September 24, 2007 I'm sitting here drinking a glass of this Conde Azul Anejo and I honestly can't decide whether I like it or not. There is something about it that intrigues me though and I keep going back for more.

The nose is not wholly pleasant. There are notes of grassiness (which I'm more accustomed to in a blanco), and then there are notes of spice - a gingerbread smell - which I enjoy and find fascinating.

Agave is present in the initial taste and intensifies in the medium-duration finish, which I love. There are also notes of coffee and caramel in this medium bodied tequila. And since I don't drink coffee, it could be that flavor that is putting me off (just slightly). The finish is smooth with a balance of alcohol, maybe tipping the scales slightly toward sharp.

The bottle is gorgeous - a piece of artwork in any tequila collection. I think I paid $67 for the bottle. Well worth it in my opinion. It's really an interesting tequila, but I must recommend that you try this one before you buy it. It may not be for everyone.

 September 24, 2007 Where to begin... I definitely like the presentation of Farias Anejo. The bottle is unique and different (although it's very difficult to pour). The price is not too high; I think I paid $18 at El Carmen. But honestly, you can get much better for that price.

I found Farias to be much too smokey for my taste. The wood is moderate to heavy and the agave gets lost in it all. There was almost no sweetness to balance out the bitterness brought on by the smoke and wood.

The bottle might be nice in a collection for show, but I will not be tasting Farias Anejo again soon.

 September 18, 2007 Wow. I tried Don Fernando Anejo at El Carmen in Los Angeles last weekend and was really impressed. As a preface, however, the bartender told me that the deep blue 3-litre bottle he poured from was over 7 years old and that he was not a fan of the new Don Fernando Anejo. That being said, here are my thoughts on the bottle that I tasted.

This is a really smooth tequila. The aroma is sweet with a hint of clover. The oak does not overpower the agave and is accompanied by notes of caramel and coffee. This medium-bodied tequila has a medium to long duration of flavor with a hint of bitterness that really activates the saliva glands at the sides of the mouth.

At $33/shot at El Carmen, it falls into the "high-priced" category, but well worth it in my opinion.

My next goal is to find a current bottle of Don Fernando Anejo to compare. Until I can confirm that it "ain't what it used to be", I would strongly recommend this tequila.

 September 13, 2007 I will start by saying that I am not familiar enough with cognac to instantly recognize the flavor within a tequila (as opposed to AsomBroso La Rosa in which the Bordeaux is readily identifiable). But El Tesoro de Don Felipe Paradiso certainly has a unique personality and is worth a try.

Initial tasting yielded flavors of agave and peppery spices with a hint of vanilla. Wood is mild, but present. The finish has bite with a slight numbing of alcohol, but a good duration of flavor.

Overall, it left me satisfied; and the unique flavors that (I assume) are derived from the cognac barrels peak a certain amount of interest on the palate.

 September 12, 2007 Date of review: Tuesday, 9/11/07, 9pm

I will start off by saying that my experience at The Spanish Kitchen was less than overwhelming. The bar is nice enough. They have a decent selection of Tequila and an above average selection of Mezcal. Nothing out of the ordinary, but enough to choose from.

For price calibration, I always use Herradura Seleccion Suprema, which was $59 here: way above what I am willing to spend. Rey Sol was $35, Paradiso was $15. I basically stuck with those.

As for knowledge and service... where do I begin? Of the 2 bartenders, 1 knew next-to-nothing about tequila. I had to point to the bottle that I wanted as he was unfamiliar with their stock. At least he was friendly though. When we finally sat down at a table, our waitress was snippy and unpleasant. She was also unfamiliar with their selection of tequila - telling me that they didn't carry Rey Sol when I had just ordered one at the bar.

It was "Taco Tuesday" so we had... tacos. There was certainly nothing special about them. They brought 6 different salsas, but none of them were labeled so it was impossible to tell which you were tasting.

It was hard to really enjoy the ambiance with all the other problems; but looking objectively, The Spanish Kitchen has a nice atmosphere.

With El Carmen just around the corner and Malo down the road, I find it very hard to recommend The Spanish Kitchen to this community.