My journey has seen me as an owner of sophisticated bars and renowned liquor shops, and even as a Mezcal distiller, honing the craft from scratch.

The process starts when the agave plants are only 2 to 3 years old and are selected and planted in a specialty soil blend. My education and training include a thorough knowledge of agave spirits creation from planting agaves to bottling, including distillation. While Corralejo’s Reposado is a decent option, other Tequilas on the market offer a better overall experience. Corralejo Tequila: Drinking guide Tequila Producers continued making mezcal with Mexico’s many agave species, but it became clear that one particular plant delivered the best spirits. In 1902, Alsace-born botanist Frédéric Albert Constantin Weber classified this species as Agave tequilana Weber azul, or Weber blue agave. The nose of 1821 Extra Añejo is primarily sweet, with notes of caramel, followed by vanilla and charred oak.

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I did not know going into this that Corralejo was such a historical name in tequila. Hacienda Corralejo was founded in 1755 and was the first estate in Mexico to produce tequila as a commercial venture. Corralejo is the only distillery to use the Charentais method of distillation. It is the same distillation process used in making French cognac. According to the facts sheet that Corralejo included with my bottle, this method allows for capturing more of the aroma and flavors that are so distinctive to Corralejo tequila. But how does the final product taste to drink? Let’s get right down to it. CORRALEJO TEQUILA REVIEW Unfortunately, the Corralejo 1821 Extra Añejo is too heavy on the oak, leaving little room for other flavors to shine. One significant difference between tequila and bourbon is how much of the flavor comes from the mash, and how little comes from the barrel. A reposado tequila is one that has been “rested” in the barrel for between 2 and 12 months. Instead of counting on the barrel for flavor, tequila uses the core of a fully mature blue agave plant and roasts to give tequila it’s unique and distinctive flavor. Corralejo slow roasts their agave for 27 hours in a traditional clay oven to bring out the most flavor and then is aged just four months in the barrel. The barrels are crafted from three types of wood including French, American, and Mexican oak. The Blanco has a sharp alcoholic taste that dominates the flavor profile, while the Añejo has a strong clove taste that may not be appealing to everyone.

Hacienda Corralejo has a local program for artisanal producers giving them the opportunity to expose their products from local ethnic communities. Over 500 families are involved with the commercial activities, workers are trained and employed from within the region. This roundup was edited by Jesse Porter, who got into tequila by way of big, oaky añejos...and then discovered the visceral joy of bright, clean blancos...and then realized that well-balanced reposados represented the best of both worlds...and finally came to accept that he just really loved them all.San Diego, Calif — Corralejo Tequila, a premium brand deeply rooted in Mexican history, announces the launch of a new permanent core expression, Extra Añejo. Upon tasting, it delivers a rich blend of clove and cinnamon, followed by oak spice, agave, and a light burn.

The blue agave plant can reach eight feet in height and matures at around six years old. Sugars collect in the core of the plant, the piña. Producers chop up the piñas and cook them in large ovens, then press the juices from the cooked pieces and ferment them with yeast. Nearly all premium tequilas are made entirely from blue Weber agave (including all of the bottles listed in this roundup), but there's another category of tequila called "mixto" in which blue Weber agave need only compose 51 percent of the spirit. Producers utilize various types of sugar to make up the remaining percentage, including high fructose corn syrup and molasses—although sometimes a lightly processed Mexican cane sugar known as piloncillo is what's used. If your bottle doesn't indicate on the label that it's made from 100 percent agave—and if the price is on the lower end of the spectrum—there's a good chance that you're dealing with a mixto. While less expensive, these tequilas don't reflect a historically anthentic approach to the composition of the spirit. (And if hangovers are your main concern, it's generally not bad advice to avoid any spirit in which large proportions of refined sugars go into the distillation. Just sayin'.) The Extra Añejo is heavily dominated by oak, making it a good choice only for those who enjoy the woody flavor profile.

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With a hint of peach, a sprig of fresh mint, and a splash of lemon juice, this creative take on a classic Margarita is the perfect complement to Corralejo Silver’s light peppercorn aromas and crisp flavors. Tequila may have a wild and crazy reputation, but this unique spirit is created according to strict guidelines, guaranteeing authenticity and consistency. It’s distilled from the fermented juice of the Weber blue agave plant, and comes only from a specified region of Mexico, centered around the western state of Jalisco. You may have heard the rumor that the spirit known as mezcal is simply a smoky version of tequila. In fact, the truth is closer to the reverse of that: the term "mezcal" refers broadly to any distillate of the agave plant produced in Mexico, so the spirit called tequila is simply one specific type of mezcal. While government regulations allow for the production of mezcal in nine different Mexican states, tequila may only be produced in five states: Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Guanajuato, and certain parts of Tamaulipas. Addionally, while mezcal may be produced from dozens of different agave varieties—resulting in numerous distinct styles and flavor profiles—tequila may only be produced from the blue Weber agave.

The finish is long and warm, and the aftertaste is reminiscent of cough syrup and dominated by clove. The clove flavor is too intense for my taste, and the cough syrup aftertaste makes it taste unusual. On the nose, there are cooked agave aromas accompanied by distinctive vanilla and caramel notes. The Tequila is very fruity, with apple, cherry and citrus notes. There is a bit of smoke, but this is less noticeable than in the Reposado, along with cinnamon and pepper notes. I’m J Highland, and for over 30 years, I’ve been deeply immersed in the captivating world of Tequila, Mezcal, and other agave spirits.

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When the agave is fully ripe at 6 to 8 years old, it is harvested, and the leaves are removed by expert Jimadores. Like any fine spirit served neat, a good sipping tequila should be smooth, velvety, and nonabrasive—but, simultaneously, should still taste like tequila, rather than trying to mimic the characteristics of whiskey, or vodka, or anything else. The area that currently contains the tourist resort and surrounding dunes was where Gadifer de la Salle and his expedition first landed on Fuerteventura in 1402. They had landed on neighbouring Lanzarote in the Summer of 1402, where they concluded a peace agreement with the local population and established a fortress from which they would coordinate their conquest of Fuerteventura. Jean de Béthencourt, who led the expedition to the islands, took a group of his men across the water from their fortress in Lanzarote to explore Fuerteventura.