Tapatío Añejo Tequila

Tapatío is a flagship heritage tequila brand from the renowned La Alteña Distillery, founded in Arandas, Jalisco, in 1937 by Don Felipe Camarena. Still family-owned today, the brand is now carried forward by Don Felipe's grandson Carlos Camarena, who continues the estate's traditional approach: 100% Blue Weber agave, cooked in traditional stone/brick ovens, extracted via roller mill, fermented in open-air wood tanks (including with natural fibers), and double-distilled in copper pot stills, techniques that have earned Tapatío a devoted following among tequila enthusiasts for its purity and old-school production style. This Añejo expression is aged 18 months in ex-bourbon (American white oak) barrels, resulting in an intense straw-yellow color with golden amber flashes and a medium body. On the nose, expect sweet cooked agave, cream, toasted almonds, and baked apple, with some tasters also noting crème brûlée, caramel, and cinnamon. The palate leads with spicy pepper and oak alongside the agave itself, layered with baking chocolate, stewed fruit, vanilla, and sometimes walnut or citrus notes, all wrapped in a soft, silky texture. The finish is long and persistently spiced, closing warm and smooth rather than sharp. What distinguishes Tapatío's Añejo from many competitors at a similar age statement is that the agave character remains genuinely dominant throughout, rather than being buried under heavy oak influence, a reflection of the estate's minimal-intervention, traditional winemaking-adjacent philosophy applied to tequila production. It's well suited to sipping neat or over a single large ice cube, and offers real complexity and value relative to its price point, often drawing comparisons to more expensive small-batch tequilas from the same Los Altos highlands region.