It’s not often that we take the time to review a mixto on this site, but more often than not most people’s first experience with tequila is with a cheap mixto rather than a 100% agave brand. Now I’m no tequila snob, well I am, but something enticed me to check this brand out and see if perhaps there was something out there that might stop people reaching for the standard bottle of Sauza or Cuervo.

Tequila Details

Name: el Zarco (Gold)
NOM: 1122
Distillery: Distillery: Casa Cuervo, S.A. de C.V.
Location: Iztacalco, Distrito Federal
Website: http://www.proximospirits.com/brands/el-zarco-tequila

Review Notes

Straight off the bat this tequila is gold by name and nature and has a watery consistency, it beads almost instantly. It’s got very little (if any) agave nose to it but perhaps this isn’t a bad point, mixtos in general tend to be a bit heavy on the alcohol aroma. On the palate I’m seeing that more subtle approach too. There’s clearly no Cuervo burn, but that pepper heat is missing just like our agave nose and that’s a real shame. The tequila itself is smooth and easy going, due to the double distillation method, making you believe that the goal was to show that a mixto doesn’t necessarily have to rip out your tonsils each time you take a sip.

All in all this isn’t a bad bit of drink but ultimately however it is a mixto, and although in this day and age there’s very little excuse for not drinking 100% agave, it’s a better place to start from than a lot of people have had previously.

¡Salud y’all!

Yup, we’re going to review this. I’m sure you’re not going to be shocked by what we thought about it…but someone had to do it. In Europe you come across this tequila everywhere. I think it’s worth mentioning that it is tequila like this that is responsible for the bad name of tequila. People often comment that they have had a bad experience with tequila. If you’re drinking stuff like this you didn’t have a bad experience with tequila, you had an experience with bad tequila!

Tequila Details

Brand: Sierra Tequila
NOM: 1298
Distillery: Tequila Sierra Brava, S.A. de C.V.

Review Notes

This bottle of tequila *coughs* is as clear as a day. It smells like pure alcohol and it burns…then it burns a little less….then you taste ethanol and then pepper….which then burns. This stuff is bloody awful….but yet…I still see an NOM number on it! I do wish there could be a way of stopping crap like this from being called tequila (it qualifies by being 51% agave), there are a lot of people who believe this is what tequila is and that’s not good for the image. I’m not surprised that people don’t review this, and yes we knew what we were getting into when we bought it. I think this is a great lesson in that a NOM number doesn’t ever ensure that you are getting a quality product.

If you’ve got a bottle of this mix it with anything that you can find that might be able to control the taste of this. If you can’t find anything…I’m sure you can use it to disinfect stuff.

¡Salud y’all!

Everyone’s got a bottle of this somewhere. It’s got to be one of the most famous, and notorious, bottles of drink around. In 1758, José Antonio de Cuervo received a land grant from the King of Spain in the Mexican state of Jalisco. In a small factory on this land his descendant, José María Guadalupe Cuervo, used the land to build a distillery for tequila production in 1795. The distillery was later named Fabrica La Rojeña. The tequila was exported to the United States for the first time in 1873. In 1900, José Cuervo Labastida decided to brand the tequila as José Cuervo. The company is now owned and run by heirs of the Cuervo family, the Beckmann family.

Tequila Details

Brand: José Cuervo Especial
NOM: 1122
Distillery: Casa Cuervo, S.A. de C.V.
Website: http://www.cuervo.com

Review Notes

This is a light gold, sweet smelling tequila with a just a hint of agave. It’s got a sickly sweet taste (goes with the smell I guess) due to the corn syrup that’s most likely lurking in there somewher…there’s a touch of oak too, but that taste doesn’t linger long! With regret I must say that this is not a good tequila….it is certainly not the best in the world. Don’t get me wrong it’s got amazing marketing behind it, clearly the sales figures don’t lie, but it can often leave you a little sore in the head area the next day. Drink it once to learn what bad tequila tastes like, if you really feel you have to…then go buy something else!

¡Salud y’all!