Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Did Siempre just make one of the best tequilas even better? Or did changing distilleries ruin something that was already pretty special? Well, I can answer that question before we even dive into this, because the new one is absolutely amazing. Today we're going to drink the two different Siempre Supremos, both made using traditional production methods, but two completely different distilleries. Most people know that Siempre started out at nom 1438, but a lot of people don't know that Alex was really looking to do something different. He migrated away from 1438 and went over to Nam 1137 in the tequila Valley, a distillery called La Cofadilla. La Cofadia has been around a long time. They've got a great master distiller that's making some great tequilas. He worked with the master distiller to take one of the older parts of their distillery and use their tohono there, use some wood fermentation tanks and copper stills and make a Tohona produced still strength tequila. And it was fantastic. And during this process, he also got involved with Sergio Cruz and Sergio helped out out in making this tequila at that distillery. Years pass and Siempre made some changes and all of a sudden they end up doing their main production at NOM 1414, with Sergio taking the helm to create the fantastic profile flavors of Siempre, which are always up there on my shelf. One of my favorite brands. And recently I was in Arandas and I got to hang out for a little bit of time with Alex and he sent me home with the 1414 version of the Supremo, which at the time we could not find here in the Indianapolis area. A few weeks after I was home, I was doing a tequila tasting actually for Johnson Brothers, which is a local distribution company that distributes Siempre. And we were at a place called Carnegie's in Greenfield, Indiana, and I got to do a full explanation of the brand. And there, lo and behold, they had some 1414 of the supremo. So I got to taste it there really for the first time, and was overwhelmed by the tequila. I've been wanting to do this video for quite some time, but I just haven't had a chance to sit down and put these two together and do it. So we're going to do it tonight. And I pulled out two glasses like we would use at 1414 to taste them. Now, I want to say one of the things I think is going to be the main difference of these two tequilas is when you're talking about 1137, we're talking about vias agaves and we're talking about water from the volcano and we're talking about yeast from another area. So you've got potentially a different influence of just agave water and yeast. So when we go to the highlands, you we have some mineral rich agave that are growing up there in those orange iron rich soils. You're going to have different yeast profiles that are coming from 1414. And you've got the maestro, Sergio Cruz making the tequila. So the way he's going to do his cuts, distillation temperatures, fermentation times, all those things are going to be a little different. But I do believe that the soil, the water and the yeast from a different location are going to bring two different flavors. So terroir is really going to be part of these flavors in these different tequila kilos. So one of these, this one from La Cofadilla is at 54 ABV and the one from 1414 is 54% ABV as well. So they were able to land on the same proof. So let's dive into the nose of these and let's see what we got and compare the two. Little bit of a funky cooked agave note, a little bit earthiness, but a little more vegetal. There's like a really clean, almost a fresh cooked agave note in there and like I said, just a little bit of funkiness. So let's dive into the nose of the new 1414. This is more cooked agave, this is a little more citrusy, less funk, a little more fresh. And there's actually a little more alcohol Note in the 14:14 1. All right, let's talk about production method real quick. So we pointed out the agaves are from different places. Both of these are cooked in traditional stone ovens. Both of these are utilizing a tohona for extraction. And both of these are fermenting with fibers inside. But this one is fermenting in stainless steel tanks, where this one is fermenting in wood tanks. And this one is being twice distilled in stainless steel pots with some copper contact. And this one is going to be distilled in full copper pots. So you're going to have some different flavor profiles from the production method as well. Let's dive into the taste of these.
[00:04:10] A little bit of alcohol up front. Cooked agave there. It's a little bit earthy. There's a vegetable note there that's almost like kind of like a cooked asparagus actually. And there's a nice peppery finish to it. It kind of heated up with some pepper and has a really nice sweetness as well. So let's hit the 1414.
[00:04:31] The sweetness is different. The cooked agave flavor is different. There's a woody note. It's similar to what I pick up in a Madera G4. It almost tastes like it has wood contact from a barrel, but it has a woody note to it. The pepper is a little more. The finish has a little more depth to it. There's a little more citrus in this one. The earthy vegetal component is not in this one at all. And there's a sweet floral note here that's not in this one. So the funkiness in there is nice. I like it. This was a good tequila, I will say. I prefer this one. I prefer the minerality. I prefer the citrus notes that are there. And I really like the way that pepper heats up and the finish of this. All right, so the question I had was, did they take a great tequila and make it better or did they take a great tequila and ruin it? You already know my answer is they took a great tequila, they just made it better. So let me know in your comments, have you tried these two side by side? I'd love to know what you feel the differences in flavor profile are and which one you prefer. I gotta say, I'm a little biased. I love everything that comes out of 14 14. The siempre that's being made there today over the one at 14:38 to me, is so much better. Although it was a good product, I think it's a better refined product today. Alex, Monica, Rick, they're making some fantastic tequila and they're doing some great marketing and some massive, awesome social media. So if you're not following Siempre on their social media, you need to right away. I have had the opportunity to interview Alex a couple times. Check him out on my YouTube channel. Probably need to update that. It's been a while since we've done one. Let me know your thoughts about Siempre in the comments. And I just want to say thanks, guys, for doing what you do. Sergio, making great tequila. Cheers. Have a fantastic evening.
