Lots of the finest tequila manufacturers that win blind tasting awards are priced at a traditional degree and are put into bottles that don’t wow anybody. That is much more true for mezcal, which is likely to be in a bottle that doesn’t also have a label in the event you purchase it in Oaxaca. So after I see a model like Tequila Solarum that’s constructed on spectacular packaging and gimmicky product strains, I’m skeptical from the beginning. I had the prospect to offer it a good shot with a full-blown tasting although, so right here’s my evaluation of how that turned out.
Initially, we couldn’t have requested for a extra chic setting for our tasting that on the huge bar terrace of Impression Isla Mujeres by Secrets and techniques. This dramatic property, which cascades down a cliff to the attractive sea and pier advanced, arrange this tasting with a view simply because the solar was making its approach towards the horizon. We began out with the common tequila whereas it was nonetheless daylight, then switched to their signature product at sundown, which made sense contemplating its attributes that I’ll get into in a minute.
All of the whereas we had been socializing with enjoyable individuals and nibbling on good meals whereas our Solarum Tequila host defined the model story and what we’d be tasting: their blanco, reposado, and anejo choices. Then the show-stopper signature tequila that prices much more.
Customary Tequila Solarum Tasting Notes
The form of spirit you want is a really private alternative that always has little to do with inherent high quality. One individual’s “finest bourbon ever” could also be Maker’s Mark as a result of they like the flavour profile and telling them that some award-winning fancy model that prices 3 times as a lot is healthier goes to ring hole for them.
So take what I say as simply my very own opinion, although I’ve most likely tasted extra tequila manufacturers than 99.9% of the inhabitants. We began out with the Solarum Plata and for me this was the perfect of the bunch. This tequila is comprised of agave grown within the highlands of Jalisco and this one had some good floral overtones, natural notes, and a bit much less pepper than you get within the lowlands. It was a stable tequila that may maintain as much as most others on the market.
The reposado is what I might usually purchase for on a regular basis use however this one solely spent two months in oak barrels, which made it style to me like a tequila that wasn’t positive what it needed to be when it grew up. It felt adolescent as an alternative of totally developed and I wrote “cantina tequila” in my notes.
The Solarum Añejo was extra balanced, with 12 months in oak for it to seek out its footing and change into refined sufficient to sip after dinner. I loved it all through the glass, but it surely had extra of a bit than most aged tequilas from Los Altos, with much less leveling-out than I’d count on and a harsher alcohol-forward nostril than you normally get with one thing aged this lengthy in oak. In all equity although, it retails for underneath $50, so it’s a good worth.
Succession Flashbacks With Flecks of Gold
One in all my favourite episodes of the nice TV present Succession was Episode 6 when boss man Tom takes his protege Greg out for an evening in town in New York. They eat at a restaurant the place Greg asks why there are not any costs on the menu and Tom solutions, “As a result of they’re insane!” They go hang around alone in a VIP space of a membership, overlooking the individuals dancing, and Greg asks why what their photographs have flecks of gold in them. Tom says one thing to the impact of, “As a result of we’re wealthy!”
Tom exhibits a number of occasions all through the sequence that he’s impressed by outward indicators of wealth, even after they’re goofy, like gold flecks in a drink which can be solely going to finish up getting flushed down the bathroom a day or two later. That’s what you get with Solarum’s signature providing, a “further añejo cristalino” tequila stuffed with flakes of 24-caret gold, retailing for round $90 in Mexico. So the liquor has been handled to get rid of the colour from the barrel getting older after which a pinch of gold, perhaps from the hand of fairies, went into the concoction.
At a time when gold is buying and selling at $3,356 per ounce as I write this, I’m a bit torn about tips on how to really feel about this bundle, which I’ve received to confess is kind of placing. On the one hand it looks as if a cut price in the event you simply wish to pull one thing out at a celebration that may get individuals speaking. Then again this looks as if an ostentatious waste, even whether it is simply gold leaf. I stored reflecting on these combined emotions as our host at this tequila tasting poured from a lit-up bottle meant to point out off the dear metallic shavings going into our glasses.
However hey, in an surroundings when a brand new model of tequila appears to pop up each month, half of these new ones endorsed by celebrities, you’ve received to do one thing to face out. Being nice isn’t sufficient, particularly if you wish to woo the younger cocktail crowd, so that you’ve received to discover a advertising gimmick that may assist the children bear in mind your title subsequent time they’re in a bar.
Solarum Tequila positively employed advertising and packaging company as a result of their merchandise look stunning. Beautiful bins, good bottles, caps which have some heft, and a emblem with a cool background story. Perhaps all that, mixed with gimmicks like treasured metals floating into your glass, will likely be sufficient to succeed.
However what concerning the high quality of what’s inside? If I closed my eyes and ignored the gold, the 24K bleached further anejo didn’t style any higher (or extra pure) than related ones I’ve tried like Don Julio 70 and Tequila Cosmico. It’s simply that on this case, you’ve received a trick within a trick, which might be simply what some showy partiers are searching for.
See extra at the official web site right here (Spanish solely). As finest as I can inform, this model is just not accessible within the USA on the time of writing, however most likely will likely be later. In Vegas not less than…
