Type: Tequila

Brand: El Mayor

Year/Specialty:Reposado (rested)

Cost:$25.00 - $35.00 U.S.

A little History:

El Mayor, or “The Greatest” in Spanish, is now on its fourth generation of family distilled Tequila. This is truly a family business, as the daughter and son of the current master distiller (Rodolfo Gonzalez) are heavily involved as brand ambassadors for the company. One thing of note is that it was bought out by the alcohol portfolio giant Luxco. This shows a possible wish from Luxco to become more involved in the mid to high level Tequila market that has been growing as of late. Recent news is that Luxco has invested in creating a new distillery for El Mayor and its other Tequila brand Exotico. Alfonso Dominquez Zamudio, a well-respected distiller will be joining the team once it is completed to assist in managing the new distillery.

A little Geography:

Tequila is a product of Mexico and, in specific, only five states in Mexico can make it. Jalisco (where the town of Tequila is), Nayarit, Guanajuato, and Machoacan. From these states, all the blue agave and distilling will be made. This is one way the government can keep a close eye on the processes of its national spirit. El Mayor’s distillery is located just outside of Arandas city in the highlands of Jalisco, the mother state of Tequila farming. This high arid place allows the blue agave plant to grow and be maintained in an optimum way with its unique soil. The soil is heavy in volcanic rock, so like in the proper environmental stressors used to produce wine, the blue agave can be stressed properly to produce superior nectar.

A little Science:

This bottle of El Mayor is 100 percent agave, and made within their distillery, but it is unknown if all their agave comes from their fields. El Mayor double distills their Tequilas, which starts at steaming the agave before being shredded, then crushed to extract the juice for fermentation.El Mayor has their own family owned yeast strain that has been using for four generations to keep consistency within each batch distilled. After the correct amount of fermentation has been acquired, the liquid will be distilled in their heat and pressure cooker, then it will either be bottled as a “blanco” (non-aged) tequila, or it will be aged in barrels to be made into reposado (rested) or anejo (aged.) Reposado must be aged for at least 2 months to 11 months, and cannot be in barrels or vats more than 30 thousand liters. El Mayor Reposado is a supposedly 9-11 month aged Tequila that has been aged in American white oak barrels, and is unknown if these are new barrels or previously used bourbon barrels. I assume however that these are new barrels as there would be a more distinctive whiskey flavor on this light Tequila if bourbon barrels where used.

Let’s take a drink:

Looking at this Tequila, it is very light, even for a reposado. The first smell is light as well but with a sweet aroma and no burn. Curiously there is no sweetness on the tip of the tongue, but it does keep its light weight feel as it rolls to the back of the mouth. The agave taste only truly develops as it hits the palate and has a very short aftertaste that fallows the middle ground agave taste, with no smoke hinted at. This overall is a curious tasting tequila, as it is not sweet other than its smell, and I get no smoke or burn to it at all, its refined to be sure, yet seems to be lacking a distinguishing flavor factor.

Who may like this drink:

You are looking for a middle ground between sweet and savory.

Who may not like this drink:

You want a unique flavor profile to fit a distinguished bottled appearance.

For more reviews like this check out: www.TheSpiritedNovice.com

References:

DistilleryTrail.com (2017). Luxco’s New Distillery for El Mayor and Exotico Tequila brands near completion. Retrieved from http://www.distillerytrail.com/blog/luxcos-new-dis...

Emmons. B (1995). The book of Tequila: a complete guide. Carus Publishing, Peru IL.

El Mayor (2017). Legacy. Retrieved from http://elmayor.com/#legacy

Luxco (2017). El Mayor. Retrieved from https://www.luxco.com/Featuredbrands#!b/tequila-tequila-el-mayor

Tequila.net (2016). Distillery Destiladora González González, SA CV Tequila Products. Retrieved from http://www.tequila.net/advanced-tequila-search/tag...

Tequila.net (2016). El Mayor Tequila Reposado. Retrieved from http://www.tequila.net/tequila-reviews/reposados/e...