People watching our tequila review videos will see us drinking “that red stuff” with our tequila – it’s called “sangrita,” and we’ve actually written about it before. It’s a “tequila companion,” meant to be sipped slowly with your tequila.
We love sangrita, especially when it’s well made, but finding a really tasty sangrita is difficult. It should be spicy, but not TOO spicy. It should have a bit of sweetness to it, but not TOO sweet. It should have a nice texture to it, but not too watery or overly thick.
This is because there is no single agreed-upon recipe. As you travel through Mexico, you soon notice that there are wildly differing approaches, textures, and levels of spiciness.
It’s common for us to try sangrita that doesn’t measure up to our expectations, but we always order it anyway. It’s like a little game for us, knowing that at some point we’re going to find something that’s truly great.
While we were in Mexico in November, we tried the sangrita made by Miguel at the SFT Tequila Bar in Sayulita and fell in love with it. If you find yourself at the SFT, you should definitely order it.
We tried to get Miguel to cough-up his recipe, and he wouldn’t give us details on the mixture, but he did let us in on a few of his secrets. (He uses soy sauce which adds a wonderfully savory “Umami” taste.) We took this information back to the USA with us, and immediately began the process of reconstructing it.
This has become the sangrita recipe of choice for the TasteTequila.com Kitchen, and just like the SFT Tequila Bar, we’ve always got a pitcher in the refrigerator waiting to accompany a shot of tequila.
Here’s our rendition of Miguel’s sangrita:
Sangrita de Miguel
2 cups of tomato juice
1/4 cup of orange juice
1 tbsp grenadine
5 tsp soy sauce
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
Ground pepper
Salt
We have a bit of TasteTequila.com news to report — On April 1, 2010, Grover and I are moving to Mexico. We’ll be settling right smack-dab in the middle of the tequila region so we can fill this blog with the most up-to-date and in-depth coverage of what’s happening in the world of tequila.
Stay tuned for frequent updates, interviews and video directly from the heartland of tequila. In the meantime, please excuse our spotty updates while we prepare to move. We promise to make up for it.
We will be staying in the beautiful town of Tlaquepaque, about 20 minutes outside of Guadalajara and in between the two most famous tequila production regions, the Highlands and the Lowlands. If you haven’t visited Tlaquepaque we highly recommend it. It is the perfect spot to experience the very best of Mexico with magical food, music, and culture in a safe and friendly environment. In fact, Tlaquepaque is where we were married last November and where we started doing all of the research that has gone into this blog over the last year.
Since we’ll have our eyes and ears on the ground, let us know if there any topics that you’d like to see us cover. We’re planning to review hard-to-find tequilas, and write profiles about local tequila personalities and distilleries, and use the blog to tell the stories of the region.
For the moment, we are excited and getting ready to go. One of our main concerns was getting rid of the 80-plus bottles of tequila in our collection, which we obviously can’t take with us.
Our solution — a “Drain the Bar” party, where all of our friends could leisurely sample and taste everything on our bar – including the $350 bottle of Herradura Seleccion Suprema. Look for updates and videos from this over-the-top event very soon.
We’re giving up or lovely apartment in San Francisco, selling our car, clearing off our bar, and getting ready to plunge head-first into the land of tequila.
These things and more made it on our “This Week in Tequila” list.
There seems to be a trend this week – Women (and people in China) love tequila too! Especially if it can fit in nicely with a weight-loss plan.
If you have some tequila news you’d like to share with us, if you’ve heard a tequila rumor, or have any amusing suggestions for our weekly list, please let us know.
Something about the Sol de Mexico bottles gripped our imaginations and we couldn’t wait to try the golden spirits inside. The bottles have an artisan feel that made us think that the tequila was produced using a traditional process that rendered a classic product.
When we finally got a chance to sample their contents we discovered that we weren’t far off. That’s probably because this line of tequila has been produced in Mexico for decades and has just recently come to the States.
See us tasting it here:
The blanco tastes of slight vanilla, cucumber and spice with a flair of a finish that is common in traditional tequilas. The repo was an intensification of the blanco but with butterscotch flavor added to the front. The añejo takes it one step further with more caramel and a long peppery finished.
The most remarkable thing about this line is that the flavors connect and build as the tequila is aged to create a distinctive family.
Each tequila is full of flavor that stays with you long after you’ve swallowed. It would be interesting to see how they pair with food—the añejo with dessert and the repo with something savory.
As far as we know, Sol de Mexico is only available in Arizona and California (at BevMo and select other locations) at this time, but if you see it on the shelves give it a try. It makes for an interesting sip and will certainly give you and your friends something to talk about.
People often ask us which tequilas they should pickup in Mexico that they can’t get here in the states. Of course, there are scores of tequilas that never make it across the border but we have a few Mexico-only favorites that we often recommend. And the good news is that at least two of our three favorites are due to come out in the states very soon.
You can see our picks here:
We recently discovered a gem of a tequila called El Tequileño, which is reposado aged for close to one year (11 months and 2 weeks to be exact), giving it a rich, full-bodied flavor. It is extremely affordable considering it is of añejo quality. Given that it’s priced around $25, we crammed our luggage with several bottles the last time we went to Mexico.
Our next pick is Siete Legua’s D’Antaño extra añejo. Many consider the Siete Leguas line as the cream of the crop of traditional Mexican tequilas. If you appreciate the clean agave kick of their blanco, you’ve got to taste how the line progresses all the way to the extra añejo.
Both El Tequileno and the D’Antaño are due out in the states soon. We will let you know as soon as they hit the shelves.
Finally, our last pick is Maestro Tequilero tequila añejo classico, a smooth and rich tequila that carries all the oaky flavors that you expect from an aged spirit.
So far, we’ve only seen this in duty free, although we suspect you might be able to get it in other retail outlets in Mexico. But even if you can’t, duty free is a quick and easy way to get your hands on it. (That’s where we got the bottle we’re showing in the video.)
So, if you’re going to Mexico or have a friend who’s going, you may want to send them this list. Otherwise, wait a little while and they just may come to you.
