Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] What if I told you this just wasn't another tequila, but a tequila that's made from 400 acres of their own agave, Fully controlled, valles grown and a gold medal winner. Today I'm reviewing Carabuer Reposado. I just recently got to sit down with the owner, Victor Gallez. He told us all about the story and how he got here. And the story was really impressive. And today we're going to find out if the tequila is as impressive as the story. One of the things that really got me in the interview is we were talking about agave and he does not buy agave from anyone. He, the people that he distills with have 400 acres, they own all of it and grow their own agave. They're letting these agaves grow to maturity, whether it be six or eight years, whatever it takes for them to have good mature agave, slow cooked in traditional masonry ovens for 30 to 35 hours, crushed with a roller mill, fermented with commercial yeast for consistency. And they do double distillation. The first distillation is a stainless steel pot and the second one is a copper pot. No fibers in distillation or fermentation. They have a real focus on environment as well. They reuse all of their water and they compost all of the leftover bugazi. And the bottle is put in 100% recycled hand blown glass. That is complete control from field to bottom. Now if you want to know the full backstory of how Victor built this and why sustainability matters to him, go watch the full interview after this review. Let's talk about the resting process because we are talking about the reposado rested for five months in a blend of medium toasted American and French oak barrels. That's important because a medium toast means depth structure with not a really overly heavy oak dominance. And this expression actually won gold at the 2025 Agabus Awards. So my expectations are high. So let's see if it earns it the medal from me. Let's get this in the glass.
[00:01:56] All right, it's got a nice color, you can tell that it's been rested, but definitely not in there for a super long time or have a really overly colored presence. All right, let's dive into this one right away. A nice cooked agave. I actually pick up a little bit of tea, some dried apricot and peach. There's a little orange peel there, a real light vanilla, a subtle caramel note, and even a little bit of like a dark chocolate. Yeah, that's got a lot Going on in the nose. All right, let's give this a try. There's a nice sweetness there. I'm trying to look for that Valle as character. There's a little bit of a vegetable note, but everything else is really dried fruits, roasted nuts.
[00:02:36] There's a nice, like a brininess that's a salted, like a salted caramel type note and a little touch of bitterness, almost like coffee, like in. In the back of that. The texture is nice. Its silky, I would say like medium bodied. The finish, you get this lingering like caramel, subtle cocoa, a little spice and a nice agave sweetness. This one's pretty versatile. You know, I could sip it neat. I could also see it elevating a good margarita or even pairing it with something. I think one thing it'd be really cool to pair it with would be some chocolate. No hype in this bottle. Small brand from bartender to brand owner working so hard to create something for himself and his family. His a solid, well crafted Vallez agave reposado showing, you know, a lot of balance and a lot of nuanced flavors. Five months in the oak really does a lot for it with a lot of neat flavors. And I think blending that French oak and American oak really brings something a little bit different to this one. Barbueno reposado, it's one to keep on your radar if you see it. I know they are all over Texas. He talks about that quite a bit. It does seem to me like it is an additive free or clean tequila, if you will. In other words, I'm personally not picking up any thing that feels suspect or I wouldn't expect to be there. He did say they're doing everything they can to make the cleanest product possible. I did get this bottle for free from Victor. He also sent me a shirt. I do appreciate that. So I do not get paid for reviews. I do not get paid to do interviews. This is all just fun. But I do get free bottles, so I like to acknowledge that it was a free bottle. If you enjoy honest tequila reviews and interviews with brand owners, hit that like and subscribe button. If you've tried Carabueno, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. And don't forget to go watch the full interview and understand the whole story behind the spirit. Salute.
