Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] If you've been around my channel very long, you know there's a lot of tequilas that come across this table. Some are good, some are over hyped, and every once in a while, one comes along that makes me stop and pay attention. Today's bottle is one of those. This is IMLO 77. This is their new reposado. And if you know anything about this brand, you know these bottles aren't just sitting on every liquor store shelf. Every bash is limited to 1077 hand numbered bottles. That's where the M77 comes from. And. And once they're gone, they're gone. But here's the real question. Does all of that actually make a better tequila or is it just another limited release with a great story? Let's find out. Before I open this reposado, I have to bring this bottle out. You guys probably remember when I viewed the M77 blanco. Absolutely love this tequila. This is probably my third or fourth bottle. This is one of those bottles that really impressed me because it focused on what I care about the most. Great agave flavor and traditional production. I also had the opportunity to interview Eric, the founder of M77. I walked away even more impressed with the brand. Eric's a military veteran who's still active duty, who's dedicated so much of his life to serving our country, and now he's bringing that same discipline and intention to detail to this tequila. Eric, thank you so much for sending me out this bottle. I truly appreciate you trusting me in this review. Now let's talk about how this tequila is made, because you guys know production really matters to me. Starts off with 100% blue Weber Agave grown in Jalisco. These are all Vallez agaves. These are slow cooked in traditional brick ovens, and instead of using steam, these are cooked with.
[00:01:31] They're crushed with the traditional to honestone. One of my favorite methods because it preserves much of that cooked agave character. Fermentation happens in open air wild yeast, allowing the local environment to influence the final spirit. And it's double distilled in copper pot stills before spending three months resting in French oak barrels. After that, it goes another two months to stabilize before it's bottled. That's not just a gimmick. That's taking the time to let the tequila become what it's supposed to be. All right, let's get this one in the glass. I am really excited to taste this. I've had it for about a week or two. I've been a little behind on reviews, so this one I'm really excited about trying and I can't wait. Look at that color. So you got just a little kiss of the barrel in that color. And I'm really excited to see what we're going to get on the notes. So let's dive in. Nice cooked agave, there's a little bit of funkiness there that I like. Light vanilla, a little bit of smoke there, A little bit of citrus. I'm going to say citrus is like, like the peel of a lime and an orange. Like in between both of them, there's some lime and orange peel, some toasted oak. There's a nice, like, black pepper note. Also a little bit of a vegetal note. I want to say almost like a celery. I gotta say, for this being a reposado, I'm getting more like really deep blanco notes than I am a barrel note, maybe a little bit of vanilla, but that's about it. On the. On the barrel side of things. Let's dive into the taste club.
[00:02:51] Really nice. And the barrel influence I get is definitely. You can tell that it's French. I get just the woody oak note. But then I pick up like some sherry type barrel flavors. I want to say almost like some rich red fruit of some kind. There's a little bit of butterscotch or some baking spices. That vanilla's there. There's a really nice earthy minerality there. It's a tasty. That funky note became this really nice creamy mouth feel. And in the finish, those spices are there. It's not really hot, like a lot of pepper. It's just a nice spicy, light pepper feel with a nice cooked agave and a little bit of that barrel oakiness kind of just hanging out as it slowly fades away. That's really good. This one. We're going to probably have a lot of these at the. At the bar here. So where does this land? For me, I think Eric and the team knocked it out of the park again. If you enjoyed the blanco, the rep is going to feel like the next step. It keeps the heart of the blanco and that traditional flavor there just kind of adds a little frame of a reposado barrel around it. This is one that's really nice. If you're lucky enough to find one of these bottles, remember, there's only a thousand 77 of them in each lot, so everyone is individually numbered. It's pretty special in today's tequila world. More importantly, it's not just limited for the sake of being limited. It's limited because of the production methods and how they're doing it to make it a great, great tequila. And if you like learning about great tequila, I'm wearing the shirt today. Sign up for The Tequila Report 62,000 other people already have. It is a free newsletter that comes to your email. Go to tequila report.com subscribe. Check out all the information they have the website. It's pretty amazing. And always if you've tried M77 Reposado, let me know what your thoughts are down in the comments. I'd love to hear from you about how this one compares with other ones. If you're new to the channel, hit the subscribe button because we're always talking about clean, additive free tequila, the people behind the brands and the stories that make them worth drinking. So until next time, pour yourself a great tequila, sip responsibly, and I'll see you on the next review. Cheers.
