March 03, 2008 MuchoTE Reposado NOM 1414 Tasted on 3/2/08 at 4:35pm. MuchoTE Reposado was donated to me by the owners of the company but is estimated to be at a shelf cost of $30 a bottle. I tasted this tequila in my home and used a Riedel glass for tasting. The bottle is similar to a normal bottle and is very basic. The company philosophy is that they put everything into the tequila and do not distract you with the bottle which would add to a higher cost. MuchoTE ages their Reposado for at least 7 months which causes it to be a pale yellow, golden color. Intense aromas of this tequila include floral accents that are followed by moderate notes of fruit. Deeper in the aroma are hints of earth and a minimal hint of caramel. In the mouth, the Reposado is smooth (in a good way) and is mellow and soft on the tongue. While the tequila is somewhat sweet, there is only a slight hint of bitterness. When examining the flavors of MuchoTE, first impressions include intense floral accents with a good amount of agave. On a second sip, I noticed moderate flavors of fruit. When searching for deeper flavors upon tasting the tequila, one can taste hints of earth and wood followed by a slight hint of caramel on the back end. This tequila finishes with a medium to long duration of flavor and subtle numbing alcohol intensity. I awarded MuchoTE Reposado the rating of 92 points out of 100.

 December 26, 2007 Oh Tommy's...If you are looking for rare and hard to find tequilas this is the place to go. This place has the rarest selection I have ever encountered. Where else can you get Chinaco Black Label (not to be confused with Chinaco Negro, the black bottle) on a daily basis and guaranteed for years to come. The only problem is that you get a different experience dependent upon if Julio is there or not. Julio is extremely knowledgeable and can make your experience at Tommy's amazing but it spoils you for when he is not there. It is just not anywhere close to the same experience. Luckily, Julio is there on a fairly regular basis. While some of the prices are high upon first look at the menu, you have to keep in mind that Tommy's has tequila that has not been on the market in over 10 years and continues to have these rare gems. From what I am told Monday nights are the best nights to go (I will make it there on a Monday at some point). If you do make it to Tommy's make sure to join the Blue Agave Club, which is the largest tequila club in the world with members on every continent. Also, do not forget to try one of their world famous margaritas. People come from all over the world to go to Tommy's and I find myself driving for over an hour to go there as often as I possibly can. I am hooked and I am sure that upon visiting Tommy's you will be too.

 December 26, 2007 This past September I finally made it to El Agave. A few months before a friend and I had read an article that they had 800 tequilas. We thought this might be an old number so we called and El Agave stated they had about 1,600 tequilas. We asked if they were all available to taste and they replied that they were. So little to say, I was very excited to when I was finally able to go to El Agave. I walked in and they had bottles everywhere. I was so impressed. There were only a few people in the restaurant but it still took quite some time to even get anyone to talk to me. Once I finally got some service, after walking around the restaurant a few times, I asked to taste the 93 Chinaco Blanco which was open and in one of their display cases. I was told that it was unavailable to taste. So I made another selection and was told the same thing. After having this happen about four times, I was told that I could only taste the tequila on the front wall and at the bar. These tequilas were basic run of the mill bottles available at most of our tequila bars in California so I ended up getting something basic since I was already there. The service continued to be horrible and I ended up just leaving $20 (more than enough to cover my tab which was around $10) because I did not want to wait all day to try to get the bartender to close me out. Overall, it was great to see all the bottles but other than that I would never recommend El Agave to anyone. It was very disappointing to travel hundreds of miles for a disappointment of this nature.

 December 26, 2007 Querido Viejo Reposado NOM 1431 Tasted on 12/13/07 at 9pm. I tasted this 9 month aged tequila at a friend's house in a Riedel glass. Each bottle is numbered and comes in a rustic wooden box with a custom bottle stopper. While the bottle comes with the custom bottle stopper, I would not recommend using it. The stopper does not properly seal the bottle and, thus, I would not recommend using it for anything other than short term use. The tequila is a pale yellow golden color and has intense aromas of floral and moderate to intense fruit. Less apparent aromas include moderate earth and mild spice. Initial aspects of the tequila are a thin to medium mouth feel that provides a mellow and soft sensation on the tip of the tongue. Upon first taste, the tequila has a minimal hint of bitterness and a low level of sweetness. Flavors of Querido Viejo Reposado include moderate to intense floral followed by mild to moderate agave and earth. Finishing with mild fruit and hints of wood and spice, this tequila experience comes to an end with a medium to short duration of flavor and a numbing alcohol intensity. In my opinion, this tequila is a little too watery for me and seemed to lose flavor too quickly. However, some of the other people at the house did enjoy it a lot. I guess this is a perfect example of different preferences and tastes for different people. I ended up awarding Querido Viejo Reposado tequila with the rating of 86/87 points out of 100.

 December 21, 2007 Mi Viejo Anejo (old bottle) NOM 1107 Tasted 12/31/06. With a pale-to-yellowish golden color, Mi Viejo Anejo has intense aromas of earthy, fruity, and floral scents. Less apparent are moderate spice and mild vanilla and caramel aromas. Upon initial taste, the tequila has a medium, oily mouth feel and is soft and mellow on the tip of the tongue. Intense flavors of floral and earth accents are followed by moderate agave, fruit, and spice flavors. The finish consists of a numbing alcohol intensity and a short to medium duration of flavor. I rate this tequila at the "B/B+" range.