Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, guys, I am fired up tonight. This is my buddy, Andy Sparks. He actually started this with me six, eight months ago. Right?
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Yeah, sure.
[00:00:08] Speaker A: He's the guy that hung out with me and drank tequila.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: You've been drinking tequila for how many years?
[00:00:14] Speaker A: 30. 25 probably. Yeah, 25, 28 years. But I brought you over to tequila, right? You did, yeah. He was slowly drinking gin or sock water or something.
[00:00:24] Speaker B: It's called bourbon.
[00:00:25] Speaker A: Bourbon, okay.
[00:00:25] Speaker B: Yes, enjoyed. Bourbon and beer brought you over.
[00:00:28] Speaker A: Well, today we're going to do a blind. We're going to do a blind tasting. Your wife Tammy poured these for us, and we picked three specific tequilas that I'm really excited about. I love all three of these brands and I love all three of these tequilas. So first we're going to start with one. A very special single barrel release of the cascanes number nine Ano, which is J Bear and Maddie's pick, right?
[00:00:52] Speaker B: Very good.
[00:00:53] Speaker A: Nom 16, 14 Vaez agaves. I think it's a low pressure autoclave. There's a bug on the number nine. They're using a special water that they actually truck from this little town back to ttap their distillery because they, they love this water that they use in their original distillery, and that water is part of their thumbprint. So they bring that.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: Oh, really?
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Trucking in.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: So.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: And then J. Bear and Maddie sipped through 20 different barrels to pick that barrel as their barrel.
So that's pretty awesome.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: Did they mix any or.
[00:01:26] Speaker A: No, no, just each barrel they picked. And there's only, you know, 200 bottles come from a barrel. 230 or so bottles come from a barrel. Some very limited edition. Jay Bear brought this to me for the podcast that he was just on with me. So I really appreciate. It was a gift from Jay and pretty amazing. This is a 50 ABV, 100 proof tequila. The next one we're going to do is also incredibly special, right? We're. We're busting out the partita anejo that's finished in a sherry cast.
Now that sherry cast they're using to make this, I don't know if we're supposed to say it on here or not. I think it's a secret, but it's Macallan barrels. When you think of the best whiskey that you can find, McAllen's up there, right? Everybody's like, mccowan's the thing that everybody's nuts about. So what they did is they. They did this tequila right there at the partita distillery. Jose Valdez, master distiller about 1502, they went through the whole process by as agaves, through their cooking process, fermentation process. But the key is we went into American white oak barrels and then finished in these Macallan barrels that they, you know, had procured from working with Macallan. So, I mean, telling you Macallan, like, how can this be bad? And then let's go into the last one with Chef John. Like one of the greatest chefs in Chicago came up with this idea for Cambio, right? And Cambio is done completely different than any other tequila yet traditional. But an awesome mix on traditional tequila. One, the agaves, highland agaves, they cook them whole.
They're not having it. These guys, they're having them going into the autoclaves or whatever. These guys are whole agaves in a stone up. They're cooking low, slow. They gotta change the temperature. Takes forever to cook that agave. So their cook time is like three times what a normal cook time is.
[00:03:19] Speaker B: Because this guy's a chef.
[00:03:20] Speaker A: He's a chef, man. He understands flavor, right? Yeah. Like, he's not working at McDonald's.
[00:03:25] Speaker B: No, right.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: He's slapping a quarter pounder down of some horse meat. He's doing good stuff. Right from there, they're going into regular to honor crushing. So only using the to.
And then they're doing a really special fermentation. They take a pine fermentation tank and they put it inside a stainless steel tank because they want to control the temperature.
And then they put coils inside of it to cool the fermentation. So instead of it taking five days or six days, they're taking more multiple days in that fermentation by fermenting it like a 50 degree temperature instead of a 90 degree temperature, just takes a longer period.
Extending that out, getting a little malolactic in it, cooling it down, changing the whole way, and that it's flavored. And then he believes French oak is the only way that you should do any aging. French oak gives a different flavor. So Bordeaux barrels, French oak barrels. So this is a symphony of a couple different barrels.
[00:04:26] Speaker B: That wine.
[00:04:27] Speaker A: Yeah. So it's an oak barrel. Actually comes from France. That most of your wines would be in your Burgundies, your Bordeaux, those all go in a French wine barrel. If I got that wrong, just comment that I did it wrong and I'm good with that. But he explains it all in the interview that I just said. So French oak, Chardonnay and cognac barrels.
[00:04:45] Speaker B: Okay, gotcha.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: So that's what it's aged in. So that's the blind that we have in front of us. So lovely Tammy behind the screen. Also our production person. She's the director of the video. She's in charge of lighting and makeup. She actually is the one that put these together for us. So we know. And. And you'll see on top of these, they have a number one, a number two, and a number three.
And I've got to say, the thing for me on this is I don't know that one of these is better than the other.
[00:05:12] Speaker B: Right. I give her.
[00:05:13] Speaker A: I think they're all amazing, but I.
[00:05:15] Speaker B: Think you can identify it.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: I don't. I don't. I'm gonna do my best at it, but I really don't think I can.
I guess what we're gonna do is we're gonna have to, like, talk about the flavor profiles that we like the best in each one, but it doesn't mean that one is a loser to the other. You might agree with that, right? They're. They're all gonna be good.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: Tasted them and liked it.
[00:05:38] Speaker A: Yeah. How can you go wrong with any one of those?
[00:05:41] Speaker B: Exactly. But to identify them blindly. So, sure, I can do it, but I'm gonna.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: I'm gonna do my best at it. Right. That's the thing that I really like to do, is try to identify the flavors. So I say, which one do you want to start with? What do you think we're gonna start with?
[00:05:55] Speaker B: Number one.
[00:05:55] Speaker A: You're starting number one. All right. And so here's the thing about the process. Do you want to nose each one independently and then taste, or do you want to nose and taste? Nose and taste. Nose and taste.
Nose. Nose.
[00:06:07] Speaker B: Nose.
[00:06:07] Speaker A: Okay, I agreed. Okay, so, number one, listen, that's some cooked agave, then. So here's the smell that I'm looking for. When I say cooked agave, picture sweet potato, pumpkin, and pineapple all coming out of the same oven.
So you get that distinctive tequila flame, that distinctive tequila smell.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: But it's so smooth. It's a very.
[00:06:33] Speaker A: This one I get.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: I don't know how to describe.
[00:06:35] Speaker A: I get a lot descriptive, so I get a lot of fruit. Fruit, fruit. So, like, when I smell this early citrus. No, I get more like apricot or.
[00:06:43] Speaker B: Peach, a little more earthy fruit.
[00:06:46] Speaker A: Stone fruits.
[00:06:48] Speaker B: There you go. There you go.
[00:06:49] Speaker A: But I do get a. A lot of minerality in that. Like an earthy, mineral smell.
[00:06:57] Speaker B: Can't explain it. It's very pleasant. It's not a bitter, harsh.
[00:07:01] Speaker A: There's nothing bitter or harsh about any of these.
[00:07:04] Speaker B: That's Going to be the hard part.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: None. None of these are bad. So you going to do number two now?
[00:07:09] Speaker B: O.
[00:07:09] Speaker A: That one's more vanilla.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: Yes, Right off the bat.
[00:07:12] Speaker A: Much more vanilla.
[00:07:13] Speaker B: That's my favorite vanilla.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: That's much more caramely vanilla. A little more of a barrel notes. A little bit of a musty barrel smell to me.
I think I know what number one is just from the smell. You're off. Are you off to number three yet? Sure. That's fruity again.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: Yeah, that's very fruity.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: It's very fruity.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: Very fruity.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: So what I thought was number one now is no longer number one.
[00:07:37] Speaker B: That's not what number two is, though.
[00:07:42] Speaker A: Wow. That is. That's. That's stone.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Glad we did.
[00:07:47] Speaker A: Yeah, me too.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Wow. Very fruity.
[00:07:50] Speaker A: Very fruit. Caramelly vanilla fruity agave fruit.
[00:07:55] Speaker B: Oh, there you go.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: So that's more agave. Forward fruitiness. This one is more.
[00:08:02] Speaker B: We say on that. I say vanilla. Caramelly.
[00:08:04] Speaker A: Vanilla caramelly. Barely. And then this is just all fruit.
Stone fruit. Right.
[00:08:10] Speaker B: So would I be out of line to try this right now?
[00:08:13] Speaker A: Oh, hell yeah. But you can. You. You do it.
You lay them out. You tell me what you think they are. So you're saying 1, 2, 3. Yes. Okay.
If you. If you have that right. That's amazing.
Okay. I don't know. I. I'm not there. I can't tell you.
[00:08:31] Speaker B: Really?
[00:08:31] Speaker A: No.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: I thought you would know right off the.
[00:08:33] Speaker A: No, no. The nose doesn't. Nose doesn't always get me there. Like, it's probably more taste for me.
And what I really like is the color of. These are all very even.
[00:08:43] Speaker B: Very even.
All right. Are we going to go in number one?
[00:08:46] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: Number one. Number one.
[00:08:47] Speaker A: That was delicious.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: It's like it smells.
[00:08:51] Speaker A: Yeah, it was. Does that make sense? Agave, Rudy, A little bit of a pepper in the finish.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Little.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: Little heat in the finish.
[00:08:59] Speaker B: Well said.
[00:09:00] Speaker A: I'd love to tell you that I know what that is, but here's what I know. That's a tequila anejo. That's really good.
[00:09:06] Speaker B: That's what I know that is. You're number two just from that.
[00:09:10] Speaker A: Number two. Let's do number two.
The cinnamon in that. You can use cinnamon in the finish of that.
[00:09:15] Speaker B: There's definitely cinnamon in it. It's definitely spicier. That's a spicier.
[00:09:20] Speaker A: Less fruit, more cinnamon.
[00:09:23] Speaker B: Even close.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: There's cinnamon there, too. Cult agave. That musty barrel taste.
[00:09:29] Speaker B: Musty barrel taste.
[00:09:30] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:09:31] Speaker B: Right. Descriptor right there.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: Yeah. It's like standing in the barrel room.
You got that.
[00:09:36] Speaker B: No, I haven't been there.
[00:09:37] Speaker A: Must in that.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: That earthy, mushroomy.
[00:09:41] Speaker A: Yeah. Type of bourbon, like in a bourbon house.
Like that musty barrel smell.
[00:09:49] Speaker B: Are you any closer?
[00:09:50] Speaker A: Think you're wrong on those. Yeah, I think you're wrong.
[00:09:52] Speaker B: I agree. So I agree now.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: So if I was to do it here. Here's what I'm saying. I'm going to say fruit in the middle. That fruitiness that I get from the part that. That's what I think is the partita.
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:05] Speaker A: I'm going to say the cambio is number one. And I'm going to say mint and aspar. I'm going to say that scan after.
[00:10:13] Speaker B: I did that again. I agree with this one. The other two, that's.
[00:10:17] Speaker A: That those are. It's hard to pick because they're so good. Tell us the answers that we got here. Are. Are any of us even close to being correct right now? You're not, Mike. So you got to talk close to his. I'm going to put him in order.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: J.
[00:10:38] Speaker A: Number one, is that number one on here? Okay, I think number one.
Boom. I got that one. Right.
And number two.
Boom. We got all three of it, right.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: Yes, that one.
[00:10:53] Speaker A: You know, so this one has such a distinct barrel flavor, right. That musty barrelness that came and. And cascanes has this great flavor to it. Like cascanes is amazing. I. I think the first one I pointed out was number two, because you did the sherry stone fruit that you pick up in Roblefino is amazing.
That's partina Roblefino. And so there. There's this stone fruit, apricot pear flavor that is really distinctive to me in that one. And when you dive into it, you get it a little bit in the nose, like it's fruitier. It's. It's really soft, and it has just a great flavor to it.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: Smelling the nose. This one was the fruitiest one of all.
[00:11:41] Speaker A: I think it was number three, I think carried the most fruit. But. But number one, the cameo in that nose. It's very fruity. It's very fresh. It's very clean smelling.
But it also has a little bit of a. I don't know, a little bit of a butterscotch smell to it.
[00:11:58] Speaker B: I got this clean, like, it's just.
[00:12:00] Speaker A: It's super clean.
[00:12:01] Speaker B: Clean.
[00:12:02] Speaker A: Yeah, clean. You get that butterscotch in the taste, though.
[00:12:04] Speaker B: I really thought that was number two.
[00:12:07] Speaker A: Okay, so also, when we're talking about French oak, Right. We're talking about chardonnay, French oak, and cognac. So do you pick up a dryness in the finish like you would a warring.
Right. So that. Yeah, that, like, sucks that out of your. Your mouth a little bit. You get that dryness in there. So that chardonnay or you think that's.
[00:12:26] Speaker B: What'S coming through the barrel a little.
[00:12:27] Speaker A: Bit, I feel like. And then, you know, the. This. The sherry brings you that stone fruity, like, barrel fruit flavor where this one is all American oak. Right. So that gives you that musty barrel flavor with a great cooked agave. So there you go. What. What an awesome blind to do.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: No kidding.
[00:12:48] Speaker A: And I. I don't even. Okay, so out of the three, which one would you want to drink the most?
[00:12:55] Speaker B: Before I started this, I thought it was going to be this one.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: The camebio.
[00:12:58] Speaker B: I did. I liked the. What I thought was a vanilla caramelly flavor. I really like that. And then as I took the second hit, it dried out. Like, it dried out my whole mouth, and I didn't care for that.
[00:13:11] Speaker A: Oh, you don't like that dry feeling?
[00:13:12] Speaker B: I don't.
[00:13:13] Speaker A: Okay, so would you pick more the. The partita for the cascanes and partita? So for me, I. I honestly can't pick these. To me, are all three good? So here's what I'm going to do, because this is my favorite part of doing a blind is you take the three tequilas that you have and you blend them together.
So blend your three tequilas together. And here's the awesome thing about doing a blend or making an infinity bottle. If you don't have an infinity bottle at home, that's where you take an ounce or two ounces of every bottle you have and you pour it into a bottle or. Yeah, pour it into a bottle and share it. So if you put all three of these fantastic tequilas together, here's one thing that I can guarantee these are going to taste better now than what they did.
Cheers. My friend. Andy, thanks for coming over and doing this with me.
[00:14:05] Speaker B: Thanks, Tammy.
[00:14:06] Speaker A: Appreciate it, man. Now, I got.
I got caramel, I got apple, I got stone fruit. I get that dryness of the barrel. I get like this everything. Like, that's just freaking everything, isn't it?
[00:14:20] Speaker B: That is awesome. Yeah, that's a great idea, actually.
[00:14:24] Speaker A: So if. If Cambio could reach out to Cascanes and J. Bear and Manny and then also a partita and say, hey, we'd like to blend all of our tequilas, this is where we'd go. So make an infinity bottle. And. And this is mine, so I'll pop it out here real quick. My son Blake bought me a casino bottle of tequila. And this today is one shot of every single tequila that I get that I really enjoy blended together in here. This is an infinity bottle. Hey, thanks for tuning in, watching my videos, Andy. Thanks for coming out tonight and doing this again with me. Please comment in the comments. Which do you think would be your favorite out of these three? And tell me what your favorite anejo is. Tell me if you've had the Cascades, the Partita, or the Cambio, and tell me if you agree.
Ambo, the tequila of 2025. Amazing. Amazing tequila. Thanks for tuning in.
