Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Can Tequila be built to appeal to bourbon drinkers without losing what makes Tequila great? Today I'm going to review the Paladar Toasted American Medium plus Reposado as part of a collaboration with the Tequila Report. This is one of the most interesting reposados I've came across because it isn't just trying to be a standard barrel aged tequila. The team at Paladar is experimenting with toasted oak in ways we don't normally see in the tequila world. After recently interviewing co founder Pete Nolanbowski, I wanted to take a deeper look at what they're actually doing and whether it works or not. Paladar is produced at NOM 1109 at the historic Arete Distillery under the direction of Eduardo Orandi Jr. The foundation starts with seven year old estate grown blue agave in the wonderful vias and volcanic soils. The agaves are cooked in traditional brick ovens, extracted with a roller mill and fermented in open air pine vats using a combination of wild and proprietary yeast. Then the tequila is double distilled before heading into the aging process. And that's where this one gets interesting. We where most people think about barrel age spirits, they think about chard barrels. That's the bourbon world. Paladar decided to go down a little bit different road. Instead of focusing on a heavy char, they focused on toasting. The Toasted series was created to explore how different oak species and different toast levels affect tequila while still allowing the agave to remain front and center. This series includes a French medium and a French Revere plus plus and the American Medium plus this isn't just changing barrels, it's experimenting with wood chemistry. One thing that confused me when I first started reading about these bottles was that 20 month number. To be clear, this tequila is not aged for 24 months. The tequila remains a reposado. The 24 months refers to the seasoning of the oak itself. The American oak used for this expression is naturally seasoned for two years before it's turned into the barrel component. The outdoor seasoning process allows the wood to lose its harsh tannins and aggressive green wood characteristics. Once seasoned, the wood undergoes Palador's proprietary medium oak toasting process.
[00:01:58] Unlike charring, where wood is exposed directly to a flame, toasting uses a controlled heat that slowly penetrates the wood. The heat breaks down the natural components within the oak and develops new flavors like vanilla, caramel, baking spices, chocolate, coffee and sweet toasted notes. The goal is complexity without overwhelming the agave. American oak behaves differently than French oak. The American Oak tends to be richer and sweeter. It naturally produces bigger vanilla notes, which more caramel, more coconut character, and often creates flavors that bourbon drinkers immediately recognize. That's why I think this expression may be the most approachable bottle in the toasted series. For whiskey fans, the flavor profile listed by Paladar includes vanilla toffee, butterscotch, chocolate, coffee, mocha, graham cracker, coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. That sounds like something you would expect from a premium bourbon tasting wheel. More so than a traditional reposano tequila. The question is, does it taste like that and does it still taste like tequila? So let's give it a.
[00:02:58] I am using the glass, then tasting glass that was sent to me. I feel like this one on an anejo, on an extra anejo. And for this really dark, deep reposado is going to give me a little more of the flavors. Now, one of the things I want to talk about on how they got this to be so dark with just a toasted barrel is it's not just the barrel. They also add staves or pieces of the barrel that go inside of that barrel and rest with it. So you really have more wood influence in a shorter amount of time, because the tequila is not only touching the surface of the barrel, but the barrel is right in the middle of the all of that tequila. So it's going to give you an anejo type look. But it's only a reposado based on its time. So let's dive into the nose of this one. I gotta say, I do pick up cooked agave. I also pick up a little bit of minerality, but that vanilla and that caramel and that baking spice and that oak smell is really there. So the oak influence is incredibly obvious. But the cook agave is still there. There also is a sweetness there that reminds me of butterscotch and some graham cracker. But I did read that in the profile before tasting it, so that was kind of planted in my mind. Let's dive into the taste. I got to say, I do get cooked agave sweetness first. It still tastes like tequila. It's followed by caramel and vanilla. And I'm going to say a little bit of that toffee. But there's also a nice oak there. A baking spice really builds in. The woody oakiness is really nice, but it does turn into baking spice. And a little bit of coconut, which, gosh, coconut in a tequila is one of those things that I really like to find the finish, it's medium to long. It's got a sweetness that just kind of fades behind all of this wood and vanilla and lingering spice. I would have never thought that I could get a reposado this dark and go through all of these notes of the barrel and still get the essence of tequila and agave right in the forefront. After speaking with Peter and really spending a little bit of time with this bottle, I have been drinking little bit to get just an idea. I really like what they've accomplished here. In the first one, they set out to do something different in tequila. Copy bourbon a little bit, but leave the flavor of agave and tequila there and they've done that. So if you're a big tequila fan and you're wanting something that's got a little bit of that whiskey influence, yet still maintains the heart of agave, check out these Toasted Series. I have not opened these to give these a try. I can't wait to dive into them next. Make sure you follow the Tequila Report where you're going to see some really great reviews and interesting information on each and every one of these. I'm really excited to see how it comes together. So cheers to Pete and Paladar. Thanks for making such an amazing tequila and having some experimental ideas to try something different. If you've tried Paladar in any of the Toasted series, please let me know in the comments. Let me know if you have any questions and what else you would like to see me review on the channel. Cheers. Have a fantastic night.
