Review: Mico Blanco Tequila
Mico Blanco Tequila is made at Tequila el Viejito. This distillery produces several brands including Tromba, Karma, Calende, and Distinqt. Mico is made from 100% blue agave grown in the Highland region. Once hand selected and trimmed the agave is chopped and slow cooked in a small brick oven. The cooked agave is fed through a roller mill where the juice is extracted. The juice rests in stainless steel vats for 6-7 days with a proprietary yeast strain. The spirit is small batch double distilled in copper pot stills. Once the bottle is formed, fire fuses the Milo Monkey image and painted label to the bottle before hand bottling at 80 proof. Read more 
Review: Cincoro Blanco Tequila
Cincoro Blanco Tequila is one of four tequila expressions just released in limited distribution. The plan is to roll them out nationally in 2020. The others include a Reposado, Anejo, and Extra Anejo. Cincoro comes from the Spanish words for five, cinco, and gold, oro. The brand originated from a dinner in July 2016 attended by five friendly rivals attending an NBA owners meeting in New York. They exchanged stories and discovered a shared love for tequila. Those five included Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan, Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wes Edens, and Boston Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck and his then fiancée Emilia Fazzalari. They soon decided to craft the finest tequila. After sampling about 1000 different tequilas they selected a distillery, Destiladora del Valle de Tequila. This distillery currently crafts almost 100 other tequilas including the previously reviewed Los Sundays, 21Seeds, Sparkle Donkey, Contigo, and El Padrino de Mi Tierra brands. Cincoro Blanco is made from hand selected agave grown on private farms in the San Miquel el Alto region in the Highlands, and the El Arenal region in the Lowlands. The agave is slow cooked separately in small batches in traditional clay ovens for 35 hours, fermented with a proprietary yeast, double distilled, and then artfully blended together. Nike’s VP of Innovative Special Projects Mark Smith designed the bottles with five sides to reflect the five co-owners with a glass embossed agave on the bottom of the bottle, The base tilts 23 degrees, in a subtle nod to Michael Jordon’s jersey number. The crystal stopper is an inverted replica of the bottle. Read more
Review: Padre Azul Silver Tequila
Padre Azul Silver Tequila was launched in Europe in 2016 and was later released in the US February 2017. The story begins in Heidelberg Germany where HP Elder from Austria met and fell in love with Adriana Alvarez Maxemin from Guadalajara Mexico. They soon married and with the help of his Father in law, HP Elder set out to create the finest tequila. Their quest led them to a small distillery in Amatitan. Padre Azul Silver is made from 100% Weber Blue Agave grown for 8-10 years in the valleys of the Lowland Region by Master Distiller Erika Sangeado. The extra growing period produces more sugars for fermentation. The agave are slow cooked in traditional masonry ovens that steam the pinas for 24 to 48 hours. The pinas rest and cool for 24 hours before the juice is extracted. Only natural occurring yeasts are used for fermentation which takes between 72 and 96 hours in stainless steel tanks. A double distillation at low temperatures so as not to burn off the sugars follows. The hand blown bottles are topped with a 270 gram solid metal skull paying homage to Dia de los Muertos and eternal friendship. The leather jacket with lacing is a tribute to the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling mask and is a tribute to El Santo, the most famous Luchador in Mexico. Read more
Review: Cava de Oro Plata Tequila
Cava de Oro Plata Tequila is produced at Tequileria Puerta de Hierro in El Arenal, Jalisco Mexico. The distillery was founded by the Partidas family who continue to operate it today. The tequila is artfully crafted under the guidance of the Partidas Family, third generation distillers. Cava de Oro Plata is made using traditional artisanal methods. This tequila was previously sold as Cava de Oro Silver Tequila and packaged in a distinctive green hand blown glass bottle. The distillery was originally named Leticia Hermosilla Ravelero. They currently produce five expression including Reposado, Anejo, Extra Anejo, and Extra Anejo Cristalino. Read more
Review: Cobalto Blanco Tequila
Cobalto Blanco Tequila is crafted at Destileria Casa de Piedra from 100% organic weber blue agave grown in the Highland region. The agave is slow baked in stone ovens and fermented in open air stainless steel tanks while classical music plays in the background. After a double distillation in stainless steel stills, the tequila is carefully filtered. This distillery also produces Terraneo, Zurdo, and Chamucos tequila. Read more
Review: Puntagave Rustico Tequila Blanco
Puntagave Rustico Tequila Blanco is one of five expressions in Puntagave’s, Rustico line of spirits. The others include a Mezcal, Raicilla, Sotol, and Bacanora. Puntagave was founded in 2015 by Guillermo Barroso Arnaud and Juan Pablo Garciabueno. Guillermo became the second certified Maestro Tequilero in the world. He has developed four unique agave brands including El Pintor and Fat Ass. Juan is the mastermind behind Tequila Specialist founded in 1997. He is responsible for the introduction of hundreds of brands of tequila into US and European markets. Some of those brands include Casa Noble, Tres Agaves, Clase Azul, 30-30, and Oro Azul. He is also the Co-Founder of Tequila Don Fulano. Puntagave Rustio Tequila is made from 100% Highland grown Tequilana Weber agave. The agave is baked in an autoclave oven and double distilled in copper stills by Guillermo Barroso Arnaud at Compania Tequilera Hacienda La Capilla. Read more
Review: Number Juan Blanco Tequila
Number Juan Blanco is another celebrity owned tequila. Ron White, aka Tater Salad, one of the stars of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, and Alex Reymundo, a member of the Latin Kings of Comedy, are lead owners of this brand. They also produce a Reposado and Extra Anejo expression. Ron and Alex have known each other for over 30 years. Their first encounter came after Ron White’s first stand up gig when Alex, then a bartender, served Ron a beer and a shot at a bar in Texas after the show. They have been friends ever since. Ron even married Alex’s sister. Years later Alex gave Ron a bottle of Regalo de Dios Tequila, which translates to Gift of God. Ron thought it was the best tequila he had ever tasted. It was produced by the Rivera family who had been making tequila for three generations spanning almost 100 years. The tequila was not sold outside of Mexico. It took several years for Alex and Ron to convince the family to partner with them to launch this tequila under the Number Juan label in the US. Number Juan is made from 100% blue weber agave grown for a minimum of 7 years in the Lowland region of Amatitan Jalisco. The tequila is double distilled and reduced to 80 proof with natural spring water from the great volcano tequila, and sold in a beautifully design pina shaped bottle. Read more
Review: Senor Rio Blanco Tequila
Senor Rio Blanco Tequila was launched 10 years ago, on Cinco De Mayo 2009 by Co-Founders Jonathan and Debbie Medina Gach, from a family recipe handed down by Debbie’s father. His image appears on each bottle and glass bottle stopper of Senor Rio Tequila. Senor Rio is made from 100% estate grown blue weber agave grown 8-12 years in the Lowlands of Jalisco. The agave is slow cooked for 36-40 hours under high steam pressure at temperatures of 90-105 degrees. Once cooked the agave stays in the oven with the doors closed for 6-8 hours. After the agave is cooled the juice is extracted using a tearing machine in combination with roller train mills. The juice is fermented with yeast from the honey of agaves extracted during the cooking process in open tanks so the fragrance from the fruit trees surrounding the distillery blends into the tequila. The tequila is double distilled and then rested for 24 hours before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Trader Joes Blanco Tequila
Trader Joes Blanco Tequila is sold exclusively at Trader Joes stores. As Traders Joes has expanded their footprint they have expanded their portfolio of privately branded spirits. Trader Joes Blanco is currently made at Destiladora Gonzalez Gonzalez, NOM 1143. This distillery also produces El Mayor and Exotico tequila. TJ’s Blanco replaces the previously sold Trader Joes Silver Tequila that was made at Premium de Jalisco, NOM 1558. Little information is available about this tequila including the region where the agave is harvested. Read more
Review: Kirkland Silver Tequila
After a brief absence, Kirkland Silver Tequila is back on the shelves at Costco. If you think the bottle looks a little different, it does. Kirkland Silver Tequila is also now distilled at a different distillery, La Madrilena. It had been distilled at Fabrica de Tequila Finos, so I expect the taste to be different also. La Madrilena was founded in 1911 in Totolan Jalisco Mexico. They produce several tequila’s, including Piedra Azul, and Xicote. Kirkland Silver is double distilled from 100% Weber Blue Agave grown in the Highland region. It is still sold in a 1.75L bottle, and priced under $20. Read more