Burro last night.http://bit.ly/fC3oZb
Foodandthefab Mentioned tequila tasting adventures-read about em here: RT @Mackspill Tequila tasting results from El Burro last night.http://bit.ly/fC3oZb
Blackdelilah Learned that all tequila may not be evil! RT @Mackspill Tequila tasting results from El Burro last night.http://bit.ly/fC3oZb
Batonage And a magnificent tasting it was ! RT @Mackspill Tequila tasting results from El Burro last night.http://bit.ly/fC3oZb
Clare
I just saw how tequila was made on the Discovery Channel and fired up my computer and the third site I visited was your tequila tasting! How weird is this?
My favourite has to be the El Jimador… It’s brought me back to El Burro a few times.