http://www.tequila.net/ http://www.tequila.net/images/stories/tequila_rss.gif http://www.tequila.net/ 33-2304 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Tasted 2/10/12, current bottling, from a Riedel glass. Very (crystal) clear. Swirling produced moderate tears with fast legs, indicating moderately thin body. Initial nose is creamy cooked agave, secondarily followed by a heavy black pepper (which I found delicious!). Hints of bell pepper and green banana. First taste impression was mildly sweet agave, almost buttery. Again, black pepper on the mid-tongue, a little warming but great flavor. That carried all the way through the finish, which was quite long and ended with a hint of anise bitterness. I bought this specifically for a cocktail I have in mind, but I will enjoy sipping whatever is left of the bottle. I'm surprised at some of the other reviews here, as I find nothing in this blanco that I don't enjoy, but obviously tastes vary. I heartily recommend it. ]]> Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:45:34 -0500 33-2121 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html I'm definitely new to premium tequila's having been turned off to Tequila in college by mid to low grade options since my budget was not exactly complimentary to quality options. A friend of mine introduced me to premium tequila via Patron Anejo. It was surprisingly different than anything I had before, being only a fan of Sauza Commerativo Anejo. I decided it was time I start looking into premiums a bit more with a better budget and appreciation for finer spirits developed through premium bourbon, scotch and rum exploration. I've learned you usually get what you pay for if you pay attention and search around. I read a lot of reviews here and figured this was one of the tequila's I must try. Another was Herradura Repasado. So, my frame of reference is Patron Anejo, Patron Silver, Jose Cuervo 1800, Sauza in general but mostly Commerativo and of course recently Herradura Repasado. I was hesitant at first to try a Blanco just based on my appeal to aged spirits and the general consensus that while Blancos have more Agave power to them, they also are rougher around the edges, something I'd expect from a mid-grade vodka. I was unsure, but I figure, if it had such great reviews, it was at least worth a try. I picked up a bottle for $38.00 at my local liquor store. My first opening of the bottle was a surprise. I typically do not like the initial nose of any tequilas I've tried to date. The smell here, however, was something I'd expect from a very refined spirit. Nothing rough at all, rather sweet and soft. No real alcohol hit, but more a smooth unique smell with hints of caramel. I poured about 1.5oz into a 4oz margarita style glass and swirled it. It coated the sides well showing it had smooth body. I sniffed again and was pleasantly surprised by the sweet aroma and absence of any strong alcohol or rough edge smells. The initial taste was incredible. I expected, again, something rough, some burn, but there was none. It was sweet and smooth and the agave was amazingly present with some sweet tones. As I sipped more I picked up some spice but maintained the agave character. It continued to be smooth. A second pour and sipping continued to support the sweet agave flavor and build a bit of the spice. The heat only built slightly as I continued to enjoy the glass, but never reached a point of anything I had tried in the past. There was no real bitter or rough feel I get from many other spirits. During my tasting I also enjoyed a maduro style cigar. The two complimented each other well. The both accentuated the sweetness of each other while keeping the spice nice and mellow in the background to add character. I must say, though I am new and will likely try more premium tequilas along the way, this is a serious keeper. I am very pleased with my decision to go with the ratings here and give it a try. Even down to the quality decanter and feel. It felt very much worth the price to me and definitely helped create a wonderful mood on my back porch on a nice fall evening. I would definitely recommend this to anyone curious about blancos but hesitant like me to drink any neat beyond mixing. I would also say it would be a tragedy to mix this. It is amazing all on its own! ENJOY! ]]> Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:46:52 -0500 33-1512 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Must say I'm surprised this has received such mixed reviews. Of course everyone has different tastes, but it seems like some consensus generally forms. I'm wondering if there is some inconsistency in the product. As for me, I think this is a superb blanco - very fresh, crisp, refined and just delicious. It is very smooth, especially for a blanco (in some ways it goes down like a good rep or an anejo), yet complex and rich too. All that with a sweet but prominent agave presence. Very nice nose on this with spice, pepper, earth, warm agave, subtle pine, and a hint of astringency. Entry is delectable with a very sweet, warm, semi-oily and almost a little nut flavor, perhaps just the oak, but a wonderful entry full of agave. Body is full and complex with each of the characteristics above present, and a touch briny. Finish is super smooth, although a nice little burn will develop after a few sips to remind you it's tequila, but sip by sip this is super smooth and goes down like a nice anejo. The finish is smooth, but nice and long, and pepper, and agave are the flavors that lasted the longest and were most pronounced for me. Again, not sure about the consistency, but for me this was a great experience. ]]> Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:38:12 -0400 33-1465 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Came highly recommended, but I must say this bottle was one of my bigger tequila disappointments in the last year or so... I drink silver tequilas exclusively, and only drink them neat. This bottle was displayed on the top shelf at my reputable liquor store and set me back $45; it should have been displayed between the Herradura and Tres Generaciones and cost about $35. I usually shy away from elaborate bottles (more money spent on the packaging means less money spent on the contents) and should have trusted my gut on this one. I have a feeling this tequila would be great were it only double-distilled, but after triple-distilling there's not much agave left. Very sharp alcohol taste and mediocre mouth feel. Very short finish, but given the poor initial flavor and body, the quick finish is this tequila's strongest asset. Reminds me of Don Eduardo, another disappointment in my book. Certainly not the worst tequila I've ever had, but the worst tequila I've ever seen pulled off the top shelf. ]]> Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:11:04 -0400 33-1192 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Purchased from Discount Liquor in Waukesha, WI for 41.99. This tequila has more character than many of the rested and aged tequilas that I have tried. Aroma-Agave, very sweet, I almost get a hint of chocolate Initial taste-Well balanced, nice agave flavor with a hint of earthiness finish- a hint of pepper and a slight, but enjoyable, bitter taste This is the best blanco I have ever tried. It is so good I could drink it for dessert. ]]> Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:50:27 -0400 33-865 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Tequila Casa Noble Crystal. 100% triple distilled. NOM 1137 La Cofradia. Tasted 10/18/08 in a Riedel glass. I bought this tequila from WineChateau.com for $35.00. This tequila earns the name crystal with its clear colorless appearance. A complex and unique nose that is sweet with clove, ginger, and ginsing and an overall deep musky agave note. This is maybe one of the most multi faceted blancos I've tried. Aroma, taste, and finish come alive in this true agave spirit. There is nothing boring about is blanco. First taste is peppery, citrus, young and green. The mouthfeel is smooth and silky but with immediate legs on the glass. A mellow agave taste heavy and oily on the tongue. A sweet creamy flavor midway that quickly fades into a fair amount of bitterness in the aftertaste with heat developing on the end. CNC from beginning to end is definitely a most unique experience. I've not come across another blanco quite like it. I do not use this tequila in a margarita, but enjoy its nuances and three pronged alure as a sipper. Nice easy to grip bottle with a embossed foil label and stopper. A simple but effective presentation. ]]> Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:04:14 -0400 33-814 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html As I noted in my review of the CN reposado, CN was very scarce and very expensive around here until recently. Actually, this blanco I got about a year ago, when my local liquor store seemed to get in about a case. I think I paid $29 a bottle. Probably mismarked or something for that time. An interesting thing happened re me re this blanco. I had really looked forward, based on on-line discussions, for years to getting some CN, really aiming for the reposado. When I first was drinking this, though, I was a maybe little disappointed. It seemed perhaps too smooth. Not as bad that way as Patron, but toward that. It is tripled distilled. I was thinking that maybe double distilled would have worked better. Good body and excellent finish though, and all the flavors that are there--and I would say that it has all of the complex agave flavors I so love--are good, balances, and complex. It just seemed to me that, say, a Don Julio or El Tesoro de Don Phillipe blanco had just about as good a nose, flavor, and finish, with good body, but with more intensity that the CN. Maybe others that have given lukewarm reviews have had similar initial experiences to me. However, since I have managed to get and have been drinking the CN reposado, it seems to somehow bring out aspects of the CN blanco that were not as apparent to me in the past. Now the CN blanco seems deeper and more nuanced to me, to have more "going on" in it that I have previously thought. It seems to have a purer agave flavor (pepper, citrus, spices, licorice (not sure re licorice) and "sweetness" (I think the sweetness is really in the aroma, I doubt that the sugar content is any higher than any other tequila) than the other blancos I really like. Other blancos taste a little less balanced to me now, their finishes a little less polished and less lingering. A few more slight off notes and hotness (although I like some "burn" in any tequila and the CN could perhaps use a little more) in the others some how. In any event, I find myself coming back to this CN blanco more consistently than to any other tequila, even the CNR, which I truly love, too, and I own a bunch of different tequilas and have tasted lots and lots more over the years. I could go for a bit more intensity. Like I say, maybe just double distilled or maybe even a more refined, and thus even more expensive, agave selection. This may well be my favorite tequila of any kind at this point. I may be more sensitive to agave specific tastes at this point that I was a year ago, and this tequila seems to present as pure an agave flavor profile as I can imagine. That and a stunning, pure, lingering finish. I have said it before, I think the finish separates the merely wonderful from the great, and this blanco has as good a finish as I have ever experienced in a tequila. ]]> Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:32:00 -0400 33-741 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Tasted on 08/04/08 out of snifter. So I finally got around to tasting this blanco. I'm sad to say that i don't really think its all that great. It's not bad by any means. But I don't think it's the best either. It seems that I'm just not a huge fan of what comes out of this distillery. Aroma: Agave, earth, spices. Initial Taste: A little sweet, but weak. Yet no bitterness. Body: Tasted very basic to me. Basic agave and earth. Finish: Of medium duration, with no burn. Just not very complex to me. ]]> Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:54:10 -0400 33-466 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Tasted in a caballito on February 5, 2008 showing lasting legs on the glass. Casa Noble Crystal Color: clear Aroma: strong alcohol Taste: pure agave with a creamy body, a finish with a pepper burn. A wonderful sipping blanco that is too good to cover up in a cocktail. The taste from beginning to end is smooth and easy to drink. ]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:28:43 -0500 33-422 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Casa Noble Crystal Triple Distilled Tequila Blanco, NOM 1137. Like it says crystal clear color with long, even legs extending high on the glass. The nose is earthy agave with some alcohol burn, spice, & a hint of pine. The initial taste is sweet & slightly warm with a late burst of black peppery licorice. The body is medium that lingers long into the finish with tastes of earth, spicy agave, & an aged quality uncharacteristic of a blanco. The finish starts in the cheeks, rolls completely over the tongue, & lasts into the next sip becoming the longest finish I've ever experienced. This tequila is smooth but not as smooth as others due to some, but not overwhelming, alcohol burn. Overall this is a very fine tequila that I enjoyed immensely, savoring each & every sip. The bottle, including the steel embossed cap over cork, is a true work of art worthy of keeping as any other decanter would be. Scores high on the impression scale. Very pricey in my area but not as much in others. Top shelf. Just short of a solid A. ]]> Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:00:22 -0500 33-410 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Color clear with a 'crystal sparkle' when viewed in a Riedel Ouverture glass. Very slow but pervasive breakdown from top to bottom. Narrow leg speed acceleration downward with spotty top. Smells of agave from bottom to top of rim with moderate reduction on the move up. Exceptionally smooth and subtle start, lasting pepper middle and little aftertaste. ]]> Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:39:03 -0500 33-305 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html When I think Casa Noble Crystal, I think agave, agave, agave. It has a strong initial agave and pepper flavor that continues to the back. It finishes with yet more agave, alcohol, and a slight bite - but nothing to be afraid of. I am not a big sipper of blancos; I guess I prefer the subtle complexities and smoothness of anejos. But Casa Noble blanco is a great example of pure, unaged tequila; and a good way to retune the senses for agave. ]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:20:15 -0400 33-167 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Casa Noble Silver ? NOM 1137 ? Tasted 2/22/07. The tequila is a clear color and has an intense earth and floral aromas. Once you get past the intensity of the nose, you can smell moderate notes of spice, smoke, and pepper. On the tip of the tongue the tequila is mellow and soft and feels thin in the mouth. While the tequila has a hint of bitterness, it is actually fairly sweet. Now onto flavor. The flavor has intense agave and earth. There is also moderate spice, smoke, and floral attributes which are followed by mild fruit. The tequilas finish is a medium duration of flavor followed by a numbing alcohol feeling. Overall, I rated this tequila at the ?A/A+? level and would definitely recommend that everyone try this masterpiece. ]]> Sun, 27 May 2007 06:32:42 -0400 33-79 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html A great spicy blanco tequila that gives off many different tastes including cinnamon. This seems to finish hot and with a little bit of smoke at the end. ]]> Sun, 25 Mar 2007 00:04:40 -0400 33-71 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html I was somewhat disappointed in CN Crystal after the glowing reviews. The aroma particularly fell short of that noted in other reviews. CN Crystal is a good blanco, but to my taste it is not an outstanding one. These things are personal, but I prefer the blancos from Herradura, Cabo Wabo, and Don Julio over Crystal. I don't know if it is possible to get a bad bottle or if the new version referred to in March 2006 just does not measure up, but my impressions were certainly different from the earlier reviewers. Con much gusto, Buzz ]]> Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:48:19 -0400 33-65 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Love Casa Noble Crystal, I am a blanco drinker most of the time and to me this tequila is the example of what a blanco should be. Casa Noble Crystal has wonderful cooked and raw agave notes together with peppermint, citrus and other flavors that combined make it incredible! ]]> Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:01:12 -0400 33-11 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html Casa Noble has a very extensive web page (www.casanoble.com) where I was able to get a great amount of information regarding the company, its history and products. Casa Noble has a very interesting history starting in 1700s as a small distillery, which was part of this hacienda in Jalisco. Now it has remained a small distillery, which is based in the City of Tequila. Wilson Daniels represents it in the United States, which is a company better known for there up scale wine portfolio (www.wilsondaniels.com). What makes Casa Noble so special is the care they have in all details. Starting with the basics, their own agave fields (3000acres), selection of the best blue agave (12 to 14 year old plants), natural fermentation (One of two distilleries that do it), triple distillation (Fist tequila to do this) and just a devotion to making the best tequila. Casa Noble Crystal is a full body tequila, I would say it is as a very thick shiny spirit with a lot of light but I like better how lirubis puts it: Once in contact with the tongue, you will feel a mild caress of the satiny smooth consistency of Crystal: a lavish coat of pure tequila teeming with sweet, delicate notes from the natural and slow fermentation process (at lower temperatures, the "mosto" acquires greater flavor from the mashed agave fibers and potent juice), so it is possible to trace the basic elements of traditional tequila: earthy, peppery tendencies on an ample bed of raw, fully matured agave plants. The aromas I get are very strong cooked blue agave with a lot of citrus and a nice sweet touch but what is most amazing is the balance and complexity. The taste confirms the aromas with the blue agave always present, even long after the tequila is gone, the citrus is there also, some herbs and a touch of pepper. Casa Noble Blanco (Crystal) is not just one of the best tequilas but one of the best spirits I have tasted. Some of the recognition this tequila has obtained is the double gold medal at the World Spirit Competition in San Francisco (all judges gave it a perfect score), New York Times selected CN Blanco as best spirit in the market, New York Post finds it one of the finest spirits, Testing Institute selected Casa Noble Crystal as best silver tequila and it goes on and on. The presentation is elegant in a hand blown bottle with a special aluminum label and metal top, will look very elegant in any bar. ]]> Fri, 22 Dec 2006 20:34:17 -0500 33-5 http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/blancos/casa-noble-tequila-crystal.html My favorite tequila by a long, long mile. CN Crystal is among the truest, purest tasting tequilas when it comes to agave flavor elements. The "new" version (out in March '06) provides a cleaner, more direct agave experience with slightly sweeter notes and less alcohol bite, a feature that made some of the old fans frown. I miss the "old kick" a bit myself, because many of us who prefer BLANCo tequilas as the purest form of tequila look for that potent and delicious kick from the powerful agave/alcohol notes. The flavor structure is full of delicious fresh agave elements right at first contact, but as your tastebuds get used to the Crystal, the beautifully tasty notes of pure, fully cooked agave sweetness settle down in your palate. Some slight citrus/herbal elements linger in the background (green lime and grapefruit, along with a mild touch of rosemary, chamomilla and damiana), making this a fabulous, refined and now smoother tequila that will please even the un-initiated. Im my book, this is the best blanco you can buy right now. Worth every dollar! ]]> Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:16:46 -0500