Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Okay. I haven't talked about this brand in a little while, but Xolo Exquintle, it's one of my favorite brands. Ernesto, the owner of this, is really killing it. A young guy who literally threw everything that he had into creating a tequila brand. We talk about burning the bridges and, and going for it. He did it. I've talked about his plata, I've talked about his hoven. I've talked about his still strength, which is amazing. We've done an incredible interview together where he talks about the whole process of making this tequila. So today I'm going to talk about this puppy right here, the xa. So not very many people bring out a high proof xa, but Ernesto did. He wanted to bring something to the market that was a little different. This is coming out of nom 1545. They're using an autoclave for cooking. It's highland agaves. They're utilizing a roller mill for press, for, you know, for. They're using a roller mill for the crushing method, get the juice out. They're doing open fermentation, stainless steel. And they do have a proprietary yeast with some wild yeast. And this one has been aged more than three years in American oak barrels. And it's coming at you at, get this 92 proof, an XA, an extra unaged tequila, which. An extra anejo. An extra anejo tequila means it's been aged more than three years. So, you know, Blanco rested zero to 60 days, repo 61 days through one year, Anejo one year through three years. And here we are with an extra on yeho, just more than three years. And this, this tequila to come out at this high of a proof, it is really something you don't see a lot in the market. You're starting to see more high proofs and starting to see more high proof repros and anejos. But this is one of the first on yejos that are high proof that I've come across.
[00:01:58] You get a lot of barrel, a lot of caramel, a little bit of vanilla, but you get that agave still. And to be able to make this where the agave is still forward and it's been aged that long really talks about how much agave flavor in the blanco they have. And the high proof probably carries a little more of that blanco flavor than if, if it been proofed down to 80 proof.
[00:02:23] You get those highland, that highland minerality, that limestone, almost like a, a pedricore or a what it smells like after a rain on a hot summer day.
[00:02:37] But the barrel is really present. You get all those barrel spices. That mustiness that, that whiskey smell or bourbon smell that is really different. You get this real cooked agave that gave us. But one of the things I get that's a little bit different from their blanco is I get a little more of the greenness, a little more of that clean agave taste. With this caramel of the barrel, this caramelizing barrel notes, you get that mustiness, that oak, that, you know, really oaky taste.
[00:03:17] With that agave still being really forward, a great sweetness, it really kind of heats up in your mouth, which I really like. That makes all saliva fill up in there. It has a lot of legs. There's a great viscosity to this. It's nice and thick. I get almost a, a creme brulee, burnt sugar flavor as it turns into the finish. And that finish becomes a little bit of cinnamon and pepper, I'm going to say some allspice. And that, that finish, it's long, it just kind of keeps on going. This is a really fantastic xa. And you got to look at this bottle. It's all etched. It's got the dog that's on there, the Mexican dog, the show, the show low.
[00:04:06] It is such a beautiful bottle to find and I know it's not an easy one to find. It's not a, you know, it's not a cheap bottle by any means. The bottle is beautiful. The juice that's inside is really good. You're, you're talking about, you know, eight years of growing that agave and then sitting in that barrel for another three plus years, you know, so when you think about the hands and the time and the work that it went into making this tequila, it is definitely well worth the value and the price shown on Swedel.
[00:04:39] You can order it from their website. They're in a few states. You can find it readily available in California, but there's a lot of those states where you can order and ship from up at the website right here. Check out their social media. They have a lot of social media presence. Definitely. Check out the interview that I did with Ernesto talking about his journey and his story in tequila and find you some show low exquintle. This is good stuff. Extra on Yeham. Thanks. Thanks, Ernesto. Appreciate you.
[00:05:07] Cheers, everybody.
