Gold Tequilas

[MrAgave]

I've noticed more "Gold" Tequilas hitting the market, 100% Agave products, some are actually aged and are Reposados using the name "Gold", and others are unaged and obviously have colorants / additives to make it seem as if you are drinking a Reposado.

What do you guys think about this?

Gold to me has been a term assigned to mixtos with additional additives, a crappy product disguised to be something it is not, and has pretty much been the big red flag to run in the other direction. So I'm surprised to see 100% Agave products using the term "Gold". It's easy to categorize the Gold products that were actually aged and would be considered a reposado, but the others are just a blanco pretending to be a reposado.

So now I need to decide where to put them in the database, as it is somewhat confusing when I receive 100% Agave Blanco, Gold, and Reposado of the same brand.

[deedub]

Guess we all had different ideas about this, Mr. Agave. The CRT is clear about the designations - there are Blancos, Oros or Jovenes, Reposados, Anejos and Extra-Anejos in both 100% agave products and in mixtos.

Additionally, for International purposes, the names are interchangeable.
• "Silver" en lugar de Blanco
• "Gold" en lugar de Joven u Oro
• "Aged" en lugar de Reposado
• "Extra aged" en lugar de Añejo.
• "Ultra aged" en lugar de Extra Añejo.

I will go through the exact details later today 'cause I misunderstood this and want to get it straight, but for the moment I attach a table from the CRT website.

[MrAgave]

I have the Joven category with a couple of products, so I guess I will put the Gold products in there (non barrel aged).

My issue is more with the products that are labeled as Gold but are truly a reposado and actually spent time in a barrel.

[1tequila2]

Maybe it has to do with all the hype in the news today about buying gold, etc. Just the association with the precious metal maybe?

[totallytequila]

Originally Posted by MrAgave

I have the Joven category with a couple of products, so I guess I will put the Gold products in there (non barrel aged).

My issue is more with the products that are labeled as Gold but are truly a reposado and actually spent time in a barrel.

Yeah Mr. A...a classic example of this would be Agavales. They produce a 100% blanco and repo (aged 6 months in bourbon oak), and then sandwiched in between the two is their unaged "gold". I believe we may have discussed this possibly on another thread? Anyway, I happen to enjoy the blanco not only as a good mixer, but as a decent budget sipper as well. I have always wondered why they felt the need to add whatever coloring and/or wood resin they use to be able to call it "gold"? The blanco is good. The aged repo is good. The gold tastes like crap! It has a very bitter aftertaste and it is generally priced the same as the blanco which runs about $11.99 here.

[deedub]

It seems pretty straight-forward.....now.

"Abocar" means to smooth or soften the flavour or presentation of the spirit.

1. Tequila Blanco is the only pure product. Its alcohol can be adjusted by water dilution only. No additives!
2. Tequila Oro or Joven is a blend of Blanco with any of the aged tequilas. It is still considered unaged. It may be "abocado"-ed with the addition of caramel colouring, flavoured extracts, glycerine or sugar syrup.
3. Tequila Reposado is "abocado"-ed but only in the manner that it absorbs flavours and aromas from its minimum 2 month stay in oak or encino. (barrel or tank size unspecified) Blending Reposado with longer-aged tequilas still yields Reposado.
4. Tequila Anejo is "abocado"-ed but only in the manner that it absorbs flavours and aromas from its minimum 1 year stay in oak or encino. (600 litre maximum barrel size)
Blending Anejo with Extra Anejo still yields Anejo.
5. Extra Anejo is "abocado"-ed but only in the manner that it absorbs flavours and aromas from its minimum 3 year stay in oak or encino. (600 litre maximum barrel size)
The label will not specify the actual time spent in the barrel.

So this doesn't leave any room for a Joven or Gold tequila which can be considered an aged product since blending anything with a blanco still yields an unaged product.

Which brand Reposado are you referring to, Sr. Agave?

I admit that I didn't have it right previously and I am a bit horrified to find the same kind of Mixto adulteration in the ranks of the 100% agave products.
Guess we can find some comfort in the requirement that 100% agave tequilas must be packaged at source.

[*45*]

Darin, are you refering to Pura Vida? Cuz that bothers me too. But, I think they are using that term becuase a lot of gringos still refer to tequila as "silver" and "gold" - after all the education, it drives me up the wall!!

[MrAgave]

Yes, Pura Vida is the brand I was referring to.

The other 100% Golds, which I have categorized wrong (listed in Repo section) will be moved to the Joven / Gold category:

Agavales Gold
Agavales Gold 110 proof
La Cava de Los Morales Gold
Sombrero Gold

[El grano de oro]

Mr. Agave was talking about gold tequilas been 100% agave.
Well one of the things that puzzles me is how can teq. San Matias extra anejo
be considered a gold tequila? Is it A mixed? it taste like an anejo to me!
Is there something in it that makes it a gold? Huum!!

[Johnnyboots]

I think 45 nailed it.

When I was in NYC, a lot of the bartenders referred to blanco's as silvers and repo/anejo's as gold. This was with brands like El Tesoro, Partida, Avion, etc. Not cheap brands. Sadly it shows the education level of the people that are supposed to be "experts".