Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Most Lost Lore tequila comes from the highlands. But this bottle right here, the agaves come from the valley and it completely changes the flavor. This is the Lost Lore Valley Blanco. It's bottled at 96 proof and it uses valley agaves instead of highland agaves. And only about 2,000 bottles were made for the US so today we're going to talk about it. Why does this tequila even exist? What makes Vallez tequila different? And of course, what does it taste like? Lost L is produced at Nom 1414, the Vivinka family distillery. If you watched my channel before, you know this distillery has a strong reputation for doing things the traditional way and focusing on additive free tequilas. And most of all, you know how much I love the brand Lost Lore and thankfully you can buy it today in the state of Indiana. All of the Los Laura liner uses highland agaves from Los Altos. Highland tequila usually leans sweeter, more citrus, more floral, sometimes even a little bit of a honey character. But this release goes in a completely different direct. And they didn't only change one element of this, they changed two. We'll get to the second one in a minute. For this bottle they sourced agave from the valley region of Jalisco. That changes the character of the tequila quite a bit. These agaves are grown in volcanic soil at a lower elevation and sometimes a much warmer climate. And that usually produces tequilas that are more earthy, more mineral driven and also more pepper. So instead of highland agaves where they're grown in iron rich soil at a higher elevation, this bottle is probably going to lean a little more savory and a little more bold. And this is created as a tribute to the ancestral methods of Arturo Lamas great grandfather Nicolas. So there's a little bit of family history behind this release as well. Now even though the agave sources change, the production process has stayed very traditional. The agaves are cooked in a stone oven, they're crushed with the roller mill, they're fermented in open air, they're double distilled in copper pots. And this one is another change. Instead of master distiller Sergio Cruz, in this release we get Cesar Vanka. Cesar is continuing the Ivanka family tradition in on 1414. Another big difference is the proof. The standard Blancos are 80 proof for 40 ABV. This one is bottled at 96 proof for 48 ABV. So probably going to get a little more agave intensity and a little more flavor concentration at that higher proof. Now here's something that's important. If you see it, buy it this is a very limited release. Only about 330 cases were produced for the United States. That works out to roughly 2,000 bottles total from so definitely one of those bottles for tequila collectors enthusiasts. So keep your eye out for it. Okay, let's get it in the glass.
[00:02:38] On the nose. The first thing you get is cooked agave. Not just a normal sweet agave. I get a little bit more of a vegetal brightness. Along with the cooked agave, I immediately get this earthy note with a strong minerality presence. There's also some black pepper and salt, citrus peel, and a little bit of a salinity with that wet stone after the rain smell. Very much of a normal vias agave. All right, let's taste this one. All right. Not the first time I've tasted it. I've hit this bottle a couple times. It's opened up. I've let it rest a couple of days. Man, I'll tell you, you get that cooked agave, like it's a roasted agave flavor with this nice cracked black pepper. It opens up with a little lime zest. You get those citrus oils, which gives you a little bit of a brightness. The character is really there. What I really like about this one that's different than the regular is the min neurality in the salinity. Almost like olive briny salinity in there with that earthy, volcanic soil taste. That that wet concrete smell turns into this nice earthy flavor. And at 96 proof, this is really balanced. This is like a nice sugary sweet with a nice vegetable bitterness. Flavors that you would want in a via agave tequila. And still that lost more thumbprint on there. The finish on it is long. It's kind of deep in the flavors. I keep that agave, but I really nice pepper spice with a little bit of citrus and that minerality, like, just kind of hanging around. I got to. I got to take another drink. I got to tell you, One of the things I want to do is sit down with this one side by side with the regular blanco. I would also like to do it with maybe the high proof to get a little closer to the proof. And I'd really like to compare also with the tohono blanco and kind of get all the different flavors there. So you have to watch for that video coming soon. I just thought of that. I think that'd be a lot of fun. All right, let's wrap this one up. If you really enjoy. Tequila has a big agave flavor and peppery spice and that strong mineral character. This one is definitely worth trying, especially if you're a fan of Valley style tequila. If you've enjoyed reviews about Tequila, subscribe to my page. I would love it. Here we talk about tequila. We talk master distillers and interview brand owners and try to give you the most insight education of tequila possible. I feel like if you know more about tequila, you'll choose a good tequila to drink. And on that note, cheers to some Valles at La Snore Tequila. Have a great night.
