Antiguo Tequila Anejo

500ml bottle has a unique built in plastic pourer, which i really like for small pours. anejo. 2012. 38% abv. quick thin legs. golden yellow color, like raw egg whites. nose is white pepper, unbaked pear tarts, hint agave, and alcohol. initial taste of tropical fruit, pepper, agave. mild oily. finishes with fumey almost-overripe pear (i see the relation to bubblegum, as the tequila tourist reports, but dont fully agree), white pepper, agave, hint honeysuckle. Goes down quite smooth without too much burn. aftertaste is hint of agave, slight sugar cane sweetness (bueno), fresh pears, and almost hidden oak.. delightful. Im sensitive to sweets (clase azul repo makes me wretch), but if it had some citrus notes, the bouquette would be my vision of a perfect dessert reposado. yes, i am speaking about this anejo. got as a gift, but can be found in california for ~33$. I hope to compare this to a more commonly found 40%, as this bottle was brought directly from across the border. I find myself wanting to pour dram after dram. Definitely an after meal / slightly sweet treat. But not too sweet. Would purchase again for no more than 50$.

My first experience with Antiguo turned out to be pleasant surprise. This brand is owned by the beverage giant, Brown Forman (NOM 1119) and can be found pretty much anywhere that has a decent tequila selection. Bottle is unassuming and there's a screw cap, but looks can be deceiving. There's only one way to find out...

Price: $20-25/bottle

Aroma: Faint agave with ripe fruit (pears) and caramel.

Initial Taste: Sweet agave with light fruit and large amounts of caramel. Sugary, but tasty.

Body: Fairly thin body. The fruit and vanilla/caramel combine to make a bubble gum-like flavor. Interesting and it tastes fine, but doesn't really taste like tequila.

Finish: Not much finish to speak of. The fruit and sweetness is there with a hint of mint, but there's not much agave on the linger.

This tequila is priced about perfectly. The flavors are not really traditional, but the profile is unique. It's not necessarily something that I would go back to often, but it's also something that I might pour for someone who is looking for something different. At $20-25, it's worth checking out. I think this might be a good añejo mixer as well.