El Tesoro Mundial Collection | Basil Hayden Toast Edition

[00:00:00] I found this sitting on a clearance rack at a local liquor store here in Indianapolis. And honestly, I couldn't believe it. Not just because it was discounted, but it's because I've heard that it's one of the most unique El Tesoros ever made. This is the Altussoro Mundi collection. It is the Basil Hayden Toast Edition. It's a limited release made at the legendary la Atenya Distillery NOM 1139. So today we're going to taste it and we're going to talk about the entire Moon Dial collection and find out if this bottle deserves a spot in your collection. Keep in mind, when you're learning about tequila and you want to know more, head over to the Tequila Report. Tequila Report is a newsletter magazine that comes in your email. It's awesome. Over 62,000 subscribers and it is completely free. They cover news, reviews, industry insights. So definitely go check it out at the tequila report.com Pretty cool packaging with the paper wrap here. This one's pretty thicker on it and oh, wow, there's a cool pin. So there you go. There's the bottle, there's that pin. [00:00:57] Pretty cool. Okay, so before we taste it and dive into it, Mundi means worldwide. The idea behind this series is simple. Take traditional Eltasol or tequila and see what happens when it spends time in whiskey barrels from some of the world's most respected whiskey distilleries. It might sound a little trendy, but Eltasaur's approach is different. The goal was never to cover up the agave. The goal was to let world class barrels complement one of the purest tequilas that's being made today. To me, that's important because El Tesoro, they don't cut any corners. Everything starts with really mature highland agaves. They're slow cooked in their traditional stone ovens. They're crushed with a massive volcanic tona stone. From there, they're fermented in open wooden tanks. And these tanks have agave fibers floating in there. Then it's double distilled in small copper pots, so no shortcuts. Very traditional tequila. The moonlight collection began with a Lafroy edition, introducing some of that scotchy smoke. Then came the Knob Creek Rye Edition, which I read that it added some of that pepper and that spice of the bourbon. And now we have the Basil Hayden Toast Edition. And this may be, from what I've read, the most approachable of the series. As a Basil Hayden drinker, I do appreciate the way they toast their barrels. So instead of using a heavily charred barrel Basil Hayden uses a toast in their barrel. So it's just a light flash char that softens the flavors. And in that bourbon, it gives you a little more of that vanilla, that caramel, that toasted oak, and some of those baking spices. So a little different than the heavy char. One of the things I found really interesting is the previous Moongal releases were all anejos. This one, it's not. This one is a reposado. And when it came to choice, from what I read, Carlos wanted these to not get a whole lot of that barrel and leave that agave powered forward. As a true tequila nerd, I love hearing when a master distiller says, hey, this barrel is going to take it the wrong way. Let's make sure it still tastes like tequila helix. So let's open it up. I love the cap on this. It is a little small tahona stone. This one was released in 2024, so it's been sitting in that liquor store for a little while. So it's pretty fired up to find it. Like I said, here's the tona stone as the cork. That's pretty cool. All right. And let's get this in a glass. [00:03:09] First thing right off the bat. Cooked agave. There is a nice little vanilla note. There's a little bit of a baked apple note, which is interesting. A little bit of cinnamon, a light amount of cherry. It honestly smells really rich. Now. You've seen it was a fresh pop, so it's definitely going to change. But what I'm getting on the nose right now is pretty exceptional. Let's. Let's dive into the taste repo. But to me, drinks like an onyejo coat. The galle is there. There's this toasted barrel note because it's in my brain, right. But I do pick up vanilla. Almost like a creme brulee. Brown sugar, cinnamon. Those baking spices are really there. It's got a nice silky mouth feel, but it still tastes like el tesoro. It still tastes like agave. The finish, it's got a lot of caramel there. There's that. That oak there's warming up baking spices. The agave lingers on there too. Wow. Second tastes even better than the first. So was it worth grabbing off of the clearance shelf? Absolutely. This is worth grabbing off of any shelf. This may be the best clearance find I've ever found on a shelf. I think it was normally around $139. I got it for under $99, so I was pretty sure, pretty happy about that. I wish there were two because I would have bought both of them. [00:04:10] This will be on my shelf till it's gone. And this is one that's probably not going to stick around a long time. But now, of course, I want to find the other ones and I want to taste the other ones along with this one. To me, I don't like to keep things just as a collectible. I like to drink it. I like to taste it. That's why I do like these special releases, single barrels, because they're fun for me to taste something different in the spirit that I already love. For me, this didn't take away the cooked agave and I really believe this is how cast finishing should be. You should be able to taste the agave. Have you ever tried any of this collection or these releases? Maybe the Leroy or the Knob Creek Rye, or even this Basil Hayden? Let me know down in the comments and if you have had them all, let me know which one's your favorite. If you enjoy reviews, don't forget to, like, subscribe and share this video with someone who loves great tequila. And until next time, sip wisely. Cheers. Have a great night.