Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] What is a still strength? Let's talk about one. Let's talk about a tequila from el Tecaleno nom 1108. Located right in the town of Tequila. This place is awesome. We've visited the distillery, we've walked through it and checked it out. We drank tequila from there still. We've stayed at their hotel at Casasayas. It's amazing. So Tony Sias master distiller tequila started in 1959.
[00:00:25] Multi generations of making tequila. Now, here's what's cool. They're in the. In the valley, they're in tequila. But all of their agaves come from the highlands. So you're looking at Los Altos Cabes making tequila in the town of Tequila. So what are they doing to make this tequila? Well, they're using an autoclave, then they're going through a roller mill, and then they're going through their open fermentation. And what's really awesome about their facility is it's right at the back of the town of Tequila. So. So you have all of these trees or mango trees. It's full of different foliage. And then there's the creek or river that kind of runs right through there. And they're gathering water from that area, from that volcano, which is giving you a lot of minerality right in the water. And then you're picking up all of these wild yeast from the mango trees and all the plants and the flowers that are around this place. It's absolutely stunning and beautiful. They've done a great job making a great facility, not only to visit but, but to make tequila. And we talk about high proofs and we talk about still strengths a lot. And what we need to understand is that difference. What really is the difference between a still strength tequila and a regular blanco? And that difference is water. So when a tequila comes out of that still, it's already at a certain ABV or a certain proof, a percentage of alcohol. And what most brands do to make a blanco is they add water to proof that down to that 80 proof. So you may maybe get a little more minerality of the water flavor, but you get a little less agave. And that lets that tequila come in at a little bit lower level of alcohol to make it more palatable for people. Us crazy agave nerds, we love a still strength because what does this mean? No extra water added. This hasn't been filtered. It's right out of copper pots. It's a natural volcanic spring water that they use. And it is mellowed or rested a little bit in some oak for less than 60 days to make sure it remains a blanco. And this still strength has all of the flavors that you're looking for. Tony Saez when he makes a tequila. I'm telling you, this dude doesn't mess around. I've never had a tequila from El Teleno that I don't think is absolutely amazing. So let's bust into this still strength real quick and talk about it on the nose. The first nose, you get a big hit of alcohol, right? And that always happens when you're talking about a still strength because it's such a high proof. This one is coming in at 50 ABV. So it's 100 proof tequila. The second time, you get less alcohol. The third time, the alcohol is almost completely gone and you're left with some amazing cooked agave. And what's really awesome about El Tech Eleno is it has a fruitiness in the nose. It has this really strong cooked agave, but it also pick up a lot of minerality and a vegetableness and also a peppery smell in it. So it's very complex. And it really smells like it's going to drink pretty hot.
[00:03:20] Wow. Now, did it drink hot? Not really. It's a little bit warmer than your basic 80. But I could sip on this all day long.
[00:03:27] It rounds out your whole mouth. Makes your mouth just fill up with saliva. You get the cooked agave, you get the sweetness of the agave. I pick up, wow, the peppery finish in this. It's very vegetal. Almost get like jalapeno type, fresh jalapeno flavor in the finish. This is really complex. When I say jalapeno pepper, I also.
[00:03:49] I almost get the flavor of wet grass. Like, like that smell you get when somebody mows the lawn and it's maybe just rained a little bit and you get this really grassy. Note that vegetable grassy jalapeno going into the flavor after that cooked agave kind of calms down is pretty awesome. The finish just lingers.
[00:04:09] It's got this peppery finish that just kind of hangs on and keeps feeding that flavor back to you. So hopefully that helps understand what a still strength is. And then hopefully that makes you go look for El Tecaleno. They've got a great distribution. You can find them just about anywhere. I will throw their website up here so you can click on the website and find out where to find it in your area. This still strength is one of my favorite still strengths. I was really excited that I got the opportunity to taste this at Casasayas. In tequila for breakfast before it became available in the United States. I just happened to be down there and it was released then, so what a great breakfast drink. And I'm telling you what, I might have this for breakfast tomorrow. So tell me if you've had el tecaleno still strength. And if you ever drink tequila for breakfast. Thanks for watching.
