Cayeya Reposado Tequila Review: 6 Months in Oak & Recycled Beer Bottles

[00:00:00] I recently reviewed the Calle Blanco and today we're moving on to their reposada. And this one gets interesting because we're talking about the same tequila, but putting it in oak for six months and seeing what the barrel does to it. Calle is produced nom 1424 Distalario di Agave Azul in San Juanito de Escaribo, Jalisco, with master distiller Zandra Gomez. They're using 100% blue Weber Agave. And one of the production methods I want to talk about is their extraction because they use a roller mill along with a screw mill system. I actually have some pictures here to see exactly what's happening. After the agave is cooked, the roller mill crushes it and shreds it, opening those fibers up, helping release those sugars. But if you look at this huge screw mill, the screw rotates and continually pushes the shredded cooked agave forward while putting pressure onto the fibrous material, almost like a giant mechanical press. This press helps squeeze out more of the sugary agave juice out of the fibers. The liquid separates through the screened and perforated section while the agave fibers, or boso, continues through the system. I think it's pretty cool because we talk all the time about the and roller mills, but you don't hear much about the screw mill. And the screw mill is actually doing a lot of the extraction from there. CA ferments in stainless steel tanks without any agave fibers. They use deep well water and they double distill before the reposado goes into a combination of American and French oak barrels for six months. It's then bottled at 40% ABV or 80 proof. And before we taste it, we have to talk about these bottles because these are a really cool story too. Calle's reposado bottle is made from recycled Pacifico beer bottles. And that recycled glass is the reason we have this distinctive color and look. These are handcrafted at a family owned artisanal glass factory right here in Jalisco. So you'll see little variations and imperfections from one bottle to the other. And that's really cool. It makes each bottle a little unique. Call takes sustainability idea beyond the glass, the cork, the hang tag, everything that is incorporated in this bottle is recycled. KAE really takes sustainability into their business and everything that they do. So their entire reposado packaging is being made with 100% recycled material. I love the glass, I love the story, and you know me, the packaging can be amazing. But ultimately I care about what's Inside, and that's the tequila. So let's dive into the nose of this one. I do get a nice cooked agave. I get a nice amount of caramel and a little bit of vanilla. There's also something there that's just a little herbal. And the longer I sit with the nose and smell it, I pick up almost a grassy note, and I want to say a little bit of citrus. So to me, it's kind of like a little bit of lemongrass that's mixed in with this nice caramel, vanilla oak note. All right, let's dive into the taste. [00:02:35] Has a nice mouth feel. Nice cooked agave. There's some nice pepper that heats up. This is definitely more complex than the blanco. I don't pick up anything unnatural. There's a nice sweetness. There's a nice little line of caramel, vanilla cooked agave. That lemongrass that I got on the nose really is a nice, grassy herbal note as it goes into a finish that is really kind of peppery and sweet with just a little hint of an oak. And then it starts to come a little dry as well. [00:03:04] On the second taste, I'd almost say there's a little citrus in there as well. I will say to me, reposado is a much better presentation than the blanco. Whatever the wood did here with that French and that American together has really changed some of that flavor profile in the finish. I'm actually picking up a. A really nice fruitiness and a nice, like, floral note as well. All right, so where do I land on this one? Really good repo. I like it. It has really nice flavors. It's very balanced, very rounded. The finish is nice and long. It's still really kind of hanging on there. So this is a nice one. Is it one that I would get again? Absolutely. This is not something that I would put in a cocktail. This is something I would actually sit and sip, and I would drink it neat. And cayenne has definitely created a bottle that gets your attention on the shelf. I respect the story behind it. Utilizing those recycled Pacifico bottles is pretty cool too. So my question to you. Have you tried this tequila? Would you drink it and let me know what your thoughts are? And I'm going to finish this one off and have a great evening. Cheers. Thanks for watching.