Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/68310
SINO SILVER TEQUILA Talk about small luxury brands: Sino Silver is an eye-opening, melt-in-your- mouth, dripping-with- brown-sugar-sweetness spirit that allows the agave notes to share the spotlight. Judy Rivera, owner of Sino Tequila. TEQUILA OCHO PLATA Lowlands, make the agave plants from Jalisco's Highlands larger and sweeter. Red clay soils also affect the flavor profile to produce a noticeable floral and fruity character. Cooler nights, colder winters and more rain than in the MILAGRO REPOSADO Triple-distilled in small batches from 100% estate- grown agave, Milagro Reposado is aged for six months, resulting in a layered palate of mellow oak, tropical fruit and sweet- tobacco-laced agave. (WILLIAM GRANT & SONS) Ocho Plata 2011 is a vintage tequila from a single ranch in the highest elevation of the Camarena family's property in the Highlands. Salty and cinnamon-dotted on the palate, fruit notes range from kiwi to raspberry, backed by earthy agave tones. (ALTAMAR BRANDS) California mixologist Alex Straus shows off the attributes of Ocho Tequila. PURA VIDA AÑEJO Estate-grown and -distilled and bottled by hand, Pura Vida represents Old World crafts- manship. On the nose, this spirit is pungent with agave and lime, with vanilla and molasses oak notes peeking through. Rich, ripe tropical fruit gives way on the palate in an unctuous body with a dab of heat on the finish. Jalisco. Its earthy, artisanal flavors are superb for sipping, shooters or cocktails. Mezcal is a close cousin of tequila, made from other varieties of agave in regions outside MEZCAL DELIRIO DE OAXACA JOVEN A robust, smoky entry leads to a fruity core of this handcrafted and distinctively packaged blanco mezcal. A melding of modern and traditional flavors. (THIRD WAVE BRANDS) MÉTL BLANCO Hand-made and double- distilled from the purest agaves, herb and floral notes are enveloped in a smoked-pepper finish. Métl is the ancient Aztec word for agave. (JAGUAR SPIRITS) 78 / the tasting panel / june 2012