Mexico Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Siete Leguas Reposado

Posted on April 29, 2022April 21, 2022 by Nick

We love Siete Leguas Blanco in spite of the complete lack of information available online. We’ve previously covered this issue, while the box claims it’s Sazerac Company, they list no mention of Siete Leguas on their site. There’s also no English version of their site readily available, complicating matters further. That said, we love their blanco enough that their reposado was a must try. So is it worth it?

Siete Leguas Reposado

Sight: Extremely light white wine, almost pinot grigio like.

Smell: The nose starts off expressive and tangy with a mix of bright fino sherry and fresh agave. There are prickles of chili peppers, touches of vanilla, and fresh black pepper. Tropical fruits waft out like pineapple, grilled banana, and a mix of wet herbs and minerality. The nose has other hits of spice as well with just a pop of heat.

Sip: The body is like a smack of black pepper and artichokes with a bunch of oak right off the bat. Things starts to smooth out with more agave and grapefruit notes coming through. The tropical fruit flits around the edges and more of the agave notes come forward with more toasted flavors. A hint of cherry or banana also seems present with a little brine. The body has a nice weight and is smooth.

Savor: The finish is smooth with an emphasis on grilled vegetables, black pepper, and hints of oak, spice, and brine.

Siete Leguas Reposado’s nose does not quite match it’s taste, but the entire ride is delightfully complex. The nose implies this fruity, spicy, almost bright wine experience, but the body comes through with roasted vegetable and oak notes, with just hints of fruit. The finish adds a bit of spice and brine to tie the whole ending together. It’s an interesting sip, and keeps bringing me back to try it again.

In Cocktails

In a Margarita Siete Leguas Reposado adds black pepper and lets the citrus shine over a backdrop of smooth agave and gentle vanilla. That artichoke flavor is present with a very caramelized artichoke heart note, but the citrus really checks it. A slight bite of chili and tropical fruits joins in from time to time with a bit of minerality.. Overall, it keeps evolving in the glass, similar to how the tequila works on it’s own.

In Review – Siete Leguas Reposado

Siete Leguas Reposado is both complex and subtle. The flavors of roasted vegetables and pepper are more prevalent than in some over oaked examples of reposado. The fruity notes on the nose and the citrus notes offset this adding complexity and intrigue. At $50, this is heading toward the more expensive side of reposado, but still represents decent value.

Pasote Blanco Tequila

Posted on April 22, 2022April 21, 2022 by Nick

Pasote Blanco Tequila is one of those products that if you went to the website and tried to learn more about it, you’d end up concluding it was just another tequila. The webpage informs you that they craft their tequila with rain water, blue agave tequila grown in the highlands, and (also) spring water. The bottle is guarded by guerreros (a reference to aztec warriors that isn’t clearly explained). Does any of that make you want to buy a bottle for $42?

Fortunately, there’s a good number of enthusiasts in online communities who’ve had favorable things to say about tequila, so how does it shake out?

Pasote Blanco Tequila

Sight: Clear

Smell: Cinnamon apples and hibiscus flowers pop out immediately. Notes of roasted agave and lime follow, with a slight smokiness and a grapefruit zest character. There’s also an almost brown sugar like note with plenty of tropical fruit backing it up.

Sip: It starts out spicy and builds with black pepper, cinnamon, clove, and roasted spice notes. The agave and citrus start to kick in, and ripe tropical fruit and slight vanilla sugar tones join them. There’s a touch of salinity and a very herbaceous character begins to build with hints of smoke.

Savor: The ending is more spice, smoke, and roasted agave notes with plenty of almost cinnamon sugar.

Pasote Blanco Tequila is a bold and somewhat spicy tequila. The flavors of spice are the dominate characterestics, but it does a have a bit of sweetness that contrasts against more of the earthy elements. The roasty agave flavors are a good foil to some of the tropical and citrus notes. The net mix is a bit sporadic in its presentation, but the flavors are overall delicious, even for sipping.

In Cocktails

Pasote Blanco Tequila passes along its spice and roasted notes along to a Paloma in a balanced but firm way. The roasted notes even give it a slight smoke character, while the fruitiness compliments the grapefruit soda. The subtle lime and salinity work well to give it a long and refreshing finish. In a margarita, the sweetness of the orange bounces off the smokiness and spice of the tequila. The result is a smooth and silky margarita that leans into a savory meaty flavor with heavy touches of caramel, vanilla, and spice. The flavor is almost earthy, and lingers.

In Review – Pasote Blanco Tequila

Pasote Blanco Tequila is versatile and bold. It plays well in both cocktails and on it’s own. The flavors are complex, if slightly less subtle than some of the other tequilas we’ve tasted. The result though is a tequila that balances notes of spice, smoke, and citrus in a way that no one element seems to show up repetitively. While it costs a bit more, the quality is strongly there at a price in the low $40 and is arguably worth paying for.

Olmeca Altos Reposado

Posted on April 15, 2022April 14, 2022 by Nick

In last year’s tequila round up, there was a conspicuously obvious lack of variety. Everything was blanco. The reason behind this was more to have an even comparison field, but also to focus on the more commonly used blanco for Margarita applications. To remedy this, we’ll be taking a look at couple of reposado’s this year, and starting with Olmeca Altos Reposado, the sibling of one of our recommended bottles for starting your home bar.

Before we get too far, a recap on Tequilas. There are both 100% agave and mixto:

100% Agave – Nothing but agave used here in the distillation. No sugars, no color, no additives.
Mixto – Require 51% agave, but the rest can use sugars and neutral grain spirits.

Never use mixto. They are inconsistent and do not provide the quality or flavor needed.

Then there are the age statements:

Blanco / Plata / Silver – Unaged to two months in stainless steel or neutral barrels.
Reposado – Two months to one year in any sized oak barrel.
Anejo – 1 – 3 years in small oak barrels.
Extra Anejo – Minimum 3 years in oak barrels.

For the vast majority of drinks, Blanco / Reposado are going to be your best bets and most cost effective.

Olmeca Altos Reposado

Olmeca Altos Reposado is 100% agave which are aged 7-8 years. They’re roasted in brick ovens and processed with a large Tohana stone. The resulting mash is used into copper stills, and in the case of reposado, aged in used bourbon barrels.

Sight: Bordering on lightly aged Chardonnay or Chablis.

Smell: The nose is a raucous mix of grapefruit zest, caramel, vanilla, and touches of roasted agave. A subtle roastiness pervades and a linger bit of pepper hang around as well with some additional citrus.

Sip: The start is smooth and slightly dusty. A gradual build of caramel, vanilla, and oak start to show up. The citrus on the nose is more subdued and pithy. The roasted agave notes also move in late with a little burnt cinnamon.

Savor: The ending has a soft wood and vanilla note with a bit of agave. There’s a bit of tannin here and some burn.

Olmeca Altos Reposado is kind of calm and gentle, if a little on the straightforward side. The subtle citrus notes and light oak influence really help to give it character that you’d expect from a reposado tequila. That said, it doesn’t scream that it wants to be sipped neat. That’s ok though, its an easy going tequila at a reasonable price point for making cocktails.

In Cocktails

In a margarita, the caramel and vanilla notes come forward with a burly hit of tannic wood. The lime pulls in shortly after, and then expands the citrus. While the ending is slightly tannic and bitter, it’s a pretty smooth margarita. In a Rosita, it really brings some beautiful vanilla and oak notes, but the place it shines is in some of those burnt spice and citrus-agave notes. These shine beautifully against the herbal notes of the vermouth and with the bittersweet notes of the tequila.

In Review – Olmeca Altos Reposado

We generally like Olmeca Altos Reposado at $25-30. It brings a good amount of tequila character without being offensive or overpowering. As an entry point, this tequila is good a starter – but doesn’t open up world of tequila in any particular way. With tempered expectations, there’s a good amount to like about Olmeca, but you don’t need to feel pressure to find a bottle.

Cenote Blanco Tequila

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Nick

Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner, and that means it’s Tequila season! Last year we went through four tequilas, and this year we’re adding in a newcomer, Cenote Blanco Tequila. Named after the swimming holes that are created by the collapse of limestone, Cenote features reverse osmosis filtered water from an artisan well by the base of a Volcano on their property. The water is paired with 100% blue agave that are grown to a minimum age of 6 – 7 years, and distilled in both copper and stainless steel pot stills. For their blanco tequila, the resulting spirit is aged 3 weeks in American oak to help mellow it.

Cenote Blanco Tequila

Sight: Clear

Smell: Notes of black pepper, green bell pepper, agave, and citrus come together in a harmonious and bright mix. Notes of vanilla and resinous pine hide in the background with a plethora of other green vegetable hints.

Sip: Starting off smooth, it opens with lime, black pepper, and agave notes. A touch of vanilla and a bit of cedar get together, and give way to some additional spice. The citrus notes continue to evolve as it goes adding earth, char, and a touch of yeast.

Savor: The ending is more citrus and pepper and char. The length continues with a dry yeastiness and charred agave.

Cenote Blanco Tequila is definitely leaning into the drier, citrus and green vegetable side of tequila. Ultimately, the flavor profile is very balanced, and the smoothness keeps it easy to drink. The flavors aren’t super in your face either, so you can pensively explore each sip. This is a nice set of flavors for those looking to upgrade and try something more conservative.

In Cocktails

In a Margarita the Cenote boosts the lime and citrus notes to the forefront while letting the sweetness stay balanced. The agave notes play around in the background and give it a distinct flavor. Despite the sweetness that’s present on palate, it’s very dry on the finish. There’s a very pointed agave funk kind of ending with a healthy dose of black pepper. This flavor profile can make it a little challenging in cocktails, especially for those used to fruitier, less agave and vegetable forward tequilas.

In Review – Cenote Blanco Tequila

Cenote Blanco Tequila is a balanced tequila with a drier profile than other mass market offerings. The no additive nature and moderate price point makes this an attractive choice for tequila fans looking to branch out into more restrained tastes. We recommend this as an expansion bottle for your bar, but it might be a little intimidating as a starter.

Mezcal Vago Elote

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Nick

Cinco de Mayo is almost upon us, and while everyone around you might be screaming for tequila, we want to remind you of the oft forgotten Mezcal. Mezcal Vago prides itself on its process. In the case of Mezcal Vago Elote, it’s made by Aquilino Garcia, the father-in-law of Mezcal Vago’s co-founder. He produces his own Mezcal in small batches from mature, ripe agaves (in this case Espadin), that are roasted, crushed under a tohana (big stone wheel pulled by a donkey), and then fermented in pine vats before being distilled. The process is honestly fascinating, and they’ve done an amazing job of demonstrating it on their website (which I encourage you to look at if just to see the donkey pulling the tohana).

With all the work that goes into making Mezcal Vago Elote, the price is understandable. Is it worth it though?

Mezcal Vago Elote

Sight: Clear.

Smell: Honeycomb, jalapenos, and fresh cut flowers waft out of the nose. Hints of herbs, smoke, and citrus run down the edges. Touches of tropical fruits join in giving a levity. There’s also a woodsy sort of perfume. as well.

Sip: The start is light, bright, and with a slight salinity. The elements of green peppers and honeycomb combine with smoke and perfume like notes. There’s not really any sweetness, but the body has a thick weight. There’s quite a bit of citrus and pepper here.

Savor: The ending is perfumed, laced with citrus, smoke, and herbal notes. There’s a touch of bitterness here that lingers.

Mezcal Vago Elote is much less smoke forward, and much more perfumed. There’s some beautiful floral and woodsy flavors that mix heavily with citrus and green herbs. The overall profile is really complex, and is enjoyable to not only sip on it’s own, but strong enough to stand up to other flavors.

In Cocktails

In our Rising Sun testing cocktail, Mezcal Vago Elote is the star of the show. The citrus, honeyed notes, and smoke all come to the forefront balancing beautifully against the richness of the maraschino spice and brightness of the lime. The grapefruit gives a punchiness and the entire experience rounds out with touches of herbs. The balance is actually perhaps better than our run with Bozal Ensamble thanks to a reduced penchant for smoke, but both end up being very good.

Rising Sun Cocktail — Toro Bravo’s Rising Sun

Mezcal Vago Elote Overall

At almost $50 a bottle, once could argue that Mezcal Vago Elote is expensive. However, considering the smoothness, the complexity, and overall sippable nature of this agave based spirit, it’s right in line with some of our top priced tequilas – like Casamigos and Siete Leguas. Unlike the tequilas, there aren’t as many down range mezcal offerings that will make as balanced a cocktail. For that reason, we recommend Mezcal Vago Elote if you’re looking for a reasonably priced mezcal that offers great value and a genuine handcrafted personality.

Bozal Ensamble

Posted on January 4, 2021January 11, 2021 by Nick

In general, there’s a diminishing return with liquor ingredients in cocktails. This isn’t to say that a Weller Antique 107 or Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Manhattan isn’t going to be significantly better than it’s lower tier counterpart, but the $25 – 50 a bottle difference in price may not reflect as clearly with other ingredients involved. The joke would be something like taking Johnny Walker Blue Label and mixing it with diet coke. You can obviously do you (if you have the means), but perhaps for the rest of us, the question of scalability comes into play. Bozal Ensamble illustrates this difference in a smaller band, showing off the bottom of a higher grade of Mezcal

Bozal Ensamble

While Bozal Ensamble can be found in the mid $40 to low $50 price band, it still could be considered a little high compared to something like Del Maguey Vida which can go as low as mid $30s. If you are particularly into agave spirits, like Tequila or Mezcal, you’ll recognize the step here for artisanal quality most likely justifies price. Especially considering Mezcal can easily range up in the hundreds of dollars. But what’s the juice inside that intriguing ceramic bottle really taste like?

Sight: Clear

Smell: An amazingly complex nose leads with a sweet, caramelized, roasted agave smell wafts forward. Mixtures of smokiness with touches of flowers and tropical fruit come together creating a pungent mix with just a hint of heat. Touches of lime, green pepper, honeyed pineapple, and agave funk come forward with pink peppercorn and herbs.

Sip: The start has an amazing degree of sweetness that gives way to a savory flavors. As the sweetness fades, touches of pepper, agave, green herbs and peppers mingle with almost tropical notes. There’s a linger smoke to the background that builds, and there’s little to no burn all the way through.

Savor: The finish lingers beautifully mixing hints of tropical fruit with a strong agave and smoke background. The complexity gives touches of citrus, herbal, and spice.

The words to describe Bozal Ensamble are lacking, not for lack of flavor, but for the complexity of this mezcal. While you can buy cheaper Mezcal, the beauty of Ensamble shows what good Mezcal can be, without costing an arm and a leg. The flavor profile is so dynamic, and the flavor so complex, that just sitting and sipping you can keep finding new elements. Make no mistake, this Mezcal is certainly good enough to sip on, on it’s own.

In Cocktails – Developing a Testing Process for Mezcal

Unlike Tequila, there aren’t a host of ready made applications to pull from for tasting Mezcal in. There’s a plethora of reasons for this, ranging from that Mezcal can be more artisanal (and therefore expensive) or that Mezcal is just plain more aggressive in some of it’s flavor profiles. As a result, it took some experimenting to find a drink that’s more or less clean enough to evaluate the Mezcal. What I settled on is a drink called The Rising Sun from Toro Bravo that’s detailed by Saveur through the link.

The reason I chose this particular cocktails is because the flavors (lime, grapefruit, some salt, and maraschino liqueur) are good complimentary flavors that allow the Mezcal to demonstrate itself without disappearing. The similar to a daiquiri, there’s not a whole lot of additional conflict here to process. The resulting drink is bright, a little nutty, and mezcal driven. Bozal Ensamble shined nicely in this application, showing off a nice strong agave and smoke backbone, while adding to the touches of citrus, herbal notes, and touches of tropical fruit. The maraschino liquor balanced well, showing off it’s character without being overpowered or overpowering the mezcal.

To fully understand the comparison, we used Del Maguey Vida and Olmeca Altos Plata in the main role. Blanco tequila is insufficient here to provide the depth delivered by Mezcal. Del Maguey Vida serves as a great parallel to the Bozal Ensamble, but it gives off additional smoke that lingers and a hint of rubber. By no means is it bad, but rather it lacks the refinement of Bozal Ensamble.

Based on this, we’re going to keep using The Rising Sun from Toro Bravo as originally detailed on Saveur’s site to continue to test mezcal drinks.

Bozal Ensamble Overall

Bozal Ensamble is an eye opening Mezcal if you’ve been used to having lower quality Mezcal or are unfamiliar with Mezcal. The price point hovers in the mid $40s to low $50s, meaning this isn’t the cheapest option available. The step in quality is substantial though, and while Del Maguey Vida can certainly work and serve as a modifier, it won’t be as pleasing on it’s own or as refined in more delicate applications. For these reasons, we advise the extra splurge to pick up Bozal Ensamble, and expand your knowledge of agave spirits.

Sauza Silver Tequila

Posted on January 2, 2020 by Nick

Sauza Silver Tequila is not labeled as a 100% Blue Agave tequila. As far as Tequila goes there’s both 100% blue agave and the other stuff, mixto. No tequila company is going go out of the way to tell you they’ve made a mixto, and for good reason. Let’s start with how tequila is made.

Tequila is made in the area surrounding Tequila, Mexico. To make Tequila, blue agave plants are harvested, roasted, broken down, and then pressed. The resulting juice is then fermented and later distilled. For silver tequilas these tequilas are then bottled. Alternatively, they can be aged in wood barrels to mellow the flavors.

By law to be labeled 100% Blue Agave – Tequila must be made from 100% Blue Agave. Mixto by contrast can contain up to 49% other distillate (such as sugar). It can also contain colors and other additives to help make sure it seems closer to real 100% blue agave Tequilas.

So is Sauza Silver Tequila Any Good and How Does It Do In Cocktails?

In a Margarita, the Sauza tends to hide. The nose is slightly floral and has a nice spice to it. The flavor starts out very bright and moves forward into slight sweetness and a touch of orange. The tequila is somewhat peppery and floral in here – and has a hint of spice. A strong lime ending runs through the end and the tequila comes forward slightly and the finish hints at candied orange.

In a side by side it doesn’t compete as directly on the tequila note. Instead the lime and Cointreau stand out over the tequila. In a blind tasting, it was the lightest of the lightly aged tequila, boarding on grain spirit.

If you happen to find tequila’s flavor too strong, you might happen to like Sauza, however, serious tequila fans will find it somewhat boring. In a cocktail it also might hide in the drink, rather than stand up correctly the way you’re looking for it to while making a new cocktail.

Looking for For Info?

Sauza’s Website
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