Caballito Cerrero "Azul" Blanco

Caballito Cerrero is a storied tequila brand founded in 1950 by Don Alfonso Jiménez Rosales in Amatitán, Jalisco, the very birthplace of tequila, and produced at Fábrica Santa Rita, now carried forward by a family lineage spanning fourteen and fifteen generations of distillers. The name, translating roughly to "the one that doesn't need horseshoes," is said to hint at some tension with Don Alfonso's earlier work at the founding company that would become Tequila Herradura. Notably, Caballito Cerrero holds the distinction of being the first producer in the Amatitán region to use the term "tequila" at all, giving the brand genuine historical weight within the category. This particular expression is crafted entirely from estate-grown maguey Azul (Agave tequilana, the same blue agave variety used in modern certified tequila), cooked in traditional brick steam ovens, extracted through a double-pass mill, and fermented in open stainless steel tanks with a combination of wild and proprietary yeast before distillation in stainless steel and copper. Despite being made from 100% Blue Weber agave in the heart of tequila country, it's bottled without formal tequila or mezcal certification, evoking the historic "Vino de Mezcal de Tequila" style that predates today's regulated categories, a genuinely artisanal, terroir-first approach rather than a conventional commercial tequila. In the glass, expect a rich, deeply vegetal and herbaceous nose of cooked agave, freshly cut herbs, and a whisper of salinity. The palate is bold and unconventional: fruity agave gives way to an adventurous mix of black pepper, dill, pickle brine, mustard seed, and grilled pineapple, more complex and savory than a typical blanco tequila. The finish is juicy, with a lingering salinity that keeps the palate wanting another sip. Best enjoyed neat or over a single large ice cube to let its full complexity unfold, this is a spirit built for serious agave enthusiasts curious about tequila's roots before modern categorization and regulation drew such firm lines between tequila and mezcal.