Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] What if I told you this tequila was fermented with sake yeast? Not rested, no barrel influence, just pure fermentation magic. Before we even get into the glass, I want to let you know I did just get to sit down with Randeep and talk about this tequila and how they came up with the idea of using sake yeast in a tequila. The interview is fantastic. Check it out on my YouTube channel. This Romare Blanco is made at Nom 1414 by Sergio Cruz, master distiller. They're using highland agaves. They're being cooked in the stone Ovens at NOM 1414. And one of the cool things about this distillery that I've only seen here is you can walk into the front and see the agave that's just cooked in there as they're letting it cool. But you also can go upstairs on top of the stone ovens and you can look down into this roof vent that they take off to help the agave cool quicker. In fact, you'll see in the picture, there's even a fan that's blowing down in there to blow some cool air to cool the agaves a little bit quicker. From there, they're going into their multi pass roller mill. And as they're going through that roller mill, water's being pushed down onto the agave and that helps flush those sugars out. They're going into underground lines and from there being pumped into giant stainless steel tanks. And in those tanks, that's where the magic happens. That's so much different for this tequila. Instead of wild fermentation or champagne yeast or some of the other things that people have done at 14:14, Sergio had the idea of trying just straight sake yeast.
[00:01:27] They put it in there, they let it ferment, and it came out magical. They put it through their twice distilled copper pots and boom, you have this awesome tequila that has such a different profile than any other tequila that I've had from NOM 1414. All right, let's get this in a glass. I did do a review of the Reposado, which was fantastic. Now we're going to get the blanco done here. So as you can see, it has some nice legs on the glass and also has a really nice crystal clear color to it. And on the nose right away, I get the cocoa, of course, but there's like a soft citrus smell and a little bit of a floral. When I get those two things together, my mind always goes to, like an orange blossom, but this is more of the zest of an orange with a floral note on top of it. And I also do pick up a nice lemon in there as well. But there's some nice minerality along with it. So you're getting a little bit of the earthiness and a little bit more floral and citrus.
[00:02:29] So let's dive into the taste of this one. First thing I notice is the mouthfeel. It has a really nice viscosity and thickness without becoming syrupy. That cooked agave kind of fades into all of these different citrus notes, from that orange to that lemon and to a little bit of earthy minerality. And then the finish is soft. It's there. It lingers for a long time. The agave sweetness is there. And there's just like a little bit of a very, very subtle heat and lime. And what I get from that is kind cool if you think about, you know, you do tequila, you do a shot and then you do the lime, and you're chasing that bad flavor out of your mouth with that lime. This tequila is so easy to drink, and it finishes in this subtle citrus and lime. To me, that it's. It's. No one would ever have to shoot a lime with this tequila. Big picture for this tequila. If you live in Maryland or you live in one of the states where you can order this online, this should be on your shelf. This tequila is. It's a banger. It's got such a different profile and so easy to drink that I think everyone should have a of these on their shelf. I'll put the link to their website on there. For folks in Indiana, this tequila will be coming soon. They have working on it, getting picked up with the distributor. So you'll be able to find this tequila in my home state of Indiana. If you've had this tequila, please let me know in the comments what your thoughts are on it. This is one of the top new blancos for me in 2025. I can't wait to see what this brand does in 2026. If you like honest tequila reviews and information about tequila, make sure you hit that like and subscribe button. Share it with your friends. Thanks. Have a fantastic night.
[00:04:04] Happy New Year.
