Tequila Tapatio "Excelencia" Extra Añejo Tequila (1L)

Notes

The oldest expression from Carlos Camarena's Tapatio brand is finally available stateside. Rich and butterscotchy and with hints of black pepper and citrus, it is distilled exclusively from perfectly matured agave at the famous La Altena distillery in Arandas. When they tell you how this stuff was made, it just boggles the mind. Distilled in 2000, this is the official SECOND batch of Excelencia. It was filled into the same barrels as the first directly after they were dumped and aged for four years before being transferred into glass containers. There it has mellowed for more than a decade. This juice (Tapatio Extra Añejo) was once used only to add oaky character to underwhelming añejos, but later the distillery began selling it, and it remained a collector's secret until its arrival in the U.S. in 2014. Now, it is a living legend. This second batch is even more delicious than the first. Still the same decadent juice, but with a few degrees more ripe agave influence. It will be ultra-limited, with only 20 cases for California. It garnered 98 points from the Beverage Tasting Institute: "Bronze color. Aromas of fresh lumber, luxury tobacco, caramel, prune, eucalyptus, and vanilla-scented black tea with a fat body and a very long cherry-almond, dark roasted agave, sandalwood, baking spices, and root beer finish. A superlative sipping tequila that combines elegant wood with rustic, authentic agave flavors; an outstanding spirit." (04/2018)