My son and I made the trip to Tequila, Jalisco, and finally got this Fortaleza haul home after quite an adventure with the FAA travel mess. We brought back 14 bottles in total: 3 Añejo, 2 Winter Blend, 5 Still Strength, 2 Blanco, and 2 Reposado. It was quite a trip, but getting to visit Tequila and bring these bottles home made it worth the effort. The two Winter Blends were especially exciting to find. Now comes the hard part: deciding which bottles to open first and which ones to save!

This is my top shelf selection of tequilas. I’ve been building it for the past 6-7 years. I have quite a few more that are hidden, and a lot of mezcal, raicilla sotol etc.

I was doing the math and I have around some 500 bottles in total and I think between agave distillates in total I’ve tried at least a 1,000 labels (most in blind tastings).

In that time I’ve come to a conclusion: there’s no such thing as the “best”, there are good, mediocre and badly made spirits, but ultimately it comes down to personal palate and reference.

Cheers!

I have never seen this before but TW had it on sale for $40. Agavematchmaker doesn’t have it listed and neither does ET’s website.

The nose is ripe green apple, mint, and cooked agave. It has a thinner mouthfeel and the apple, mint and agave translate along with a vegetative pepper and long green peppery finish despite the thin mouthfeel. If this was a higher proof it would even better. Different from their Reserva Repo and nothing like Repo Rare. Very different and fun. I may buy a second bottle today at that price.

I’m not much of a tequila drinker. Most of my time goes to bourbon, whisky, and scotch. I’m looking at a 1.75L bottle of Casa Maestri Reposado at Costco for $65. A Costco employee recommended it to me.

I don't know whether this is a good reposado or just a good price. I’ve read plenty of comments saying there are additives in it, but there's no "official" answer.

Is this worth drinking neat? or immediate mixer?

I want to know whether this bottle is a reasonable first purchase or whether I should spend a little more on something else. So, would you buy it?

El tesoro repo anejo xa

G4 blanco high proof blanco repo

Ocho repo anejo xa

Tapatio repo and high proof blanco

Cazcanes no 7 blanco repo no 9

Don fulano blanco repo anejo

Alma el jaguar repo

1146 1414

Lost lore repo and blanco

What’s been you guys’ experience with ordering from Flaviar? I usually use other sites for shipping, but There’s some good stuff along with some whiskeys that I’m looking at.

So, I tried G4 blanco and it's so good. Even the smell is so much better than that sugary Bone Orchard one that I had. Obviously there's more to try, but so far this has been a better sipper and mixer. It does feel like changing from fast food to a good home cooked burger with, that is switching from Espolon and trying that sugary bone orchard to G4.

I wonder how the Respardo is, that is probably my next try.

I need some advice. I found this dusty bottle of Rey Sol, pre extra añejo designation. Must be from 2004/2005. Very interested to try it. The plastic seal is still in place, but as you can see, about 20% of the liquid is gone. Is this still any good or is it gonna just taste like faint agave water? The price isn’t bad (they want $130 for it), but I feel like it’s wasted if it’s gonna be flat. What say the people?

I’m looking for some new additions to my tequila stash. Looking at a decent price range from $50-$150 USD.

I’ve had the normal:
- G4
-Mijenta
-Fortaleza
-Don Fulano
-Arrete
-El Tesoro
-Ocho
-Wild Commons
-Cascahuin
-El Tequileño
-Volcan de mi Tierra
-Codigo

I like to stick with Blanco & Repo but open to adding an añejo bottle!

I find this subreddit, while prone to sometimes echoing strong opinions without flexibility, to nevertheless be very reliable. Additive free is important to me (as much as it is clearly to all of you, on the whole), and I’m also someone who enjoys tasting tequilas made traditionally, with care; as well as some less traditional tequilas, provided the craftsmanship is pure.

I’ll throw out some of the favorite tequilas I’ve tried recently, and maybe we can get into a convo about tequilas that have similar tasting notes, profiles, unique qualities.

Blanco. Tequila Ocho Plata is probably my standard bearer, always on the shelf, for mixing or neat. If mixing margaritas, I prefer Zumbador and Lalo, in that order, and depending on price. For sipping neat, I enjoyed Cascahuin plata 48, G4 Madera, and Fulano Fuerte in that order. Lost Lore’s Blanco also ranks highly for me, which I think sips like a briny dirty martini. Really enjoy it.

I’ve had Fortaleza blanco and enjoyed its minerality, citrusy agave, dewy/oily mouthfeel (think of how an oaky California white sits on the tongue). A solid 7.8/10 in my book. Not unimpressed at all; but you’d think it’s next level nectar the way it’s mentioned in some threads here.

Repo. Far less exposure here, I’ve had El Tesoro, La Gritona, and Mijenta. Mijenta is by far my favorite; maybe top 3 of any tequilas I’ve had to sip on. I know some may say that makes me a sugar bomb bourbon seeking taster; and that’s probably fair to a degree. But despite the attractive caramel, tropical fruit, and warm tasting notes, I like that the agave is very much there at the forefront.

Anejo. I’ve had Mijenta, Don Fulano, and Cazcanes (the latter at a bar). Of this group, I enjoyed the Don Fulano most, especially after it had a chance to open up. Really appreciate the barreling and the milder approach Fulano takes, particularly the French limousin oak barrels proprietary to Don Fulano.

Extra Anejo. No experience.

Just swung by after work tonight for a rotisserie chicken… and stumbled upon Tears of Llorona for $210. I’m in NorCal BTW.

The El Tesoro just has a perfect standard tequila flavor. Their expressions tend to be my favorite overall. It’s a bit spicier and caramel ish. The Fortaleza more has the flavor of dry fall leaves on the ground. A more earthy flavor. Both great bottles. I had them both straight and then both as a Tommy's Margarita, no salt of course. I rate the El Tesoro 85th a 10 and the Fortaleza 2025 Winter Blend Reposado a 9. My wife is amazing. I’m so lucky to have her!

Utah is stepping up adding cool tequilas. Finally.

Oddly this wasn’t in agave match maker. I had to add it which was surprising since Ocho is not a niche producer.

Neither waxy nor oily. It’s a thin austere sipper with no flab to speak of.
There are some layers of fragrant woods like cedar.
The agave seems quashed.
There’s some house paint a teeny bit of heat and a lonnnnnng fade finish of cigar lounge after everyone left.

Wood dominates the agave. Not as much as usual though. You wouldn’t mistake it for a bourbon like with some EAs.

I’m a blanco fella fyi.

I was wondering if anyone has procured from either of these places in Washington do they charge you the sales tax on your order? Currently live in a state they won’t ship to but am visiting family for thanksgiving and would love to get some bottles shipped as long as I don’t have to pay the 22% tax 😂

We were gifted the bottle on the left by someone who loves this tequila. We got the bottle on the right as gift for her. Never bought it before so I didn’t notice the gold emblem until I got home. I also do not know much about tequila in general. Everything else is exactly the same. Did they change branding or is this a different tequila? We bought it from the typical ABC store we usually go to.

She knocked it out of the park again! The Tesoro is my favorite of the two but they are both delicious.

So I've had these bottles unopened and just sitting on my bar for nearly 3 years now, along with about 50 other agaves. I thought I would open them to at least try during a special occasion but I haven't. It would be a shame for the cork to mess them up one day. I thought I would ask around for some good ideas.

I ordered online for the first time. Got these delivered today through hiproof. I've had, and loved the el tesoro anejo before. The rest are new to me.

Cheers to those who served. Celebrating this Veterans Day with Siembra Valles Aniversario capón blanco. I was fortunate to enjoy this years Aniversario release with the brand owner at a curated tasting & it easily ranks up there among the best of the best. With the announcement of a pit cooked variant last Friday, i made a bee line to my favorite shop at the first opportunity & thankfully they had one put aside for me. It's been some time since I sat down to collect my thoughts & write a proper review, I apologize if I'm a bit rusty. Can the pit cooked bottling eclipse the original? does this version take an amazing blanco to even higher heights? Let's get into it.

For those who need to know, capón is a technique in the world of mezcal & agave spirits where the quiote stalk is cut when the agave reaches full maturity, which results in the plant concentrating it's sugars. I'm sure there's a better explanation, feel free to ask your favorite AI agent. Wood tank fermentation, fermenting with fibers, mallet maceration, pit cooking, all of these techniques come from the history and tradition of agave spirits, it's great to see them working back into the tequila sphere. Moving right along...

In the glass: nothing to see here. Both are the same color, which is to say there is no color. Clearer than clear. Do you see silver streaks? I don't & I'm really trying.

On the nose: for the brick oven it's all agave. Sweet grass, a bit of black licorice if you really close your eyes & focus. Pit cooked leans more into the herb garden, I get a hint of smoke which is expected, but not overpowering.

Down it goes: brick oven is sugary sweet agave, a bit of petrichore soil earthiness, then a blast of black jellybean, fennel, & anise. clearing my palate with black coffee, I'm really floored by the pit cooked blanco. This is more like cooked agave sweetness, less intense with a bit of char, like burnt carmelized sugar. There's no smoke in the taste which surprised me as I was expecting something between ArteNOM 1123 & a sweeter Siembra Valles Ancestral.

while I love the original, this new batch is definitely its own thing as opposed to more of the same or a mild departure. Going back to the brick oven blanco, that black jellybean finish is huge. I was expecting something savory & I'm not getting anything like that with the pit oven, it's more like drinking a creme brulee. There's a lot going on with both, I don't think I can pick a favorite.

I will wrap it up & say if you're gonna splurge on a spendy blanco, get one of these. already own the original? get both. My expectations were subverted in the best way. these are truly unique blancos, an experience in & of themselves. if you are getting bored with more & more of the same highlands blanco releases, take a trip to the valley. I'll leave it at that, thanks again to all our veterans, & most of all thank you for reading. ¡Salúd!

Wondering what you tequila collectors do when you find a first lote of a series, do you save it or drink it? I buy tequila to share with friends and family but wondering what most of you do when you find a first batch of an expression.

Tequila Ocho Blanco and Resposado have been on my local Costco shelves since I’ve been going there for the last couple of years.

Today it was not! It surprised me that Costco replaced the spot with Don Julio (1942, etc). I hope this is a temporary thing for the holidays.

Is this something you noticed at your Costco? I’m curious if this is nationwide

Bunch of favorites here. Has anybody tried Vuelo?

Tapatio Blanco is my favorite under $50 bottle, and I’ve been waiting to try El Tesoro for some time. Saw this at the store today and grabbed two blancos.

Still opening up the bottle, but first impressions is this is the exact bouquet of mineral delights I was hoping for!

For $30 … an absolute steal