Will you drink higher tequila should you purchase from a household firm that hasn’t offered out to the fits? That’s definitely open to debate, based mostly on our in depth tasting analysis through the years, nevertheless it’s at all times a thrill to find an unbiased firm placing one thing nice into its bottles, which is what we discovered with Tequila Cascahuin.
Should you’ve sipped a high quality tequila these days or ordered a cocktail at a pleasant bar, likelihood is you drunk one thing from a company conglomerate. Over the previous 15 years, one after one other of the tequila distilleries based mostly in Jalisco has teamed up with the likes of Diageo, LVHM, or Constellation Manufacturers. Or they’ve gotten purchased out fully and at the moment are simply workers of a multinational, preserving the manufacturing facility operating.
That’s not a slam on tequila actually. It’s only a actuality of {the marketplace}. Consolidation has additionally rocked the business beer business, wine business, and spirits firms producing Scotch and Bourbon as effectively. It’s exhausting to say no when somebody gives you sufficient cash to set your loved ones up for generations.
In equity, funding, standardization, and repeatable techniques aren’t at all times a foul factor. Cuervo and Don Julio constantly put out some nice merchandise, regardless of all of the bean counters. We’re not purists: for us what’s within the glass is what actually issues.
It’s typically a contented shock to discover a family-owned, artisanal tequila distiller nonetheless doing it alone, nevertheless, an organization ignoring these luggage of money dangled in entrance of them in the event that they’d simply surrender somewhat management. We lately went to a tequila tasting in Guanajuato’s Los Campos all-Mexican liquor and wine retailer for Cacahuin (Cascahuín technically), carried out by one of many relations.
This firm was established in 1904, giving them loads of cred in Jalisco, with a number of generations increase the corporate and contributing to its success. You received’t be blown away by their bottles as they need the emphasis to be on what’s inside, however they do have good creative labels and there’s a refined designation on the again of the label for all their bottles exhibiting which lot they got here out of within the manufacturing line.
Common Cascahuin Tequila
Cascahuin produces two foremost product traces, which differ in the way in which they have been produced. The principle one follows the same old fashionable path with business equipment and managed processes. The opposite makes use of extra conventional strategies, together with a tahona lava rock wheel to crush the roasted agave after it roasts in brick ovens. The latter course of is much less environment friendly and takes longer, so naturally, the bottles from this technique price a bit extra. So we’ll get to these in a minute.
Both manner, you’re getting 100% blue agave tequila that’s produced from crops within the quick space. “Lots of the largest tequila producers purchase the agave fruits from wherever they will get them,” explains Salvador “Chava” Rosales Trejo, grandson of the unique founder. “There’s no terroir, no sense of place as a result of the fruits are all thrown in collectively and blended.” Cascahuin takes a unique strategy, staggering the crops throughout their lands since they take so lengthy to mature, guaranteeing that they’ve acquired a recent crop every year. You don’t get huge this fashion, nevertheless it does guarantee you can produce a particular tequila that may keep somebody constant with out getting homogenized.
The common line is pegged at the usual 38% alcohol for Mexico and it’s constantly good throughout the blanco, reposado, and añejo types. The blanco is a standout, a significantly better choice for sipping than you’ll often discover with what comes straight out of the nonetheless. You’ll be able to clean out some imperfections with barrel getting old, however when the tequila is sweet from the beginning with none of that, it’s an excellent signal that you just’re getting good high quality all through the method.
I often drink reposado although, so I ended up shopping for a bottle of that to take house after actually liking what I tasted. It’s a well-balanced tequila with simply the correct quantity of sweetness and complexity, working effectively from nostril to complete. It’s much less of a “hair in your chest” tequila than most of the lowland variations round Tequila city, every part working in concord with no further alcohol burn that’s going to make you wince. It spends 6 to eight months in used bourbon barrels earlier than bottling.
Often, when the primary two variations are good, the añejo one with probably the most getting old goes to be too. That was the case right here, although should you’re going to spring for that, I’d advise going all the way in which for his or her premium choice. Should you actually like oak although, they’ve an additional anejo model that spent 4 years in barrels.
Cascahuin Tahona Tequila From Jalisco
The premium tequila line from Cascahuin is available in at a better alcohol stage (42%) and as talked about earlier, is processed with a giant stone lava wheel crushing the agave fruits as an alternative of a mechanized metal grinding machine. In principle, it shouldn’t make a lot distinction, however I can testify that the tequila I’ve tasted throughout a number of manufacturers that makes use of this slower course of is at all times extra attention-grabbing. The agave appears to burst by way of stronger and there’s extra of a way of the soil and plant within the remaining product.
The common Cascahuin blanco tequila is likely one of the greatest I’ve ever tasted, one of many few I’d be completely happy to sip for hours with out in search of a mixer and a few ice. The tahona model is the “after which some” choice, a bit extra intense and with extra taste profiles within the combine. In my expertise, it’s greatest to let it breathe and settle a bit within the glass earlier than that first sip as a result of it’s fairly intense.
The nostril is surprisingly delicate although, regardless of the upper alcohol, and it’s value savoring earlier than you dive in. It’s candy, spicy, and citrusy, nice sufficient that it might be a summer time fragrance. Then once you take a sip, you’re hit with a wide-ranging palate of flavors, together with some you don’t usually expertise in an unaged spirit. There’s the conventional first alcohol impression you’ll get with something that hasn’t hung out in a barrel, however then there are waves of anise, cloves, and inexperienced pepper becoming a member of the same old citrus notes.
This tahona model will not be for everybody although. The individuals in my tasting group overwhelmingly favored the common blanco higher: it’s extra approachable should you’re not used to ingesting unaged spirits straight. If you’re in search of one thing extra intense although, examine this one out. This was the second bottle I ended up shopping for.
We moved on to the reposado, which was terrific, and thought it will cease there. The host determined to share a little bit of his premium choice although and it actually was one thing particular. I’m not one to exit and spend $80 on a bottle of tequila in Mexico frequently, however should you’re a tequila connoisseur otherwise you’re shopping for a present for somebody who cares extra about style than the flowery bottle, search this one out once you’re in Mexico. They solely produce 380 liters a 12 months of this extra-aged tequila, so it’s actually one thing unique and particular.
For extra info, see the official web site in English and see this web page for the place they’re situated in Jalisco.
