Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Sauza Hornitos reposado remains one of the best tequilas on the market, when price point is taken into consideration.
While brands with bigger names and flashier livery demand $50 or more per bottle, it’s possible to find this aged, 100 percent agave beauty in the $30 range.
That discount lends a tequila redolent of agave and wood, streamed with traces of juniper and salt, with softer, sweeter notions lurking underneath. It promises on the nose to be one smooth yet intense ride.
Be aware that this bottle is not meant for college bar shooting. Reposados, aged for up to a year in oak (and anejos, which sit in barrels for one to three years) develop more subtleties that your rip-roaring clear tequilas. They are meant to be savored--although they do lend more intensity to margaritas, as well.
Sip at room temperature and the unique flavor of the agave plant eases forward, rounded by vanilla, rough-hewn wood and more earthy notes. This soon yields to a more strident, husky alcohol burn that lingers--though it is not forceful enough to banish a natural grassy sweetness.
Granted, I own a set of Riedel crystal tequila glasses, designed by the Austrian firm to align the aromas and flavors into a more expressive form.
The stemware brings out its best. But even from a highball, Sauza Hornitos is a very satisfying spirit.