Penca Azul Tequila Blanco

My final taste of the discontinued brand Penca Azul. It is one of the finest looking bottles that you will ever see on the shelf with the hand blown agave inside the bottle. It's often referred to as a "treasure" bottle because of it's difficulty to find on shelves these days, but sometimes it's all about the hunt. It carried a premium price tag, so let's hope that it can live up to it.

Price: $60-75/bottle
Aroma: A light agave scent with a hint of toasted marshmallow.
Initial Taste: Right off the bat, it's extremely watery. It's not often that I make note of the mouth feel in the initial taste, but in this case, it needs to be noted. It's very muted cooked agave flavor.
Body: Again, an extremely thin body with a pleasant agave sweetness and the nuttiness/marshmallow flavor returns.
Finish: Short and with a light sweetness. Pleasant, but not much to speak of. It's really easy to drink, but there's juices at 1/3 of the price that are as muted and smooth as this one.

Simply put, there's just not much to this tequila. It tastes fine and is easy to drink, but it's pretty much just hard core tequila lovers that are willing to spend this kind of money on a super premium tequila. The agave is light and there's just too many more flavorful tequilas in this price category that merit $60+. The bottle is beautiful, the tequila is so-so. I'd pass on this one unless you're looking for a really easy to drink bar piece.

Note: I know that this juice may have changed a bit over time. I often hear more positive things about the earlier lots. This was from a later lot. As with any craft brand, things may change for the better or worse over time.

Penca Azul Blanco NOM 1115 Tasted on 7/18/08 at 9:30pm. I purchased this tequila at the Grad Tequila Bar in Davis, CA for $3.33 and tasted it out of a snifter. The tequila is clear in color. Penca Azul Blanco aromas consist of intense earthy aspects followed by moderate to intense floral notes. On the lighter side, this Blanco has moderate aromas of fruit and spice. On the tip of tongue, this tequila is mellow and has a medium mouth feel. While the tequila has heavy agave flavor, it is somewhat sweet and has no bitterness. The flavor of this tequila contains intense flavors of agave followed by moderate to intense earthy and spicy aspects. Deeper flavors of Penca Azul Blanco consist of moderate floral with mild fruit. Upon finishing this tequila, there is a long duration of flavor and slight numbing alcohol intensity. I have rated this tequila at 93 out of 100 points.

Tasted on 6/13/08 out of snifter. I've got one word for this blanco....WOW. I can see why it's one of the more expensive tequilas out there. I may not be able to afford this bottle every time, but darnit, I'll find a way! An excellent sipper. I would not mix this one. It gets a high rating on value because I really got what I paid for.

Aroma: A very creamy nose, with hints of earth and vanilla.
Initial taste: An oily mouth feel, it's sweet with no bitterness.
Body: Tons of earthy agave, with spicy hints. An excellent body.
Finish: Of medium duration, no alcohol burn.