Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Colleccion Extra Anejo 100% Agave Tequila (750ml)

* Presentation subject to change without notice.

First released in 1995 to celebrate the company's 200th birthday, José Cuervo Reserva de la Familia pioneered the category of extended age Tequila. Matured for a minimum of two years in a combination of American and French oak barrels, some of the reserve components are up to thirty years old. The tequila itself which has been described as "rich and brandy-like" doesn't change much from year to year. And just as consistency has become its hallmark, so too has been its high praise. What does change annually is the packaging, with a different Mexican artist making each release a collector’s item. For example, the dark, silhouetted lines that cover the surface of the 2019 edition wooden box are designed by the artist Jorge Pardo. He's created a series of drawings depicting jimadores skillfully working the fields of western Mexico with the coa and barreton. The designs produced digitally from real photographs, are composed of dense superimposed stripes that make the whole difficult to take in at a glance. This method of visual composition not only blurs the bodies of the jimadores themselves, but also creates an illusion of movement that lends the piece a charged energy. This theme and approach hearken back to the great traditions of Mexican avant-garde painters of the first half of the 20th century who often depicted subjects of rural development and revolution.

Tasting note: [20ml sample] Pale copper gold. The bouquet combines blanco-like vibrancy with the kind of depth you'd expect from XO cognac - brine, charred capsicum, smoldering eucalyptus, beeswax, vanilla and menthol... with air contact, it also presents a drier, woody aspect including cigar box, cedar and white pepper. Likewise the silky delivery matches sappy agave and butter menthol lozenge-like flavours against drying astringency. It's delicate and somewhat fleeting through the finish, trailing off with black tea, potpourri, white pepper, hints of grilled pineapple, vanilla and trace beeswax. The overall effect strikes a fine balance between young and old. 2017 edition tasted. 40% Alc./Vol.