1800 Essential Limited Edition
Type: Tequila Silver (Plata) A drinkable tequila and a work of limited edition art at a cheap price.
About Tequila – Historically, most of the Tequila in the United States was low quality spirit meant to be drunk as quickly as possible usually brought back from some slumming south of the border. Fortunately a number of years ago (about 25 or so) ago the market underwent a sea change, with much improvement in both quality and brand choices. Tequila is a form of Mezcal but can use only the blue agave (Tequilana Weber) where Mezcal can use 18 different varieties. So Tequila is a Mezcal but a Mezcal is not necessarily Tequila. The is grown for a number of years until it reaches maturity(usually 6) then is harvested by a Espadin- a skilled worker who cuts the large sharp leaves of the plant to make a Pina (or Pineapple as it is called) which is the barrel shaped heart of the agave. The pina is baked in a oven (the traditional producers still use stone ovens) to caramelize the starch into sugars then the cooked pina is crushed to extract the juice for fermentation and distillation. The more industrial type of tequila production crushes or shreds the pina before cooking but is generally held to producer a lesser quality spirit. Many cheaper brands of Tequila are mass produced in factories and bulk shipped to the US for Bottling Now for some finer points: Always look for 100% Agave on the bottle, the cheap, painful stuff does not say that. It is referred to as Mixto and is made of a blend of Agave and God knows what else if you are lucky cheap grain alcohol, unlucky, well you can use the money you saved on a white cane. The three types or age classifications: Joven: Fresh from the still also known as Blanco or Silver Reposado: Rested in Oak barrels ( If you want to find out which distillery made a tequila look for the NOM #which is listed on every tequila label or bottle . There are numerous books and websites with lists of the numbers so you can track it down. (see our tequila links sections for some sites)
A drinkable tequila and a work of limited edition art at a cheap price.
Doesn’t go much cheaper without major pain and suffering from bad distillation.
A low end anejo which is redeemed by the price point. While it lacks the finish and complexity of higher end anejos, it also lacks the price.
a good choice one for someone on a budget or who is just starting to explore tequila.
A drinkable tequila at a cheap price.
My choice for a cheap Reposado Tequila
One of my favorite highland anejo tequilas.
A unique if not almost singular approach to making an excellent tequila.
Forget about all those traumatic experiences with Celebrity backed or endorsed spirits – this one is actually excellent.
AVOID.
One of the few tequilas using alembic stills for their distillation.
An excellent tequila done slowly and carefully. Famous author Clive Cusslers favorite
One of the very few that use NEW oak barrel so you get all the wood and no whiskey influence – just pure tequila.
Delicious and complex if a bit pricey. At least you will get an excellent bottle of tequila for the money.
Slow fermented and worth the wait.
A lot of attention and care went into this tequila and it shows.
Tasty and bracing but a little hot.
When you feel like hurting yourself now and later….
Much better than most lowland tequila
Jose Cuervo- a name that evokes grim memories or memories of blackouts, hangovers of near terminal vileness, possibly jail, Cuervo has a lot of history to overcome for many people.
Very nice, makes a great present but maybe a bit pricey
Smooth as a straight edged razor – and just as potentially dangerous
Delicious, and diplomatic.
Really, a helluva buy for the money.
Quick synopsis of the review
Damn good and damn cheap rarely go together, especially these days, but in this tequila it does !
A very solid choice for a better tequila. No Gimmicks, just quality.
A lot of quality in a tequila for a little price.
An outstanding lowland tequila.
Very nicely done tequila if a touch pricey compared to some.