Manuscrito High Proof Tequila Blanco

Manuscrito High Proof Tequila Blanco is a 51.55% ABV expression from Master Distiller Oscar Vazquez Camarena at El Sabino Distillery in Jesus Maria, Jalisco, built on single-estate Blue Weber agave harvested at six to eight years. The over-proof format amplifies the cooked agave core while layering in white pepper, black pepper, bell pepper, baking spice, celery, and citrus across the nose and palate. This is high-proof blanco tequila designed for drinkers who want structure and heat without sacrificing clarity, and it stands as one of the more complex un-aged expressions coming out of the Los Altos highlands. Oscar Vazquez Camarena crafts this bottling at El Sabino, a distillery known for precise fermentation practices and attention to terroir. The agave is cooked, then fermented with fibers still present in the must — a technique that adds texture and earthy tones to the final distillate. Oxygenation during fermentation rounds the spirit's edges, allowing the vegetal and peppery character to integrate rather than splinter. Manuscrito positions each release as a chapter in an evolving narrative, and this high-proof blanco opens the book with intensity and balance in equal measure. The producer page at offpremisechicago.com/producer/manuscrito-tequila traces the broader philosophy behind the label, but the distillation itself is pure Los Altos: mineral, green, and driven by mature agave. On the palate, Manuscrito High Proof Blanco delivers jubilee pepper — white, black, and bell — alongside celery, earthy tones, and a citrus lift that keeps the proof from overwhelming. The 51.55% alcohol by volume carries heat but not harshness, and the finish is long, peppery, and clean. This is a blanco for sipping neat or building a margarita with backbone; the proof holds up to ice and citrus without diluting into obscurity. Pair it with ceviche, grilled vegetables, or anything that benefits from a high-octane agave companion. It also works in a Paloma where you want the tequila to assert itself against grapefruit and salt. Manuscrito High Proof Tequila Blanco is available for pickup at Off Premise Chicago, 1128 W Armitage Ave in Lincoln Park, with local Chicago delivery and nationwide shipping.