Kah tequila has gotten a lot of attention for its seriously cool skull-shaped Day of the Dead bottles, but what about the juice?

While in LA, Grover picked up the Kah blanco and reposado and we sat down to look, literally, into the calaveras of this fairly new brand. If our suspicious minds thought this tequila was all about marketing, the blanco quickly erased the notion.

Kah tequila (reposado)

Kah tequila’s reposado is a powerful 110-proof mixture that is still surprisingly drinkable.

With a heavy herbal nose, and whiffs of white pepper and cooked agave, the blanco certainly doesn’t smell like a generic brand. Instead, it falls into the category of pungent herbal contenders. Now, I admit that grassy tequilas are not my personal preference, but some people really enjoy them so I proceeded with an open mind.

In the mouth it is surprisingly balanced, with a medium finish that hits you in the back of the throat. It has a lightweight mouth feel that’s pleasing, but in the glass it looks a bit watery.

Moving on to the heavy hitter – the 110-proof (!) reposado, which is aged 10 months in French oak. Now, the nose on this one is predictably strong, so we switched from a brandy snifter to a champagne flute to try to minimize the alcohol aromas and pick up on the more subtle flavors. When we did, we got nice butter, vanilla and cinnamon aromas, and the herbal elements were reduced.

Bracing ourselves for the burn, we took a sip. Surprisingly, this 110-proof juice is just as balanced as the blanco, and has good flavor, unlike many other high-proof tequilas. And the burn, while there is some, spikes and then fades rather quickly. This is a high-proof tequila that you could actually sip for a while, and enjoy. Not a wussy drink, for sure, but why would you want that?

Kah also makes an añejo, aged 2 years, and a limited-edition extra añejo, aged 4.5 years.

It is made at the Fabrica de Tequilas Finos distillery, in Tequila, where they also make El Diamante de Cielo, Agave 99, and Costco’s Kirkland brand tequila, among others.

The bottom line is that you may be attracted by the pretty bottles, but there is also a reason to crack those skulls open and give this tequila a try.

Kah tequila (blanco)

Kah tequila’s blanco bottle is white, with black hand-painted details.