In October, I visited Casa Herradura Tequila distillery, in Amatitan, Jalisco, Mexico, where I and five spirits writers tasted the new Coleccion de la Casa, Reserva 2013 – Cognac Cask Finish Reposado. Aged 11 months in American Oak and finished an additional three months in cognac barrels, the new tequila, released this fall left me both perplexed and intrigued.
After just a few sips, I was challenged to conceive what master distiller Maria Theresa Lara was seeking from the second barrel maturation. Clearly, it wasn’t the common profile of an añejo.
Its tasting notes claim a hint of smoked oak, but it eluded my nose and palate. Agave, however, was well represented, as were some delicate vegetal notes. Though leggy in the glass, the mouthfeel was lean: a quick entry followed by a quick exit. A writer beside me described its finishing as “drying,” which was dead on: neither abrupt and sherry-like, nor lengthy and tequila-like.
*** FWIW, I later tried the Coleccion de la Casa, Reserva 2012 – Port Cask Finish Reposado, but I haven’t reviewed it. If you can find it, buy it. Period.
