Pay to Play. Lies & Inconsistencies: The curious case against San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Uno Mas Tequila and Magave Tequila

First, let me explain why I wrote this piece. In no way is this post an attack on any individual person (ie. judges for competitions), business or entity. Think of it as a glimpse into the various practices of spirits competitions and brand management.

A few years back I bought a bottle of Uno Mas Anejo tequila at a private liquor store in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to take to a birthday party. I thought it was just OK besides it ended up in some margaritas anyways. But what bothered me was the importer of this particular offering advertised it as a "Double Gold" medal winner at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The research into this particular matter wasn't that difficult as the San Francisco World Spirits Competition archives its results on its website.

Simply put, the archived results contradicted things. Curious. Thinking there was some type of mistake, I emailed both the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the brand Uno Mas tequila. The email response(s) were somewhat laughable. The phone conversations with SFWSC's representative and the tequila brand spokesperson are another story entirely.

The explanation given by the tequila brand spokesperson doesn't make any sense whatsoever if in fact the Uno Mas Anejo is really the same recipe & aged agave disillate as the Mujer Bonita. I guess anything is possible. The funny this is that three different tequila brands (Mujer Bonita, Magave, Uno Mas) were submitted by the same company/brand owner into the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition with varying different results.

In fact it does appear that the brand(s) and a few of its importers still advertise on various social media the prominent awards that have been "won" at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Even-though the brand owner has clearly "cherry-picked" from the results of its stable of brands - active or defunct - submitted into the competition.

Lorenz Agave Spirits

This sort of willful (somewhat fraudulent) behavior usually doesn't bother me but what does is that some consumers out there just assume or regard a competition like the San Francisco World Spirits Competition as wholly reputable. The fact that something like 90% of the brands submitted into the San Francisco World Spirits Competition are awarded a medal is a real eye-opener. Especially when you factor in the $475 USD entry fee per spirit, $100 USD entry fee per packaging design, one-time licensing fee $200 USD per award level, and whatever fee for a roll of SFWSC award stickers.

Not surprisingly both parties have since changed their tune on this matter. The San Francisco World Spirits Competition expressed concern over such misuse of its medals so I guess we can expect some type of due diligence in such future matters involving their awards. The brand owner of Mujer Bonita, Magave and Uno Mas now says it was all just a clerical mistake. Make no mistake there are unasked questions, inconsistencies and downright lies that should make you question the narrative of a competition like the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. 

El Mayor Blanco Tequila NOM 1143 (40% Abv.)

El Mayor comes from Destiladora Gonzalez Gonzalez, SA. CV. and is marketed as the higher-end tequila from a distillery that puts out a few budget marcas. By last count it appears as if only a handful of different brands come from this particular distillery. Its story goes something like this, the Gonzalez family has been harvesting blue agave for 125 years and mentioned somewhere as the largest independent producer of tequila in the world. A quick trademark search in Mexico reveals the Mayor and El Mayor brand names were filed sometime in the early 1990s and mid 2000s by Destiladora Gonzalez Gonzalez, SA. CV.. The El Mayor brand name trademark was filed in the United States of America by Luxco, Inc. around 2006. Guessing that El Mayor tequila is somewhat of a joint venture - importation deal between the two companies. It's produced by third generation master distiller Rodolfo Gonzalez. The same person that founded Destiladora Gonzalez Gonzalez in the highlands of Jalisco sometime around 1986.

If the distillery was built in the mid 1980s then it's probably safe to say the fabrica is more modern than rustic but still not as high-tech (industrialized) as some of the newer ones being built today. A good indicator of this is there is apparently no diffuser on site at Destiladora Gonzalez Gonzalez. The Gonzalez distillery uses ripe estate-grown blue agave from various plots of land in the highlands area region of Jalisco. Apparently after the jimadors harvest the agave - the cut and shaved blue agave pinas are transported out of the fields to the distillery by donkey. Once the pinas arrive at the distillery where workers cut the agave into quarters with axes and remove the stalks from the female pinas (a component that could impart bitterness in the tequila). The pina quarters are placed inside large stainless steel autoclaves by workers with the aid of a small conveyor belt. Then the agave is slowly roasted in the autoclaves for 24+ hours.

Once the the cooking and cooling phase is complete the cooked agave quarters are transported to the shredding machinery where the pieces of cooked agave are broken down into even smaller pieces to facilitate the milling phase. There was talk of a millstone (tahona) being used at this facility but can't find anything that verifies this. The cooked agave fibres pass through a modified mill - the pressing/rolling action is complimented with the injection of water in strategic locations optimizing sugar extraction and the agave is squeezed to separate the juices from the fibers. This process results in crushed and soggy brown bagazo (agave fibre) and sweet aguamiel juice that is collected for the fermentation process. No mention anywhere about the distillery's efforts to recycle organic material (ie. the bagazo) to minimize the impact on the environment. No mention anywhere about the distillery's water source.

Fermentation takes place in the distillery's large stainless steel tanks using a proprietary yeast culture - no enzymes or additives are used. It takes approximately 3 to 5+ days to complete the fermentation process - also factoring in weather conditions that can affect such a process.

Once the fermentation is complete the next step is the double distillation process. Destiladora Gonzalez Gonzalez has copper lined stainless steel pot stills (4,500+ L capacity) with stainless condensation tanks. The first distillation of the mosto results in a ordenario with an alcohol concentration of 25-30%. In the second distillation the ordenario is distilled reaching an alcohol concentration of 55%. The Blanco is filtered and diluted to desired proof then bottled, hand labelled and numbered for commercial purposes. Then there there is the aging - no idea at what proof the blanco is when placed in the charred white oak barrels that previously housed bourbon (guessing 40% Abv.) and rested months and/or years for El Mayor's reposado, anejo and extra anejo offerings.

Appearance: Crystal clear/colourless, forming wide, legs on the sides of my Riedel glass that are not slow. Aroma: Cooked agave, earthy, mild floral notes, lime rinds?, pepper (black?) and mild alcohol burn. Flavour: Bold earthiness with crisp cooked agave notes, a mild black pepper spiciness component, light floral (hibiscus?), hint of citrus, and slight alcohol bite. Semi-oily upon entry, a bit of minerality, accompanied with mellow alcohol burn at the back of the mouth. Some nice lingering heat in the mouth with some numbness on the middle tongue, gums and roof of the mouth. Finish: Medium finish, pick up more of that hibiscus note, lingering spiciness and earthy cooked agave, some mild sweetness and alcohol.

This tequila cannot be called a one-trick pony. It definitely has a lot of flavours and aromas that seem to balance out nicely, nothing too overpowering but does have a bold earthiness to it. Looking forward to the aged El Mayor offerings. RECOMMENDED

Villa Lobos Reposado Tequila NOM 1139 (40% Abv.)

The Camarena family has a lengthy history in the tequila business that supposedly goes back as far as the 1800s. Unfortunately the family's distillery was destroyed sometime during the Mexican Revolution, Don Felipe Camarena started out with agave farming which he sold to surrounding tequila distilleries. Eventually he started distilling his own tequila, selecting only the ripest plants and using equipment from his family’s original distillery. Then, sometime in 1937, Don Felipe built La Altena in the Arandas Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, just miles away from the original family distillery. In turn this family business was passed on to his son, Felipe J. Camarena, then subsequently his grandson, the third generation master distiller and fifth generation family member producing tequila, Carlos Camarena. Only a handful of brands have come out of the La Altena as a distillery owned brand, a collaboration or a marca: Tapatio, El Teroso de Don Felipe, Charbay, Ocho (various offerings), Trago, Excellia and Villa Lobos. All of these brands would bear the NOM 1139 or NOM 1474 on the label - as far as I know La Altena is the only Mexican distillery to have two NOMs (Norma Oficial Mexicana). Which can be confusing because that means two different NOM designations are used for the same location - which is probably due to some "grandfathering" in rule. The story goes that originally they were actually two companies at two different distilleries.

Lucky for the consumer, the production methods at La Altena have pretty much remained the same as they were since 1937. Lance Cutler, author of 'The Tequila Lover's Guide to Mexico', said it the best, "if they modernize , they could lose the very essence that makes their tequila special." The La Altena distillery uses ripe estate-grown blue agave from various plots of land in the Highlands area region of Jalisco. Selected agave that has been cut and shaved in the fields by the jimadors' coas arrives at the distillery where workers cut the agave into halves with axes and remove the stalks from the female pinas (a component that could impart bitterness in the tequila) . There the agave is slowly cooked (80-85 degrees Celsius) in traditional brick hornos for 48+ hours then allowed to cool for another 24+ hours. The slow cooking method keeps the agave fibres soft and stops them from caramelizing - which can result in bitter flavours. Note: all the agave is loaded into and removed from the ovens by hand.

Once the the cooking and cooling phase is complete the cooked agave halves are transported to the shredding machinery where the pieces of cooked agave are broken down into smaller pieces to facilitate the milling phase or the Tahona phase (currently only used for El Tesoro de Don Felipe). Either the cooked agave fibres pass through a modified sugar cane mill - the pressing/rolling action is complimented with the injection of water in strategic locations optimizing sugar extraction and the agave is squeezed to separate the juices from the fibers; or a large stone wheel (known as a Tahona) that turns in a pit with the aid of a tractor crushes the cooked agave pieces. Each of these processes results in crushed and soggy brown bagazo (agave fibre) and sweet aguamiel juice that is collected for the fermentation process.

Fermentation takes place in the distillery's large open wooden tanks (3000L capacity) at La Alteña using a proprietary 75+ year-old yeast culture - no enzymes or additives are used. These particular fermentation wooden tanks (pine) have been in use for more than a century, in fact even after a thorough rinsing some of the living yeast may still remain in the wood – quite possibly jumping back to life whenever new agave juice is added. The open tanks allow airborne yeast and bacteria to freely mix with the mosto. Back in the day the distillery's labourers would shovel the agave pulp and juices into buckets and transport to the open-topped wooden tanks. They would climb a ladder and dump the crushed agave pulp into the tanks. The tanks would have water in them, and a person called a batador is in the tank to separate the fibres by hand - no clue how much of this 'rustic' process is still in use. La Altena is one of a handful of distilleries that still uses the agave pulp in the fermentation process - no idea if this is for all La Altena brands. It takes approximately 3 to 5+ days to complete the fermentation process - also factoring in weather conditions that can affect such a process. Note: La Altena uses water from its own on site spring that is rich in iron and minerals. Years ago Carlos Camarena adapted more of a green approach in treating all of the residues produced at the distillery instead of just dumping it in the garbage. Guessing the distillery began to compost all the organic materials it produced eventually making an organic fertilizer and in turn put it back into the agave fields. As well, the distillery started recycling all of the water it used instead of just throwing it away.

Once the fermentation is complete the next step is the double distillation process. La Altena has a stainless steel pot still (3,500L capacity) and small Copper Alembic stills (460L and 300L capacity) with condensation tanks. Unfortunately, I have no clue what combination of stills are used for production of all the brands at La Altena. The first distillation of the mosto (supposedly both juice and fibre was used in the first disillation for El Tesoro) results in a ordenario with an alcohol concentration of 18-20% - the cabeza or head that contains very high alcohol and toxic aldehydes respires off and is discarded from the process. In the second distillation the ordenario is distilled reaching an alcohol concentration of 40 to 42% - a more refined product as the tails (colas) are removed and recycled into the next distillation. The heart, or el corazon, the prime middle portion of the distillate results as the tequila blanco. The distillations are done slowly at temperature controlled conditions - which most likely allow a generous cut of heads and tails to remain in the distillate - seeing how many wonderful flavours reside in the heads and tails. Yes, the tequila at La Altena is distilled to 80 to 82 proof, unlike a lot tequila factories that distill to a higher proof then add water to bring it down to a lower proof.

There is probably a wide variance in the aging process of the various tequila brands at La Altena and what type of barrels used, so I will only discuss the Villa Lobos brand. Sometime in 2010 Camarena had more agave than he could use or process, so he decided to produce more tequila and stored it in steel tanks. After some time, Mr. Camarena noticed the natural oxidation had changed it to a more feminine tequila and he  couldn't use it for the Tapatio or El Tesoro de Don Felipe macho brands. Add the Sklar family, friends of the Camarena family, to the mix and eventually by happenstance a new La Altena marca was born in 2011. Prior to oak aging, the tequilas in the Villa Lobos lineup are rested in open steel tanks for at least six months. This includes the Villa Lobos Blanco that rests in open steel tanks for approximately 6 months. Villa Lobos Reposado is the result of tequila blanco rested 6 months in steel tanks then aged 11 months in American oak. Villa Lobos Anejo is the result of tequila blanco rested 6 months in steel tanks then aged 24 months in American oak. Villa Lobos Extra Anejo is the result of tequila blanco rested 6 months in steel tanks then aged 48 months in American oak.

Appearance: Light golden straw colour with golden hues; fast long legs on the sides of my Glencairn glass. Aroma: Mild/light cooked agave, honey-spiciness, faint hints of caramel, vanilla, hibiscus and nuttiness? (almond? yes it's not a nut but a seed), mild fruitiness (prickly pear and citrus rind). Trust me - I grabbed all these items out of our kitchen for a comparison - as there is a lot going on with the aroma. Flavour: Earthy, some mild smokiness, light-sweetness (honey?) with a subtle tinge of Mexican lime peel, and faint spice (black cardamom? how'd that get here). Semi-oily upon entry with some minerality and a slight alcohol burn in the back of the mouth. An enjoyable 'soft' heat in the mouth accompanied with some numbing sensation on the gums and palate. Nicely balanced so far. Finish: Medium finish, lingering mild spice and smokiness with a hint of cooked agave that lingers. After finishing this sample all I could think about was, "Is this available in Mexico?".

For a comparison, I poured a glass of Tapatio Reposado right after this review. It's amazing how two tequilas produced at the same distillery (most likely under the same conditions minus the resting in steel tanks) could be so different but yet equally enjoyable. Well, the Tapatio/La Altena distillery has been on my bucket list for tequila excursions for a while now - it'd be fascinating to witness such a family tradition of producing great tequila that has been passed down from generation to generation. Kudos to the Camarena family. *RECOMMENDED*

What is the 'Real' Story Behind the History of Patrón Tequila                                         and its Origen?

Apparently back in 1993 St. Maarten Spirits Ltd. purchased the trademark for the Patrón brand-name from Licorera de Jalisco, S.A. for U$D 50,000.00.

A 1996 agreement whereby St. Maarten Spirits Ltd. sourced tequila from Tequila Siete Leguas, S.A de C.V.

Bacardi Limited purchased its 30% interest in Patrón for $476 Million USD

Seagram & Sons would produce Patrón Tequila?

Subsequent trademark dispute between Siete Leguas and Patrón

Court papers give some insight into Patrón Tequila 

An expert from Ian Williams' "Tequila: a Global History"

Let me just say that we have in the past enjoyed Patrón blanco, but the price for a any bottle in their lineup is absurdly overpriced in these parts of Mexico. Assume like any tequila sometimes a less desirable batch happens from time to time. In such a case, we'd rather spend $200 pesos towards an older treasure bottle readily available in these parts. Though we are curious about the smaller batch, 100% tahona Patrón Roca lineup. 

So I am browsing "Tequila: a Global History" last night and there is that recycled story that many writers have used on the history of Patrón tequila. Think the same story is recycled in Ilana Edelstein's "The Patrón Way". But then we came across documents detailing the original sale of the the Patrón marca trademark from Licorera de Jalisco, S.A. to St. Maarten Spirits Ltd. sometime in the 90s for U$D 50,000.00. Which got us thinking, "what is the real story?" Because most of the 'stories', innuendos and rumours just don't seem to add up. How many other distilleries was tequila being sourced from to eventually be bottled as Patrón tequila? Where exactly does Bacardi's investment fit in Patron's chronology? What is up with the bottle design trademark infringement dispute with Casa Noble tequila? Too many questions, not enough time. Of course, we are only curious from a historical viewpoint. In no way is this post an attempt to disparage Patrón tequila. 

Like we stated, this brand has some historical value in the introduction of 'traditional' 100% agave tequila to the people. In fact, their distillery(s) is still on our 'please, we would really like to visit' list In the meantime we may have to revisit a bottle of Patrón blanco, crossing-fingers.

**hopefully more to be added later**

Tequila El Viejito 1937 Plata NOM 1107 (37% Abv.)

Indalecio Nunez Muro founded the El Viejito distillery sometime around 1937 in the town of Atotonlico, the "highlands" region of the state of Jalisco. A region of land that many claim to have the best soil, water and altitude to grow the agave. It's NOM 1107 or distillery designation has graced the labels of such brands as Porfidio and Las Trancas - although thanks to the convoluted CRT Norma this doesn't necessarily mean that this tequila was produced here but perhaps the distillery was exporting the product. Yes, distilled tequila can be sourced from other distilleries. Which leads to an interesting tidbit that El Viejito distillery has supplied contract tequila to many major brands including Cabo Wabo and Patron tequila back in the day. Supposedly Tequila el Viejito, S.A. de C.V. once supplied up to fifty percent of what Patron bottled, distributed and sold in the United States. Then in the mid 2000s Patron approached the Nunez family and made an offer to purchase the distillery. The family decided to sell because they felt the location was inconvenient and they could relocate the distillery to a more ideal spot. The "new" El Viejito distillery in Atotonlico was built sometime in 2007 - Norma regulations do not require one to take a new NOM number - therefore, the family was able to transfer the NOM 1107 over to their new facility. Patron continued to source tequila from the new El Viejito up until around 2012, but the contract is now over and the new El Viejito distillery is no longer supplying them. Of course Patron eventually built a state of the art distillery and perhaps continues to operate the old El Viejito distillery in Atotonlico to meet the world's demand for Patron tequila. The Patron thing is another story entirely and I highly suggest you do some research on it for yourself.

The ripened mature blue agave is harvested from the highlands region. No clue if the agave is estate grown and/or sourced from farmers selling on the open market. Depending on size the harvested agave is halved/quartered and steam-cooked in brick ovens in a two step process. First for roughly 17+ hours, allowed to rest, then cooked for another 12+ hours. Thereby breaking down the long chemical structure of the sugars into simple sugars - desirable for the fermentation process.

Once the cooking and cooling phase is complete the cooked agave is transported by a conveyor belt to the mechanical roller mills. The cooked agave fibres pass through and are pressed between rollers - the pressing action is complimented with the injection of water in strategic locations optimizing sugar extraction. The water source is from an estate well that is filtered with reverse osmosis and run though a softening process to remove excess minerals. It must be noted that the distillery recycles the bagazo as compost later on being used as a natural fertilizer.

The resulting mosto is pumped over to the fermentation tanks. Fermentation takes place in the distillery's large semi-enclosed stainless steel tanks (37000L capacity) with the aid of the distillery's proprietary yeast formula.

Once the fermentation is complete the next step is the double distillation process with the distillery's four large stainless steel pot stills with copper condenser coils (4 910L capacity Alambiques). The first distillation of the mosto results in a ordenario with an alcohol concentration of 25-28% - the solid particles, part of the water, some heads and tails are removed - leaving mostly the middle section or the heart of the distillate. In the second distillation the ordenario is distilled reaching an alcohol concentration of 55% - a more refined product as the heads and tails are removed once again - being discarded with stillage and ends up at the compost area like the bagazo - and the heart of the distillate results as the tequila blanco. El Viejito has a 55% Abv. Blanco offering so assume that this is filtered and bottled for commercial purposes while the other Blanco offerings are filtered and diluted to desired proof. Then there there is the aging - no idea at what proof the Blanco is when placed in the barrels and rested months and/or years for El Viejito's Reposado, Anejo and Extra Anejo offerings **Note - apparently El Viejito has large stainless holding tanks on site generally maintained at fifty percent capacity where each new batch of Blanco, Reposado, Anejo and Extra Anejo is blended with previous batches.

Appearance: Colorless and crystal clear. Long uniform slow legs in my Riedel glass. Aroma: Mild agave intensity, floral (hibiscus?) and citrus. Flavour: Earthy agave, some honey-like sweetness, hints of orange peel, spiciness (white pepper?), and mild smokiness. Semi-oily on entry with some minerality and alcohol in the back of the mouth. Nice mild heat in the mouth that leaves a subtle numbing sensation on the gums and palate. Surprisingly well balanced. Finish: Enjoyable medium finish, cooked agave notes, spicy pepper that lingers and hint of alcohol. A great sipping Blanco tequila that I savoured during my latest House of Cards binge watching marathon. This was the first offering that I've ever knowingly had the chance to try from NOM 1107 and now would like to try the whole El Viejito lineup. Don Indalecio passed away in 1982. So glad that his family carried on with his tradition and continues producing great old-school tequila. **RECOMMENDED**

Tromba Tequila Blanco NOM 1499 (36% Abv.)

To begin with, the Tromba (Big Rain) Tequila brand was created by gentlemen from Australia, Canadian, and Mexico. This 100% Agave Tequila is produced at Distillery Casa Tequilera de Arandas, technically known as NOM 1499. Having already reviewed a tequila from this particular distillery, I will not bore you with too much detail other than the subtle differences between the two marcas. An interesting fact about this particular brand is that one of its founders, Marco Cedano Nunez, was the original master distiller of Don Julio tequila. Just right there this gives Tromba a little more pedigree as I was a huge fan of Don Julio Tequila prior to Diageo started messing around with it (early 2000s).

The ripe blue agave is sourced from the Highlands region near Arandas, Jalisco. *No idea if this is the distillery's estate grown agave or sourced from farmers selling on the open market/guild. Apparently the harvested agave is slowly cooked for a longer duration in the distillery's autoclaves - focussing on taste rather than yield. I'd assume the rest of the production methods for Tromba mirrors the other brand that I've previously reviewed. Although, I'll guess that Mr. Marco Cedano Nunez has a hand in the distillation process of Tromba's small production runs, therefore, I can foresee some subtle differences. The desired fermented extracted agave juice is distilled two times with the distillery's copper pot stills. Prior to bottling, Tromba's blanco tequila is filtered and diluted to 36% Abv. for Canada and Australia markets; and filtered and diluted to 40% Abv. for the US market. The Tromba lineup includes a Reposado and Anejo albeit with the different alcohol percentages for above mentioned markets.

Appearance: Crystal clear/colourless, forming thin slow legs on the sides of my Riedel glass. Aroma: Cooked agave, crisp and earthy, some sweet honeyed smokiness, floral (mint?), citrus (lime?) and pepper. Flavour: Mild earthiness with crisp cooked agave notes, hint of sweet honey and lime?, buttery accompanied with hints of spicy pepper(s). A little light with some numbing sensation on the gums and palate - medium bodied - slightly oily/creamy and some alcohol in the back of the mouth (surprising at 36% Abv.). Finish: Nice medium finish with cooked agave and a lingering pepper and mint aftertaste. My only minor complaint, which is not a big deal, is that it's a tad soft at 72 Proof (36% Abv.). This particular tequila got many compliments at a party where it was sipped neat and mixed into Palomas & Batangas. An enjoyable tequila with a flavour profile that'll definitely keep you guessing. Solid tequila coming out of Casa Tequilera de Arandas. RECOMMENDED

Circulo Tequila Blanco NOM 1535 (40% Abv.)

First thing first, I'd like to confess that I have always been a huge 1921 Tequila fan albeit it the tequila produced at El Olvido distillery of Agabe Tequilana Productores y Comericalizadores, S.A. de C.V. (NOM 1079) in Jesus Maria, Jalisco. The tahona was even utilized in earlier batches - something many tequila geeks speculate on even to this day. Therefore. I'll save you the trouble of many google searches and say, "if you ever come across a bottle of 1921 (some state 'Stone-Milled' on the back label), Don Alejo, El Olvido (great bargain reposado) or some early lotes of Oro Azul (wax tops), grab it chances are you won't not be disappointed". Fast-forward to today, NOM 1079 doesn't exist but NOM 1580 does - which just so happens to be the same distillery but with a different name, Destiladora El Paraiso. The owner claims that a change was made to distance itself from marcas that were no longer produced at the distillery. The reason why I mention this is when I found out that 1921 tequila was moving to another distillery, Destileria Morales (NOM 1535), I sought out as much 1921 Tequila (NOM 1079) as I could to hoard in my pantry. The rule of thumb in the tequila world has been - label/presentation, owner, or distillery change means production change which equals quality change - usually for the worse. This logic seems to fair well in most cases. Don't get me wrong the new 1921 Tequila from NOM 1535 was good but not NOM 1079 great. Subsequently, the 1921 brand has moved on from Destileria Morales to Casa Tequilera de Arandas (NOM 1499).

Circulo Tequila is produced at Destileria Morales (NOM 1535) in the Los Altos region of Jalisco. Apparently the brand name is inspired by the ancient civilization of Guachimontones. The mature ripe agave is sourced somewhere in the red soils of the Highlands region - assume it's Destileria Morales' estate grown blue agave. Once at the distillery the agave - depending on the size - the pinas are split into halves or quarters then placed inside traditional stone ovens. A slow three phase steam cooking process lasting approximately 72 hours begins - 24 hours of continuous steam cooking; followed by a 24 hour resting period; and finally a 24 hour cooling period with the oven doors open. The lower section of the ovens contain a drainage system in which two types of the liquids drain in to - the first to drain are the bitter juices which are discarded followed by sweet nectar that is collected in a separate container and later used to enrich the juices extracted from the cooked agave. 

Once the the cooking and cooling phase is completed the cooked agave is transported to the shredding machinery where the pieces of cooked agave are broken down into smaller pieces to facilitate the milling phase. Supposedly the five section mill used at Destileria Morales is one of the largest in the tequila industry. The cooked agave fibres pass through and are pressed between rollers - the pressing action is complimented with the injection of water in strategic locations optimizing sugar extraction. The juices of the agave drip down into a channel where it is filtered and transferred to a recollection bin. 

Fermentation takes place in the distillery's large open stainless steel tanks (41700L capacity) - the distillery's 'champagne' yeast is prepared in smaller stainless steel tanks - the yeast is enriched with agave nectar and nutrients. Fermentation tanks are filled proportionately with sweet nectar, agave juices and the prepared yeasts. Two types of fermentation is used the distillery - alcoholic fermentation (3 days) and malolactic fermentation (4 days) both of which are enhanced by classical music audio. The use of classical music during fermentation is a method used by the likes of master tequila distillers Leopoldo Solis and Cirilo Oropeza. **However, it's not known which master distiller is actually involved with this particular brand.**

Once the fermentation is complete the next step is the double distillation process with the distillery's 5 large stainless steel pot and column stills (3500L capacity Alambiques) which contain copper condensing coils. The first distillation of the mosto results in a ordenario with an alcohol concentration of 25-28% - the solid particles, part of the water, some heads and tails are removed - leaving mostly the middle section or the heart of the distillate - the heads and tails goes back to first distillation. In the second distillation the ordenario is distilled reaching an alcohol concentration of 55% - a more refined product as the heads and tails are removed once again - and the heart of the distillate results as the tequila blanco. The distillations are done slowly at temperature controlled conditions - which most likely allow a generous cut of heads and tails to remain in the distillate - most of the flavours reside in the heads and tails. 

The blanco tequila is stored in various stainless steel tanks where it is left to oxygenate naturally for a minimum period of two months. For bottling the blanco is adjusted with purified water to 40% Abv. - the tequila is filtered again through a gravitational filtration system. For the Reposado, the tequila is adjusted to 42% Abv. - filtered and poured into new custom made American white oak barrels for an aging period of two months to a year. Once the Reposado is done aging, the barrels are dumped into the stainless steel tanks, then diluted to desired alcohol proof and filtered prior to bottling. The Circulo tequila information packet mentions an Anejo and an Extra-Anejo - no clue if this is possible future expansion of the brand's lineup.

Appearance: Crystal clear, forming medium uniform slow legs in my Riedel glass. Aroma: Lots of fresh agave, roasted agave/earthiness, hints of floral and mint?, faint fruit (citrus and pear?), spice. and alcohol. Flavour: Cooked agave, earthy, spice (almost jalapeno like) and wavering hints of mint. Semi-oily on entry with some minerality and mild subtle sweetness. Mild numbing sensation on the gums and palate. The spiciness really packs a punch in the back of the mouth. Finish: Nice medium finish with cooked agave and a jalapeno-like spice that lingers, as does some mild alcohol. This is a very very nice sipping tequila. Smooth? No. That's ok with me as I like the old school "fuerte" tequila. Would I mix it in a cocktail? Maybe. I would definitely enjoy this as a sipper first just to enjoy and appreciate the complex flavours this blanco has to offer. Surprised. I may also have to revisit some NOM 1535 products while I'm at it. RECOMMENDED