Chinaco blanco

[Phatell]

Few weeks ago I got to try Chinaco blanco for the first time and I must admit that It nearly scared me away. Maybe it was because I tried it side by side with a much softer blanco (Tezon). But This time i decided to confront it again, simple refusing to believe that I wouldn't like it after all recommendations I've had regarding this brand. Ive only tried about 20 different tequila brands so far and I have to say that I found this blanco to be very "special" compared to a lot of outers. Something about the flavor I guess, probably also affected by my bad habit of comparing all blancos with Aha Toro's blanco, which in this case might have been a kick in the wrong direction.

[sogno]

I bought a bottle of Chinaco repo based on the rave reviews. Can honestly say it's some of the worst tasting tequila I've had. The bottle is collecting dust in my cabinet. I know we all have our own tastes and all, but imho, this stuff is just nasty. I'm not new to tequila, and this was actually the second bottle of Chinaco, as it was replaced when I discovered the first was corked. The replacement tastes almost as nasty as the corked did. I don't get the fanfare on this one.

[Piña]

Very interesting. Makes me wonder about consistency.

I really like their whole line, but once I did get their anejo and wasnt as 'happy' as I usually am. SO many factors to consider though...

[MrAgave]

I got a hold of several bottles of Chinaco Verde, the restaurant / bar version. For about $20 for a 1L, pretty good stuff, especially for margs. Haven't tried any of the new standard juice lately, but the anejo used to be grand. Maybe not so much now that German is gone.

[totallytequila]

Originally Posted by MrAgave

Maybe not so much now that German is gone.

Yeah Mr. A.....not coincidently!

[Piña]

My thoughts exactly guys (RE: German)

[AgaveSpirit1]

I've tried the newer offerings of Chinaco, and even tho they are still good I gotta say that I still say that the older bottles are much better and therefore, everytime I see them at liquor stores....I buy all I can and store them for my own use Salud

[1tequila2]

I've been wanting to try one of the older Chinco's for years now. I like the newer line up. It's just that Chinaco is strong and in your face. If you like the lighter side of tequila (Tezon) then yes, Chinaco will not be to your liking. I think their Repo is the best middle ground.

[Duaber]

Sogno: I agree i've had Chinaco anejo and its got a very unpleasing taste to me almost like charcoal/burnt wood.

[jasonh]

Leaving the cap off the bottle for a day or so might help out with the taste. It's been my experience that oxidation benefits the nose and taste with all spirits, well that and a slight lowering of the alcohol content can allow the nose to open up as well. You might have to leave the cap off for a 2-3 days if its really hot. It is amazing what oxidation can do, I had this bottle of calvados that had a distinct smell of algae when opened for the first time. Letting it sit for a couple hours with the cap off and the smell disappeared and the bottle is pretty good stuff now.

I don't know that I have ever read of a scientific explanation for why oxidation of spirits leads to an overall improvement, but thousand of noses and palates do not lie. It is probably something about the ambient conditions during distillation. If the distillation is off, the bad congeners that are created can be neutralized with oxygen. Interestingly, oxygen doesn't seem to neutralize the good aspects of a spirit, which I can only guess to surmise is that over time we have acquired an appreciation of certain smells and tastes that are not neutralized in an oxygen rich atmosphere. On the other hand, that which is foreign to us is generally found to be unpleasant.

The right humidity/barometric pressure/temperature can make all the difference with the final product (creation or non-creation of certain esters and cogeners), even while keeping everything else the same. If quality control is not perfect, you get the swings in quality. I would imagine that keeping conditions consistently "good" is a moving target and it takes a certain knack to stay on that target, and that is were the knowledge of a experienced distiller plays a crucial role. You simply can't produce an exceptional spirit on a mass, automated scale. It constantly takes someone there to tweek the process on the fly.

Anyway, to get back on topic to some degree, I bought Preiss import versions of both the blanco and repo a couple years back. Both were not very good. I tried some of the blanco a few months back in a bar and it was much better than what I had tasted previously. Given the problems with quality control, I don't bother with Chinaco anymore.