How To Identify Tequila's Tasting Notes

Even though it's one of the more popular spirits to grace the shelves of liquor stores, you might be surprised by just how complex and varied tequila can be. The Mexican-made liquor, made primarily from an agave base, has found its niche in bar culture as the unique but essential ingredient in popular cocktails such as the margarita and the paloma. But, in spite of its presence, you may not know just how much character tequila can have when sipped in the traditional way. On top of this, such a distinct (and perhaps somewhat unfamiliar) spirit might come with a whole collection of flavors that it can be hard to know just what to do with it. These tasting notes, though, can be identified with just a few simple strategies.

Much like how bourbon must adhere to strict rules surrounding its corn-dominant mash bill, so too must tequila, where its sugar standard dictates that at least 51% of its sugars need to come from the agave plant. This means that pretty much every tequila is going to have a central agave note, so you can then distinguish other notes that either evolve from or spring forth from this one. Tasting notes that are common in tequila are those of earthy, floral, herbal, and fruity flavors, with some having a nutty or savory characteristic while others may even be spicy or sweet. From the agave base, you can branch out into these categories to really appreciate your sip.

Tasting a tequila, especially if you don't have a ton of experience in sipping tequila neat, can be a challenge, but it's a task that's made a heck of a lot easier if you start with a few general tasting categories. You could take a page out of Academia Patrón's book and start with a central wheel of general tasting notes. When you sip your tequila, ask yourself what's standing out to you the most. There are eight key flavor categories to try to detect, given broad terms like earth, wood, fruit, dessert, spice, chemical, flowers, and plants.

Once you've homed in on one of these broader flavors, you can then try to narrow what you're tasting to ascertain a more precise note. Let's say you get a strong plant-like note from your tequila –- from there you can narrow it to something more specific, such as a savory variety of plant, a bitter or more stringent flavor. If this is the case, maybe the specific note you're tasting is something akin to black tea, or even a savory herb like rosemary. If you start big and work your way toward something specific, you may surprise yourself with just how well you can pick apart flavors in this delightful spirit –- so much so that you may be tempted to grab a worthwhile top-shelf tequila and become your household's sommelier.

Not only should you be aware of the right way to taste tequila to maximize its flavor, but you should also be aware of just how long your tequila's been aged prior to being poured into your bottle in the first place. Much like other liquors, tequila will change in its flavor composition over time, as the effects of its aging become more pronounced. A blanco tequila is the freshest of the lot, aged for a maximum of two months and boasting a silvery clarity. These tequilas are least-affected by age, and thus carry very present agave notes alongside notes of salinity and citrus, and even a peppery note in some instances. 

Reposado and añejo tequilas, meanwhile, will carry some of the effects of barrel-aging with them. Reposados, aged for between two months and a year, maintain that agave sweetness, but carry a more mature herbaceousness with hints of spice and sometimes vanilla. Añejo tequila, perhaps the best type of tequila for sipping, is aged between one and three years, and therefore carries much more vanilla, caramel, and honey notes associated with its lengthier aging process. These tend to be the most mellow but complex tequilas of the ones readily available. But whether it be a blanco, reposado, or añejo, parsing the tasting notes of this spirit is sure to be an interesting journey.