Amate Tequila Anejo

A very solid, very dependable anejo. Lovely nose, soft and beautiful. Caramel, a little fruity, and a little bit of woody earthiness - I received a quick olfactory flash of Casa Noble anejo. Taste continues on the caramel/fruity route with some happy spice on the tongue and a satisfactory medium finish, with definite hints of chocolate and burnt sugar. Tasty, no astringencies, nice body - there's nothing wrong with this anejo. It's a very pleasurable tequila to have in a bar (Reposado Bar, Toronto) but nothing I would go out of my way to sneak back across the border. I mean bring back and declare.

Amate Anejo NOM 1137. Tasted 2ozs. from a snifter at my home tequila bar on 4/7/09. Color: Golden amber Aroma-Nose: Intensely powerful alcohol burn to the nostril with secondary hints of vanilla & floral. Initial Taste: Sweet yet mild agave presence followed by a strong alcohol attack with a secondary caramel blast that engulfs the entire palate. Body: Light to oily mouthfeel with thin to medium legs running down the sides of the snifter. Finish: Sweet yet very mild smokiness that engulfes the palate followed by a strong numbing alcohol burn on the back end. Smoothness: Stronger emphasis on consistant numbing alcohol burn on the tongue rather than the smoothness desired from aging more than one year in white oak. Quality/Price: IMO, at retail $46.99, I was expecting a much smoother overall agave & oak presence from a distilery with that type of pedigree. It's lack of earth and agave truely left me wanting more oak, more smoke, and just more overall punch. Presentation: Short, squat type bottle with nice gold lettering and a thick, fat natural cork stopper with metal cap.

Tasted 07/28/08 out of shot glass. A shot glass isnt my favorite to taste a tequila, so I treated it as a high ball double glass. I liked this lines anejo much more than their blanco. Not my favorite anjeo, but it aint the worst either.

Aroma: A nice cooked agave and caramel presence.
Initial Taste: Very sweet on the tongue, a little too much for my taste.
Bosy: Very sweet caramel, agave, and earth.
Finish: Of short duration, but no burn!