Tequila addiction

Okay, so I'm not an alcoholic, far from it, but I do have a thing for trying better and better tequilas. At work, there's 3 guys who are really into Margaritas and so we investigate tequilas, we each buy one or two of the ones we think are good and then we taste test on Friday's. After deciding which is the best, we then make small margaritas and enjoy the new found tequila. This is now known fondly as Tequila Friday's!! So now I own 5 different bottles of tequila. I must be crazy. Sarah definitely thinks so. (But she's been thinking that for a long time now) So what's the results of all our taste testing? Here's the results as we've decided thus far. In order from rock-gut to whoa-baby:

Jose Quervo Gold - In all honesty about the dirtiest, nastiest stuff you can buy. Lots of bite and no taste. Not 100% blue agave.

Jose Quervo Blanco - Less bite than Quervo Gold, but still just a step above from drinking gasoline. Jose Quervo really does a disservice to tequila. Also, not 100% blue agave.

Cazadores Repasado - I once talked with a lady who co-owned a decent Mexican restaurant here in town. I asked her what her most ordered tequilas were. Hornitos and Cazadores was the answer, which they are the best of the cheap tequilas. However, Cazadores has more of a whiskey taste and less of a tequila taste making it very horrible in my opinion.

1800 Blanco - Definitely a ton smoother than Jose Quervo Blanco, but that's not hard to do. Not worth the money. Perhaps the Repasado is better.

Suaza Hornitos (Repasado) - Best tequila for the $20 something price entry. If all you've experienced is Jose Quervo, this is great stuff.

Cabo Wabo Repasado - A huge step up in smoothness and taste from the Hornitos. Has a medium amount of bite. After taste is decent.

Patron Repasado - Not far from the Cabo Wabo Repasado. Again has a medium amount of bite and after taste is decent. Some refer to Patron as the Jose Cuervo of upper end tequilas. Everybody thinks its great stuff (marketing), but really it leaves a lot to be desired.

Don Eduardo Anejo - Extremely difficult to say which of the Don Eduardo's is better, the Anejo or Repasado. The anejo has a lot of bite, which I don't like, but it has a ton of after taste. You can literally take a small sip of this stuff and have a wonderful taste in your mouth 3 minutes later. The large amount of bite however, doesn't make for good margaritas and can easily turn off the tequila sipper.

Don Eduardo Repasado - Extremely smooth, good amount of taste, NO bite what-so-ever. Makes for excellent margaritas.

Don Julio Repasado - Little more bite than the Don Eduardo Repasado, but tons more taste which more than makes up for the small amount of bite. This is definitely the best repasado I've tasted to date and makes smokin' Margaritas.

Don Julio Anejo - Less bite than the Repasado and about the same amount of taste. You can definitely tell its oak barrel aging relation to the Repasado. Have yet to try it in a Margarita, but I'm guessing its going to be fabulous and possibly a new favorite. Could very well be the best tequila you can buy in the $50 range.

San Matia Anejo - First of all, this tequila is in a whole different price bracket from all the above tequilas. This stuff runs $140 for a 750mL bottle. So its not really fair to put this stuff in the same list as the above tequilas. And No, I didn't buy this bottle. Boss lady bought it for us tequila lovers. But anywho, this stuff is aged 3 yrs, has no bite what-so-ever, has a very nice wood-maple flavor. Very good for sipping. Kind of a waste to put this wonderful stuff in Margaritas.


So there's the breakdown of Tequilas as me and the guys at work know it. By the way, our recipe for making Margaritas is really simple. 1 part lime juice, 3 parts tequila, 3 parts orange liqueur (a mixture of Cointreau, Grand Marnier, & Triple Sec). Go easy on the Grand Marnier though, too much can ruin a 'rita. And if there's too much tartness from the lime, increase the ratio of Triple Sec.

There ya go, you have more than enough info for making excellent Margaritas!! Just take it easy, those babies are strong!!

Also you may be wondering...
  Blanco - no aging in wood barrels
  Repasado - Aged a minimum of 3 months, but not more than 1 year.
  Anejo - Aged a minimum of 1 year.

Tim.