Skip the salt and lime wedge and try these sipping Tequilas instead.

By Kelly A. Magyarics, DWS, CSX Editor-in-Chief

There are Tequilas that are just fine in a Margarita, and there are others that are divine all by themselves. As with whiskey, spirits fans are ditching the cocktail and sipping Tequila instead of blending, shaking or throwing it back.

So where to start? “I would recommend anything that is aged,” suggests Mike McDonald, assistant general manager of El Centro D.F. in Washington, D.C. “The aging process usually takes out the harshness that you tend to associate with slamming shots of Tequila.”

Scott Clime, wine and beverage director of Passion Food Hospitality Group, agrees, touting añejo Tequilas, which are aged anywhere from one to three years in oak barrels, as great solo sippers. “The oak mellows out the sharpness and makes the flavor a bit rounder and sweeter, which makes it more palatable for someone who might be new to sipping Tequilas.” The type of barrel used—American or French oak, fortified wine casks—not just the time the spirit spends in it, also affects the final outcome.

At Fuego Cocina y Tequileria, one of the group’s restaurants, Clime recommends small batch, ultra-premium Casamigos Tequila, launched by George Clooney and Rande Gerber, as a good option for the Tequila sipping newbie. It’s one of those rare celebrity brands that’s actually as good as the names behind it are famous. Casamigos Añejo Tequila undergoes an eighty hour fermentation and fourteen months of aging in American oak barrels, leading to a spirit with soft caramel and vanilla notes as well as hints of spice and barrel oak. Partida Añejo Tequila is matured for twelve months in one-pass American whiskey barrels, and has notes of banana, chocolate and sweet pear.

A bit younger are reposado Tequilas, which are aged in oak barrels from two months to twelve months; some believe this style shows the best balance of agave and wood. Clime likes those from Casa Noble; the Casa Noble Reposado Tequila is aged one day less than a year in lightly charred new French oak casks—which tend to give less overt notes of caramel than toasted American oak, and instead a smooth and sensuous character. And DeLeon Reposado Tequila sees between two and eleven months in American oak and French Sauternes casks; the latter gives luscious dried fruit flavors and heightened aromatics.

A newer Tequila category is extra-añejo, for which spirits are aged for at least three years. Some believe this extra-long wood influence overshadows the agave, while others (including some whiskey drinkers) like the added notes that the barrel imparts. An anomaly in the category though is Qui Platinum Tequila, which is aged for more than three and a half years in American whiskey and French Bordeaux wine barrels. It has the body, flavor and character of a long-matured spirit, but because it undergoes a filtration process to strip it of its color and some of its congeners, it has a really smooth finish.

Of course, Tequila doesn’t have to be aged to be considered a sipping spirit. Siembra Azul is known for making spirits that truly represent a sense of place. Among their offerings is the Siembra Valles Blanco Tequila. Truly representative of the Valles terroir of Jalisco, it’s made with bagasse agave, and is robust and full-bodied, with minerality and pepper notes.

To host a Tequila tasting at home, McDonald recommends sampling the spirits neat in a snifter to capture the aromas. “Do not chill the tequila or use ice as it deadens the taste buds and limits your ability to pick up on all the flavors.” Perhaps most importantly, use a palate cleanser, like the traditional savory Sangrita, in-between different tastes. (See below for a Sangrita recipe.)

Clime recommends sampling through a brand’s entire offerings, starting from blanco, to reposado, to añejo, to extra-añejo (if a producer makes one.) “Just like a wine tasting, you want to go from lightest to heaviest,” he notes. “This would allow guests to taste how the aging process changes the flavor of each.” It’s also hand to have some books about spirits or Tequila around to guide you, like The Lime and the Shaker by the Tippling Bros.

And just because Tequila isn’t going into a Margarita doesn’t mean it can’t be partnered with food. “Any food to be paired with Tequila should mimic the flavor profile of your sampled Tequila,” says McDonald. Clime suggests light, acidic blanco with cilantro- and citrus-based dishes, reposado with smoky barbequed chicken or roasted pork and sweet añejo after dinner with semi-sweet chocolate.

Sangrita
Recipe courtesy of Partida Tequila
Serve small glasses of chilled Sangrita between tastes of Tequila.

2 oz. Tabasco or Cholula Hot Sauce
1 oz. lime juice
6 oz. orange juice
8 oz. grapefruit juice
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
15 oz. tomato juice
1 jalapeño, cut in half

Add all ingredients into a large pitcher, and stir until the salt and pepper are dissolved. Let the mixture set for 15 to 30 minutes; when the desired heat level is reached discard the jalapeño pieces. Keep refrigerated.

Kelly Magyarics, DWS, is CSX’s editor-in-chief. She can be reached by email at kelly@drinkCSX.com, or on Twitter and Instagram @kmagyarics.