The Greatest Reposado Tequilas In response to Specialists

Tequila Ocho Reposado

Tequila Ocho’s single-estate tequila method blends terroir, agronomy, and the innate know-how of cofounder and grasp distiller Carlos Camarena. To take heed to Camarena speak tequila is to listen to a grasp at work. 

Tequila Ocho lately launched a barrel-proof reposado at 101 proof (50.5% alcohol by quantity). Nonetheless, its flagship reposado extra carefully takes its taste cues from blanco tequila, at 40% ABV.

For Molly Horn, the chief mixologist and spirits educator at Whole Wine & Extra, the Tequila Ocho reposado lends itself to “a stunning minerality laced with bell and black pepper and sweet-cooked agave, with simply the correct quantity of oak to clean out the perimeters.” 

Fortaleza Reposado

Sure names carry a little bit of “if you recognize, you recognize” buzz amongst prime drinks specialists, and Fortaleza is one in every of them. Fortaleza sticks to time-honored strategies, like cooking 100% agave in brick-and-stone ovens and the usage of open-air fermentation. It provides the spirit a “conventional to the core” really feel, says Derek Piva, govt chef at Tu Tu’ Tun Lodge in Gold Seashore, Oregon.

The wealthy, lengthy end and notes of vanilla, citrus, and cooked agave play equally properly in a top-shelf margarita or as an on-the-rocks sipper, says Piva. It is available in a hand-blown glass bottle crafted in Mexico, topped with a particular agave plant stopper. It’s a pleasant visible contact that even non-tequila followers will respect.

El Tesoro Reposado

El Tesoro’s luscious reposado is aged in ex-bourbon American oak barrels for so long as 11 months. It’s some of the accessible, dependable, and satisfying bottles in the marketplace and a favourite amongst trade insiders and fanatics alike.

El Tesoro experiments with limited-edition reposado choices in its Mundial Sequence, the place it ages agave spirit in barrels from big-name manufacturers like Basil Hayden. For one thing extra available, stick to the corporate’s flagship reposado, which manages to be candy however smoky, with touches of oak and vanilla.

Cascahuín Reposado

Amongst tequila fanatics, bartenders, and specialists, Chava Rosales, of El Arenal’s Cascahuín distillery, is taken into account one of many prime producers on the planet. Cascahuín’s high-end, restricted releases are among the many most sought-after tequilas annually, however the available core bottlings ship comparable high quality at a good value.

At 40% ABV, Cascahuín’s Reposado is something however commonplace. It gives an earthy high quality that’s offset by touches of vanilla and honey, one other hallmark of the perfect reposados. At lower than $70 retail, it’s a chief discover with loads of character.

Corrido Reposado

Barrel ageing and secondary ending are sometimes used methods that give whiskey depth and complexity. Suave barrel administration can create comparable complexity in tequila. Corrido’s reposado tequila makes use of a mixture of Hungarian, Symphony, and Missouri American oak barrels so as to add loads of depth to the completed product.

Horn calls Corrido’s reposado “a creative expression of what a balanced reposado may be: complicated, agave-forward, and subtly candy, with notes that vary from coconut and cinnamon to dried fruit and roasted nuts.”

Casa Dragones Reposado Mizunara

The point out of Mizunara can ship whiskey followers right into a frenzy. The Japanese wooden takes an impossibly very long time to develop and mature, which makes it uncommon and distinct when long-established into casks.

Initially used to age Japanese whisky, Mizunara casks are costly, troublesome to make use of, and exceedingly uncommon in tequila manufacturing. Casa Dragones’ use of it on this reposado bottling “feels actually particular” and lives as much as the hype, at the very least for Dylan Capello, director of name expertise and tradition at Nami Nori. 

“The casks give it these delicate layers of orange blossom, apricot, and low bean on prime of its naturally clean vanilla, roasted agave, and almond notes,” says Capello.

El Ateo

Some manufacturers promote their reposado tequilas in ornate bottles and cost a sky-high premium. But, high quality tequila shouldn’t break the financial institution. Inexpensive tequila can nonetheless be made with conventional manufacturing strategies, like El Ateo’s usually missed reposado, which Whole Wine’s Horn calls “exemplary.”

Barrel ageing is all the time a balancing act. An excessive amount of time can overpower the spirit. Reposado tequila should age between two months and a 12 months. El Ateo’s flagship reposado lands nearer to that two-month span. As Horn says, “the fragile use of oak on this lets the perfect qualities of unaged agave spirit shine.” It features a contact of salinity, together with candy agave, pepper, caramel, and honey.