Copy and pasted the posts here in hope of continuing Tequila talk.
NCyankee wrote;Quote:
The company was created in 1989 when John Paul DeJoria, and Martin Crowley formed The Patrón Spirits Company with the stated singular goal of producing “the best tequila in the world.”
"Such marketing bullshit - the hilarious part of it is, until 2002 Patron didn't produce any tequila whatsoever, they merely purchased Tequila produced by Siete leguas, slapped their own label on it, and sold it as "Patron".
The ironic thing is - up until they got too big for Siete Leguas and started making their own Tequila, they actually were one of the best Tequilas in the world. Now it is one of the most mediocre.
You can still buy Siete leguas, and it is still excellent. Also considerably cheaper than Patron in most areas."
Bearmark wrote;
"It's not unusual for a new distiller to source distillates from other distillers until they have an opportunity to ramp up production and/or properly age their own distillates.
A great example is High West Distillery, who has produced vodkas and un-aged whiskeys, while demonstrating a mastery of blending sourced whiskeys to produce some great products. Exemplary examples of the latter include: Rendezvous Rye, Double Rye, Bourye, Son of Bourye, Campfire, 12 Year Old Rye, 16 Year Old Rocky Mountain Rye and 21 Year Old Rocky Mountain" Rye.
To my knowledge, High West has only produced a single product that was distilled and aged in their Park City, UT facility. That was Valley Tan Oat Whiskey, which is already sold out. Based on my experience with their sourced products, I'm looking forward to more great things from their distillery. I surely hope that they don't suffer the demise in quality that has plagued Patron, which I agree is overpriced, average tequila.
By the way, if you want to try some great tequila in a bit lower price range than Patron (but still not cheap), then check out Herradura Añejo or El Tesoro Añejo (my current favorite). If you want to sample a unique and intriguing tequila, then try to find Excellia Blanco or Reposado. Excellia gets tequila from El Tesoro and ships it to France to be finished in Grand Cru Sauternes wine casks and in Cognac barrels. It's a uniquely flavored tequila."
NCyankee wrote
"The difference is tequila isn't aged nearly as long as whiskey, repos less than a year and few anejos more than 2 years. It certainly doesn't take 13 years to get a tequila brand up and running. This was a pure Sidney frank-type move, similar to what Deleon is trying to do now - the difference is according to reports Deleon is not nearly worth the $100+ price tag, in fact most say it is pretty mediocre, though I assume "status-conscious" consumers are buying it because I haven't seen any meaningful price drop yet.
I have the whole Herradura line, interesting taste though not my favorite. My El tesoro anejo (newer olive oil bottle) is almost empty, and I recently got a bottle of the repo at a great price in Florida when I was on vacation. It also has an unusual briney taste, some call it "green olive". I would love to get my hands on some ET white label treasure bottles, which is supposed to be superior to the current product, but they are getting rarer by the day.
Siete Leguas has more of a "classic" Tequila flavor profile, and is considered by many to be the standard for that profile. Also highly regarded are Tapatio (which just recently began US distribution) and Fortaleza/Los Abuelos.
My favorite blanco Tequila is Casa Noble, which has its own unique earthy flavor profile. I recently was able to try the anejo and it is excellent."