I remember how excited I was when I tasted my first 100% agave tequila. Up until that point, I was like most people in that I had bad college experiences that kept me away from tequila. It wasn’t until a certain female (who I later married) encouraged me to give it another try that I realized just how good it could be.
After that first taste (at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco) I went to Costco and bought every single brand and type of tequila they had, marking the start of a new obsession.
In those days, it was exciting because everything tasted so new and different. There were many brands, blancos, reposados, añejos, and I was overwhelmed with the amount of “learning” that was in front of me.
As I tasted more and more tequilas, I started to realize that many (but not all) tequilas tasted basically the same. I was able to identify an average, generic, basic tequila profile that was just simply OK. This profile can be found easily, especially in brands that tend to care more about marketing than tequila.
Tequilas makers that dare to be different by crafting their own unique flavor profile are the ones that have my respect and admiration. It takes guts to create something different. There are several out there, and one of them is Suerte Tequila, a relatively new brand whose name means “luck” in Spanish. With so many tequila brands flooding the marketplace, that seems like a very appropriate name (and I wish them a lot of it.)
There are a few things happening in their production process that make Suerte taste different than most. They roast their agaves in brick ovens instead of quickly steaming them in stainless steel autoclaves. They crush the cooked agave slowly using a tahona wheel (a large heavy stone wheel) instead of quickly in an industrial shredder. They also rest the blanco for 2 months in stainless steel tanks before it hits the bottle.
Most brands pump their blanco tequila through charcoal filters to mellow it out, but Suerte uses slow-moving gravity-fed hoses and micron filters because they want their blanco to retain as much of that original flavor profile as possible.
In other words, they are not rushing through the process.
Suerte smells and tastes different from other tequilas, and I find that really exciting. The blanco has a sour, citrusy and somewhat grassy aroma, and the flavor is rich with cooked agave. (See my tasting notes below.) The blanco was my favorite of their three expressions, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it evolves over time and how they use this blanco to create truly exceptional aged varieties as well.
This brand is still very new to the market, and I fully expect it to find its place in the tequila world. The flavor profile they have today is a great start, and it will evolve over time like any truly artisanal product.
Keep your eyes on this brand, because with a little “suerte”, they’ll be able to claim their own unique place in the tequila landscape.
– Grover
About our ratings: We do not claim to be “tequila experts,” and the ratings numbers included in this review only indicate how well they match with our own personal preferences. We used the Tequila Matchmaker app, to calculate the ratings. A low score does not necessarily mean that the tequila is bad. In fact, if we feel there was something wrong or bad with a tequila, we would not spend the time it takes to review it as we’ve done here. Any tequila we review on our blog is worthy of your consideration.
Suerte Tequila Blanco
Tasting notes:
Grover:
“I am a huge fan of tequilas that don’t smell and taste like every other tequila. (As long as it’s not a mistake.) This tequila has an interesting and unique aroma that is slightly cinnamon and grassy with a sour, citrus base. I like the smell, and the flavor is full bodied and tastes of cooked agave. This tequila is different. It is subtle, intentionally unique, and I appreciate that.”
Suerte Tequila Reposado
Tasting notes:
Grover:
“Aromas of vanilla and celery, an interesting combo of 2 of my favorite things. It has a touch of Christmas spice on the nose and palate. The sourness of the blanco is still present but very slight. Smooth and creamy flavor, really nice dry finish.”
Suerte Tequila Añejo
Tasting notes:
Grover:
“The signature sour aroma found in the blanco and reposado are not present in the añejo (which is kind of a shame, because I was really enjoying that part of it). Butter and cinnamon on the nose make this variety appear to be from different blancos. (Since this is a new brand, it’s understandable that this could be the case.) The finish is very dry, spicy and a little rough in spots. Not a bad añejo, but it isn’t nearly as fun as the previous two.”
Suerte Tequila is widely available in Colorado and New York City.
You can buy it online through DrinkUpNY (special sale prices listed): Suerte Tequila Blanco ($33.99), Suerte Tequila Reposado ($39.99); and Suerte Tequila Añejo ($63.99).
More information can be found on the Suerte Tequila website. Consider following them on Twitter and/or Facebook.
Have you tried Suerte yet? Please contribute your thoughts below.
Hello! I’m enjoying every post in this site, but I’ll love if it will be more often, there’s a lot of bottles that needs to be taste.
By the way, I’m from Guadalajara, hope to see you guys in “La tequila” or “El buho”.