Tequila Review #2:
El Jimador Reposado
NOM: #1119
This was my first ever tequila. About five or six years ago, I initially bought this for margaritas. I needed an accompaniment to go along with watching some true cinema, such as Beastars, Gundam Build Fighters Re:Rise, the Wes Anderson filmgraphy, and African Salaryman. I'm a big fan of limes, so margaritas felt like a logical cocktail for me. I was always curious about tequila. I thought I knew its reputation as a shooter at university parties, but I never tried it out myself. I was always curious though. I knew that, unlike vodka, it was supposed to have a flavour.
So, when the time came to make my first margarita, I looked for a cheap Tequila that I felt had at least some pedigree, at least compared to the likes of Jose Cuervo and Sauza. I landed on El Jimador, which I was able to buy for around 33$ (this was before the Pandemic inflation surge). I picked up some Cointreau and a couple limes and made my first margarita, using a recipe I found off youtube. Before I did, though, I wanted to try the tequila straight, to get a feel for the taste. I poured about half an ounce into a shotglass and drank it. I was stunned. The flavour of cooked blue agave hit me like a train, but I found myself falling for that smoky, slightly fruity, slightly tinny taste. After that, whenever I made margaritas for my weekly anime night, I found myself double dipping with another sip of neat El Jimador tequila. This was the beginning of my tequila journey.
It's been five years since then. Admittedly, my tequila horizons haven't broadened all that much. I've generally tried the cheaper, lower-end of the market brands, namely El Jimador, Cazadores, and Espolon. I have bought some higher-quality tequila that are sitting unopened in my liquor cabinet, but I find myself saving them. I say this to emphasize the fact that my sense of taste hasn't been spoiled by better tequila since that first bottle of El Jimador Reposado. The only frame of reference for reposado I've had is El Jimador, and the 20 year old, opened Sauza that I once found buried at the back of the cupboard. The rest have been blancos since I learned that's the tequila age of choice for margaritas.
The El Jimador Reposado that I'm drinking today is not the same tequila that I drank five years ago.
I've since learned more about the distillation process, the Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM) designation, and distillery numbers. I don't know if the El Jimador I had before was from a different distillery or not. I don't know if El Jimador changed the way that they make tequila. I don't know if the distillation process left in a really wide "cut" to make it so ethanol-forward. I know El Jimador has been a diffuser tequila for some time, a term that's used as a J'accuse in tequila circles, referring to the process in which a metal piece of equipment called a diffuser is used to extract the sugars and other carbohydrates of agave, but in a high volume in the name of efficiency. Along the way, unripe agaves are left in, altering the taste. This could be the reason for the harsh and astringent alcohol flavour, but even so, I at least tasted some complexity from this same brand before this bottle
It's a shame really, because I did like El Jimador, but if this is the rule rather than the exception, then I'll probably just pay five dollars more and try Espolon Reposado rather than El Jimador Reposado.
Nose: Mostly ethanol, with a slight hint of cooked agave.
Taste: Harsh, astringent alcohol. I can't taste anything other than ethanol, which is really disappointing. I've had El Jimador that's better than this, but if this is the standard nowadays, then I have to judge it accordingly.
Finish: Medium-length ethanol finish.Belated notes of black pepper once the alcohol burn wears off.
Score: 57/100
This was not a good bottle of tequila.
