Sommelier André Houston Mack returns to Bon Appétit to give his impressions on 10 tequilas, ranging in price from only $20 all the way up to $175 a bottle.Read more: 5 Types of Tequila and How to Enjoy Each One to Its Fullest
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00:00 [clinking]
00:00 Ah, look at that, see, look at that.
00:02 I think I'm gonna break this [beep]
00:03 Oh, there it is, there it is.
00:04 [clinking]
00:06 That just means bring me the money.
00:08 Hey, I'm sommelier Andre Houston Mack,
00:10 and today I'm gonna be tasting 10 tequilas,
00:12 ranging from about $20 to $175.
00:15 There's so many different types of tequila out there,
00:17 so what are you really getting for each type
00:19 and at those price points?
00:20 Today we're gonna find out.
00:21 [upbeat music]
00:24 As a sommelier, our job is to taste
00:28 all different types of beverage, spirits, wine, tea, coffee,
00:32 anything liquid in the restaurant,
00:34 generally the sommelier is responsible for.
00:36 These are all tequilas from Mexico,
00:38 generally from around the region of Jalisco.
00:40 They're all made with the blue agave plant,
00:42 and based on how that plant is processed and aged,
00:45 determines what type of tequila you get.
00:47 Much like a wine label, you can decipher labels
00:50 to find out what you're getting in tequila,
00:52 and I'm gonna teach you how to do that.
00:54 So we have Espolon Blanco, which goes for about $30.
00:58 You'll see the term blanco, silver,
01:00 those are basically interchangeable.
01:02 Blanco meaning white, silver, just look at its color,
01:05 it's pretty clear looking.
01:07 All tequila starts as blanco,
01:08 and then the way it's aged, it kinda moves up.
01:10 It starts with a plant called blue agave.
01:13 It takes several years for it to actually ripen
01:15 or to mature, somewhere between six to seven years.
01:18 The leaves are shaved off,
01:19 so it looks like a oversized pineapple called the piña.
01:22 And so the piña is actually roasted or cooked.
01:25 After it's roasted, it's shredded or it's mashed
01:27 to extract the juices.
01:28 That juice is introduced to yeast,
01:30 the yeast eats the sugars and transform it into alcohol.
01:33 Then it's kinda double distilled,
01:35 and then tequila is produced.
01:36 At that point, what comes out of the distill
01:38 is considered blanco.
01:40 Blanco should be kinda crystal clear,
01:43 like when you look at it,
01:44 looks like any other spirit, right?
01:46 It denotes that it's made from 100% agave sugars.
01:49 Yeah, I think we're ready to open this up
01:51 and give it a taste.
01:52 I'm just gonna pour it into like this little tasting glass
01:55 that we have, kinda has like a perfect portioning size.
01:57 It's a hollow stem, but what's different about this glass
02:00 that works for wine and spirits
02:01 is that it uses a roll technique.
02:03 So it has the perfect amount that's encased in the stem,
02:06 and then we just turn it on its side.
02:08 And so when we roll it back and forth,
02:09 all the alcohol coats the outside of the glass,
02:12 really kinda amplifying the aromatics in the spirit.
02:15 Wow, so that's definitely like white pepper,
02:19 very citrusy, very kinda strong in the nose.
02:23 Smells somewhat like sweet,
02:24 but also smells a little salty.
02:26 Generally speaking, people's reaction
02:28 when they first smell tequila
02:29 is like this overwhelming smell.
02:31 They're like, "Woo!"
02:32 They snatch their nose from it.
02:33 It's pretty powerful.
02:34 So the cheaper tequila you have
02:35 generally has like these overwhelming flavors.
02:38 Now, this is great tequila.
02:39 It's not overbearing.
02:40 And also it's the glass too.
02:42 The glass kinda diffuses a lot of the alcohol,
02:44 so it's just not like singeing your nose hairs.
02:47 It's got some proof, right?
02:48 It's like you'd be able to see some fumes
02:49 coming out of my nose here,
02:51 but that tastes pretty sweet, citrusy,
02:52 somewhat round.
02:53 To me, these are typical notes
02:55 of what you get from agave, right?
02:56 What you get from tequila.
02:58 You know, tequila has like this common thread
03:00 of like flavors that you find.
03:01 And so for me, it's always this spice, citrus,
03:04 and kinda peppery notes that you get.
03:06 This is nice.
03:06 I mean, I wouldn't drink this by itself,
03:09 but you know, using this in a margarita
03:11 or using it in, you know,
03:12 what everybody's drinking now, ranch water.
03:13 But for me, Espilon was always a call for a margarita.
03:16 Our next tequila is Don Julio.
03:19 So this is another Blanco.
03:20 It comes in at $56.
03:22 For 26 more dollars, what are you actually getting?
03:24 This particular Blanco,
03:26 Don Julio uses older agave plants
03:29 that have the plant, you know,
03:30 longer than like seven years
03:32 that would impart deeper flavor
03:34 and some of those things.
03:34 But aging the plant longer
03:37 will definitely be reflective in the price.
03:39 You have to figure out like, is it worth it?
03:41 I'm gonna decide that right now,
03:42 for me and for you too, but for me mainly.
03:45 On the nose, it's a lot different.
03:50 Everything feels a lot softer, more perfume.
03:53 Whereas before it was there,
03:55 it just feels like harmonious in a way.
03:57 Getting citrus, something like an orange.
04:00 It almost has like a little bit of white flower to it.
04:02 It smells really aromatic,
04:03 almost smells like a perfume,
04:05 like you wanna dab it behind your ears.
04:06 And it kinda tastes the same way.
04:08 You know, for lack of a better term,
04:09 it's just like really smooth.
04:11 You know, I don't feel like fumes coming out of my nose.
04:13 It just feels really well balanced.
04:16 All the sum of its parts are harmoniously together.
04:19 One part doesn't stick out.
04:20 So it's not like, you know, you taste it and you're like,
04:23 wow, this like got tons of spice.
04:24 Or it's like tons of citrusy notes or grassy elements.
04:28 Like it just feels as one.
04:30 I don't think there's anything wrong
04:31 using Blanco tequila at this price point in a cocktail.
04:34 Hell, I would have to say that most of it
04:36 is probably done in a cocktail.
04:38 And to me, I would much rather sip it.
04:41 I think this is something that deserves to be,
04:44 you know, enjoyed and sipped.
04:45 But you do what you want with your own money.
04:47 Do what you want.
04:49 So our next tequila is Salsa Silver.
04:51 And this is for about 20 bucks.
04:53 So this is silver, also known as Blanco, right?
04:56 We talked about that,
04:57 but it is not made from 100% blue agave.
04:59 This is what's called in the industry, mixto.
05:02 It's a mixto tequila,
05:03 meaning it's a mix of agave sugars.
05:05 But in order for it to be called tequila,
05:07 it has to be made from at least 51%
05:09 from the blue agave plant.
05:11 So you can add 49% of other different types of sugars
05:14 to make tequila.
05:16 You won't find that anywhere on the bottle.
05:17 It doesn't say that it's a mixto,
05:19 but I think generally what you can deduce from it
05:21 not saying 100% blue agave on the bottle,
05:24 you can consider that a mixto.
05:26 So why would somebody make this?
05:28 Think about like a mature agave plant.
05:31 It takes seven years.
05:32 At least at like 51%,
05:33 you'll be able to cut your cost in half
05:35 if you use, you know, a cheaper sugar.
05:37 And, you know, I think that's why people make it.
05:39 So there's affordable tequila out there,
05:41 cut costs and kind of feed the world's demand for tequila.
05:45 This kind of smells like,
05:47 kind of like a grapefruit flavored vodka, right?
05:50 You know what I mean?
05:51 Like it actually smells like, you know, vodka,
05:52 which doesn't really smell like anything,
05:54 but like a flavor.
05:55 It tastes like slightly better,
05:57 like canned vegetables, like string beans.
05:59 And it tastes like almost slightly chemical.
06:01 It has that tequila element to it,
06:03 but the depth and breadth of what we've tasted already
06:06 in Blanco, you know, this would leave you wanting more.
06:08 Some of the best quality tequilas that you have out there
06:11 are generally 100% blue agave.
06:14 I think like focusing on just 100% agave
06:17 sometimes could lead you down the long road.
06:19 I think it's all about the quality of tequila.
06:21 So Mixto, to me, represents some good quality tequilas,
06:25 but also at various price points.
06:27 This is why this is for $20.
06:29 So moving on to our next tequila,
06:32 we have Reposado by Herodora,
06:34 and this comes in at $48.
06:36 And now we're talking about Reposado, which means rested.
06:38 And that means that it can be aged anywhere
06:41 from two months up to a year in oak barrels.
06:43 Oak does lots of different things.
06:45 It adds color, it adds flavoring,
06:47 those elements of cinnamon, vanilla.
06:49 A lot of vanilla is what you would get in part.
06:51 And you know, you get some woodsy flavors too as well.
06:54 So this is very common when you think about spirits.
06:56 When you really look at something like whiskey or bourbon,
06:59 those things actually come out of the still
07:01 as a clear spirit, very similar to Blanco tequila.
07:04 And what gives it its coloring
07:06 is aging through oak barrels and gives flavor,
07:09 you know, that actually makes it whiskey.
07:11 Really mellow, white pepper,
07:13 and some of those aggressive notes
07:14 that you normally would associate with tequila
07:16 aren't really jumping out of the glass at you.
07:19 And then you get like citrus oil.
07:20 And it's so funny because those citrus notes
07:22 smell almost kind of candied in a way, right?
07:24 They smell confectionary.
07:25 It smells slightly sweet.
07:27 Really mellow.
07:30 It's not hot as like, you know,
07:32 that kind of really overalcoholic mouthfeel.
07:34 You kind of get more of the proof like on the nose.
07:37 It's a different taste profile than the other ones.
07:39 It's a different taste profile
07:41 than you would say of the Blanco.
07:42 To me, this has always been kind of a go-to reposado
07:44 at like a solid price.
07:46 Does it get deeper and better
07:48 and like better quality than this for reposado?
07:51 I believe so.
07:52 But I think this is a great entry level.
07:53 And you know, this is always what I drink
07:55 with my brother-in-law.
07:56 Only because it makes my father-in-law pay for it.
07:58 But yes.
07:59 So our next tequila is Libellula.
08:03 And this is what's known as a Hoven tequila.
08:05 And this comes in at $29.
08:06 What is Hoven?
08:07 Hoven is actually a mix of Blanco
08:09 and reposado.
08:10 So it's like, you have this base of Blanco tequila
08:13 which is to me is like bright, young, vivacious, right?
08:17 And then you'd maybe just,
08:17 you want a little something to kind of tone that down.
08:20 And by adding 20% of reposado,
08:22 you get some of those elements of the roasted pina
08:25 and some of the caramelization and stuff like that.
08:27 I mean, if you think about it too long,
08:28 at least for me, you're like, is this a money grab?
08:30 Right? Is this a cost-saving technique?
08:31 But like, there's lots of things
08:32 that are cost-saving techniques that I don't think are bad.
08:35 At $29, it seems that it comes in
08:38 between Blanco and reposado.
08:40 But it does say that it's made with 100% agave.
08:42 So it has that going for it.
08:44 And to be honest with you,
08:45 I've never tasted one and known it.
08:48 I'm sure that I've had some before,
08:50 but today will be the first day that I've ever tasted it.
08:53 Yeah, this is really kind of fruit forward.
08:54 Like I wasn't really expecting that.
08:56 Candied orange, white pepper,
08:58 you know, the elements that you would get from reposado,
09:01 but not at that price point.
09:02 It's really interesting to me.
09:03 Yeah, it's too pronounced, the caramelization,
09:07 the sweetness, it's like it is too pronounced
09:09 for it to be natural.
09:11 Like, and I try not to go down
09:12 a lot of those kinds of conversations,
09:14 but to me, it feels like if all of those things are heightened
09:16 and maybe that comes from glycerol or other additives
09:19 to make it a little bit richer.
09:20 But at 29 bucks, I think it does the trick.
09:24 This is 1800.
09:25 This is Añejo tequila, and this is at $37.
09:28 So moving up to the next category from reposado,
09:31 Añejo, which translates to aged.
09:33 In order for it to be called Añejo,
09:35 it has to spend at least one year in oak, up to three years.
09:38 And so over that time, it really starts to kind of mellow out
09:41 and become more of a fine spirit.
09:42 When you think about tequila, you think about Blanco,
09:45 and everybody kind of starts
09:46 with the same kind of raw material.
09:49 And then what makes, you know, each of it different
09:51 is how long it spends in oak barrel
09:53 and what I like to call finishing.
09:54 It could be finished in barrels
09:56 that were used for port production,
09:57 which would have different flavoring.
09:59 It could be barrels that were used for wine production.
10:01 How you finish imparts different flavors.
10:04 I think the first thing that you see is like this amber color.
10:06 There's a huge difference between reposado and Añejo,
10:10 and that's from the age difference
10:11 that it spends in barrel.
10:13 You're getting like this kind of woody kind of char,
10:15 these oak elements, really, really mellow.
10:18 By aging it in oak, you know, it picks up tannin,
10:20 so it has like this thing
10:21 that kind of sucks the moisture out of your mouth.
10:23 There's vanilla, there's a little bit of like cinnamon.
10:25 People like to give classic cocktails a twist.
10:28 They always talk about replacing, you know,
10:30 whiskey or bourbon in a classic cocktails with Añejo
10:33 to kind of give it a twist and a spice.
10:35 It could be a fun way for exploration
10:36 and maybe find something different that you like.
10:38 You know, at $40, this is really solid, you know,
10:40 and I think it's a brand that most people can find out there,
10:42 but I do think that it gets, you know, drastically better
10:44 as you go up in, you know, in dollar increments for sure.
10:47 Let's go up in dollar increments.
10:50 So this is Patron Extra Añejo, and this is at $96.
10:54 The next category of tequila
10:56 is actually called Extra Añejo, which seems very generic,
10:59 but it is a real thing.
11:00 It started in 2006.
11:02 And what makes this different,
11:03 this is aged a minimum of three years.
11:05 Longer time in barrel, longer aging time,
11:07 definitely reflective in the price.
11:09 It looks very dark in color.
11:11 I feel like it is a way to show the world
11:14 that tequila is a world-class spirit
11:16 and can be aged very similar to cognac.
11:19 You think about cost, you know, cost is time.
11:21 And so the idea that this particular tequila
11:24 is aged at least three years in barrel.
11:26 So in that time of three years,
11:29 there's no return on your money.
11:30 It's just sitting there.
11:31 All right, so we're gonna go ahead and pour this.
11:33 Dried fruit, vanilla.
11:36 There's some toffee there.
11:38 You know, getting really the influence of wood.
11:40 A little bit of like slight, little bit of nutmeg.
11:42 And then also smells kind of like a Grand Marnier,
11:45 you know, this citrus oil flavor.
11:47 Wow.
11:50 There's layers of different flavors
11:51 from caramel to like sea salt
11:53 to a little bit of lavender, nutmeg, cinnamon,
11:56 and then vanilla.
11:57 Yeah, I mean, I think at $96, $100,
11:59 you know, this is something special.
12:00 I don't think that like,
12:01 this is your everyday thing that you like chug,
12:03 but you know, this is something that you do put
12:04 in the brandy snifter for a special occasion.
12:07 I think it's, you know,
12:08 on the total opposite end of the spectrum of Blanco,
12:11 but in the best way possible.
12:13 So our next tequila is Comos.
12:15 This is Añejo Cristalino, and it's about $120.
12:18 You know, before we even talk about like
12:20 what the process is and what it does,
12:22 I think it's best to kind of show you what it looks like.
12:24 Remember, this is Añejo.
12:26 So see anything different?
12:29 It's like a Blanco.
12:29 But the label does say Añejo.
12:32 What gives?
12:32 What's the difference?
12:33 And Cristalino is a fairly new process and take on tequila.
12:37 It's taking something like Añejo that's been aged
12:40 and it's run through a charcoal filter.
12:42 And that filtering strips away the color,
12:44 but a lot of impurities, you know,
12:46 it's basically taking aged tequila
12:48 and giving it a refresher, this brightness to it
12:51 by stripping away the colors and the impurity.
12:53 A lot of those things that we talked about,
12:54 like the vanilla and kind of like that candied fruit,
12:57 like a lot of that, you don't get on this.
12:59 Are you filtering it to get things back
13:01 or are you filtering to add things?
13:03 I don't know.
13:04 And I think like tasting it probably
13:05 would be the best way to kind of examine it.
13:07 It's very interesting.
13:08 It is tequila, but it's a different expression of tequila.
13:11 Like it makes you really think all the things
13:12 that like what oak would impart.
13:14 It stripped away all the things that influence of wood.
13:17 You really have to try it.
13:18 It's something on another level.
13:21 It's got layers, it got the waves of white pepper,
13:23 different elements of citrus
13:24 and like a fruit basket kind of thing.
13:26 It has like a little bit of like ginger to it.
13:28 It just comes in waves
13:29 and it feels pretty seamless in a way.
13:32 At $120, like you get bang for your buck.
13:36 This is like a totally different drinking experience
13:39 than any of the tequilas that we had today.
13:41 I'm not sure that you go back, right?
13:42 You taste this and you're like, this is like,
13:45 you know, it's like I didn't know tequila
13:47 could taste something like this.
13:50 Classe Azul.
13:51 This is Reposado.
13:52 And this comes in at $165.
13:55 Starting to see as the prices increase,
13:58 a lot of the flair starts to come out, packaging.
14:01 This is what we like to call ultra premium tequila.
14:04 And I think a lot of times these things exist
14:06 just because could you sell $165 bottle of tequila?
14:10 Well, you can't if it doesn't exist.
14:12 Are some of these good?
14:13 Yes.
14:14 Are some of them crap?
14:15 Yeah, some.
14:16 Are you paying for packaging?
14:17 Are you paying for this phallic looking thing?
14:20 Who knows?
14:20 You know, these are really beautiful bottles,
14:22 hand painted, it's very unique style.
14:24 Truly what you wanna do is be paying for what's inside
14:26 and not what's on the outside.
14:28 So I think this is a screw cap.
14:31 Actually, it is not.
14:32 Okay.
14:34 Smells really, really sweet.
14:36 Like birthday cake batter.
14:37 They have that birthday cake flavor,
14:39 like with the sprinkles and [beep] on it.
14:40 Actually, I really like that.
14:41 It's kind of a guilty pleasure.
14:42 But notes of agave, but like the overall tone
14:45 is huge notes of vanilla,
14:46 which I think you get in that birthday cake.
14:48 And that kind of outshines everything else.
14:51 You know, that has to be like the sweetest tequila
14:53 I've ever tasted.
14:54 It's not a rip session, but I have to say,
14:55 like out of all the tequilas I enjoyed today,
14:57 that has like the most amount of sugar.
14:59 It tastes sweet.
15:00 Maybe it's overripe pina, I don't know.
15:02 But also, you know, I can see how this is a favorable style
15:06 for people.
15:07 It doesn't have that bite.
15:08 That bite of spiciness and alcohol.
15:10 It is made from 100% agave,
15:12 but there could be different sugars being added.
15:14 But like on their level of sweetness,
15:16 it does have something different.
15:17 And what people like is different.
15:19 You know, I don't wanna be the old fogie
15:20 where like back in my day,
15:21 tequila like burnt your nose and your nostrils.
15:23 I would never yuck anybody's yum.
15:25 If this is what you [beep] with,
15:26 this is what you [beep] with.
15:27 But drinking it straight up,
15:28 you're like, wow, this is kind of sweet.
15:29 It still tastes like tequila,
15:30 just tastes like sweet tequila.
15:33 So our next tequila is Don Julio.
15:35 This is called 1942.
15:36 This is on Yeho.
15:37 And this comes in at a whopping $175.
15:41 Jesus, you guys bought this for me?
15:43 You guys are the best.
15:45 1942, this is the year that Don Julio
15:47 started distilling tequila.
15:49 And this was released, I believe in 2002,
15:52 which was their 60th year anniversary.
15:55 There's lots of different factors on the cost of this.
15:57 A lot of it comes down to selection.
15:59 Anything that's in this business that's done by hand
16:01 generally costs more money.
16:03 It's done with the human eye, it's not mass produced.
16:05 This comes in small batches.
16:06 When they're a small quantity, there's a scarcity.
16:09 And the next thing you know,
16:10 you have people lined up around a liquor store
16:11 like it's a Supreme giveaway.
16:13 But the idea is that they're using
16:14 only the best parts of the piña.
16:16 I believe that actually even the piñas are hand-picked.
16:19 And then it's like slow roasted for about 72 hours,
16:22 you know, the traditional way.
16:23 And then it's made into this tequila.
16:25 We tasted a reposado earlier that was sweet.
16:31 And to go to this,
16:32 where this is just kind of realigning my palate.
16:34 There are elements of oak present here.
16:37 This kind of woodsy element,
16:38 this caramelization that you get in it.
16:41 Not all the way campfire, but campfire-esque.
16:43 Sandalwood fruit, but more like in the form of incense.
16:47 To me, like this feels like a full expression of tequila,
16:50 not hidden by oak and all this other stuff or additives.
16:53 It just feels like tequila.
16:55 And that home realm of luxury tequilas,
16:57 like I feel like this is the one
16:59 that kind of stepped the landing, right?
17:01 You work your way up to this.
17:03 And I think it really helps to have a better understanding
17:05 of what tequila is and to get here.
17:08 If you started a Ferrari,
17:09 like you never get out of like first gear, right?
17:11 Like you would like really kind of burn up the gearbox
17:13 and you have better appreciation.
17:15 If you, you know, if you started with a Hyundai stick shift
17:18 from like 1989, you can appreciate it a lot more.
17:21 I think you get what you pay for here.
17:23 And $170 is a lot of money.
17:25 Most of the time you wouldn't consume this in one night.
17:27 Overall as a brand and to represent luxury tequila,
17:30 1942 to me was a great example all across the board
17:33 on marketing and, you know,
17:35 actually what the tequila tastes like inside.
17:38 I think the biggest takeaway for everyone
17:40 is this like, just kind of knowing the basics.
17:41 I think just having more information can only be helpful.
17:44 And I think walking into a store
17:46 and knowing that whether or not you like Blanco,
17:48 you like Reposado and Yeho,
17:49 you wanted to spend a little bit more money
17:51 as a gift or have a different drinking experience.
17:53 All of those things exist.
17:55 Please experiment and try and let me know what you think.
17:58 This is citrus oil, kind of candy spirit,
18:04 you know, flavor that you smell in it,
18:05 that you would get in,
18:06 I don't know what spirit I was talking about,
18:10 that you would get in,
18:11 geez, I don't know what I'm talking about.
18:13 Anyway, sorry.
18:13 - What happens after they eat the tequila under it?
18:18 (laughing)