Tequila Chronicles: Herradura Seleccion Suprema

Let's throw a few words out here.

Revelation. Epiphany. Game Changer.

Or, in the catch phrase from Monty Python that has become reliably standard (no, not the Spanish Inquisition one), "...and now for something completely different!"

We were at Clayton Szczech's great tequila tasting at Cha! This was the final tequila of the night. And fitting that it was. because how could you follow this?

In tequila, first there is Blanco (or Silver, or Plata, or White), then Reposado (rested), then Anejo (aged). And so it was for many years.

Then Casa Herradura came along and changed things. Oh, there had been tequilas around for a long time that had a little extra barrel age on them, that were extra-mellowed, but these weren't usually available outside of the tequila families, or they couldn't be designated differently.

So Herradura went to the authorities and sought a new category, something beyond anejo, something that required a new name because it ushered in a style...something completely different. That was the first "Extra-Anejo"---extra-aged. So a new category was born.

When you progress through the tequila designations, essentially what you are doing is moving from the immediate and fresh---made and bottled quickly---to slightly aged, to long aged. And along the way the essential nature of the tequila is being altered: it's changing from the focus on the purity of what agave brings to the complexities that the wood aging develops in the tequila.

Long aged tequilas, the Extra-Anejos, are expressions of tequila through the prism of age and oak. As such, an amazing transformation happens, and the tequila becomes much more similar to a fine Cognac or long aged Agricole Rum.

The Herradura Seleccion Suprema was the first of the new category of Extra-Anejo recognized by the authorities. It is still, I firmly believe, the best of them. The sever elegance and dignity of the thick walled decanter bottle signals to the eye that, for tequila, this is something completely different. And it is.

With over four years of aging in used barrels, the nature of the agave base is muted here---still present but subdued to almost a background murmur---and this allows the incredible complexities of extended maturation to emerge, the influence of severe diurnal shifts of temperature slowly coaxing the flavors out of the cellular walls of the barrel to diffuse with the tequila. Subtle notes of cinnamon and nutmeg and cardamom and slow-roasted pumpkin waft out of the glass, with even more subtle etherea of chocolate and coffee and whiskey hovering underneath to tease and tantalize.

Some people might say "This isn't Tequila!" and in that they would be right. It isn't tequila, not the tequila of slamming shots and sweet margaritas; not even the tequila of gentle sipping Reposado and measured amounts of forceful Anejo. This is Tequila of the profound sort, a "Grande Fine Champagne" of Tequila, made to grace a snifter and to be cupped in the hands to warm and volatize and savor long into the night.

I thought the Herradura Anejo was pretty special already. I've got to get me some of this Seleccion Suprema stuff.

I love the Herradura Tequilas for many reasons not all in the bottle. I enjoy all of the various aged tequilas immensely, the change in character from wood aging is really interesting to follow. That said I find myself most often reaching for the silvers, both Herradura and El Tesoro being favorites, for the purity of agave expression. That peppery bite seems to disappear the more the liquor interacts with the wood, though you rightly identify that it does basically become a different beverage. I'm curious to try the HSS since the flavors you describe intrigue me, but do you think the wood just dominates and leaves the tequila a background player. Sort of like Branford Marsalis playing second filddle to Sting? Maybe that's not a good comparison but I leave it there till I think of a better one.

Some people might say "This isn't Tequila!" and in that they would be right. It isn't tequila, not the tequila of slamming shots and sweet margaritas; not even the tequila of gentle sipping Reposado and measured amounts of forceful Anejo. This is Tequila of the profound sort, a "Grande Fine Champagne" of Tequila, made to grace a snifter and to be cupped in the hands to warm and volatize and savor long into the night.

I think this is the spirits version of the "Does a great syrah have to taste like syrah or can it just taste like great wine?" argument. In a sense, it can be disappointing to drink a tequila that doesn't taste a lot like tequila. On the other hand, if it has all of the wondrous complexity of a great cognac then how bad can it be?

Jay, I urge you to taste the Seleccion Suprema. But be prepared for a shock, as it is priced commensurately with its status. In the US it goes for about $350 a bottle. (Now that some of you have gasped, take heart for all is not bleak. There are actually many places that will offer extra-anejos in small snifters 'by the glass' so the experience is more affordable. The aforementioned Cha! in Portland, for instance, offers a top flight of three of them for $45.)

But, yes, it is indeed something special.

Kelly, next time you have the Herradura Blanco, take a look at the color: Herradura always ages, or perhaps we should say "rests", its Blanco for 45 days before bottling. In effect, it's almost a Reposado. You can see the difference in the color too. And the difference is in the taste, as Herradura tends to be slightly fuller, richer, more viscous than many of its competitors.

Ditto with the Reposado: it is rested for almost the full length of time of the resposado category, so with eleven months of repose it can gather more flavor than a repo with only a couple of months.

It is massively interesting to me to taste all four iterations of the Herradura tequilas, because they are in essence the same basic tequila, with each showing the effects of the process of maturation. You can sit with all four in your glass and trace the changes that are occurring along the way...something you can't do with wine, and something its difficult to do even with the majority of spirits! (too many variables can intervene)

I think it's fair to say that, for me, the greatest transformation is from Reposado to Anejo, when for the first time the element of clear wood/maturation influence is established. [And since I'm a pedantic old fart, I want to emphasize that wood influence and maturation can be two very different things. Wood influence I think of as more the effects of the vessel; maturation is the effect of process brought on by the diurnal ranges the tequila goes through inside the vessel. Make sense?]. Even though some Reposados can show a bit of wood, although most are aged primarily in larger vats and don't show too much, Anejo is the one that really registers the solid impact and exposition of wood/maturation.

The Seleccion Suprema, though, is far, far beyond that of Anejo. The extra age dramatizes the effect of the wood, adds complexities of flavor simply not present in the Anejo, and, yes, diminishes the actual effective 'strength' of the agave base component. It is, truly, a different beverage from standard tequila, and much more in the 'aged rum/aged brandy/aged whiskey' realm. I most often associate it with aged rum, along the lines of a Barbancourt---but then fully aged Agricole Rum is as different from basic rum as Seleccion Suprema is from basic tequila.

In short, if what you prize and expect in tequila is basic tequila---you're not going to appreciate the Seleccion Suprema. If you like what happens in the aging process, and like well-aged rums, and Cognacs, and Armagnacs, and even aged Scotch and Bourbon and Rye, then you'll appreciate the Suprema.

Hoke,

I think you should change your tag to "Achieving spiritual immortality"!

Love your tequila posts. I tend toward the blanco side of the spectrum, but I'd be interested to hear what you think are other good examples as starting points in exploring the world of añejo.

Extra-añejo will have to wait for a more favorable economic environment!

Thanks, Keith!

Herradura Anejo would always be the first rank for me. After that Herradura makes an el Jimador Anejo that is less pricey, and still pretty damned impressive.

Another would be Los Abuelos, [which I write about here http://violentfermentation.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html]by a descendant of the Sauza family, but not from the Sauza company. Small production, very tradtional (they still use the old tahona grinding stone!), and although anejo, still very much showing the base agave (little peppery, little anise). Note: soon the Los Abuelos will be changing its name to La Fortaleza in the US market. Otherwise, exactly the same as Los Abuelos.

On the other end of the spectrum, flavor-wise, is Gran Centenario Anejo...which despite being from one of the most mega of mega producers, is surprisingly good stuff. It's also a highlands-style tequila. And it's available everywhere.

Otherwise, just make sure your Anejo is 100% Agave. Otherwise, it's likely to be 49% sugar cane.

Too bad we no longer get Jimador here. Really excellent for nearly a giveaway price when it was available in Manila.

Too bad we no longer get Jimador here. Really excellent for nearly a giveaway price when it was available in Manila.

That's a bummer, Jay.

el Jimador is one of the best around---as you say, really excellent and at an affordable price. (Very popular in Mexico too.)

Okay, so I recently compared the Chinaco Añejo, the Don Julio Añejo, and the Herradura Añejo. The Chinaco and the Herradura blew away the Don Julio as far as I'm concerned. The Don Julio had all those features that can make añejo boring. Juicy, candylike and sweet. Uninteresting. The Chinaco, however, had an ungodly texture and a fantastic grip that made it well worth visiting multiple times, while the Herradura offered a nose that just started at candycanes before exploding into amazing depth. This is a sniffing tequila. Great texture as well, but this tequila, even though añejo, has something I associate with agave--a sort of crunchy vegetal quality--combined here with some charred corn on the cob flavors--suffice to say it was delicious. Some true show stoppers that show me what añejo can do--and something I find quite distinct from my limited forays into cognac or aged bourbons or whiskeys.

I've always liked the Chinaco line, Keith. Sounds like their anejo is still delivering the goods.

The description you give of the Herradura is pretty damned good---and to my mind clarifies what a good anejo should be, one that still retains the vegetable/herbal qualities of agave, but also shows additional flavors imparted by the wood and maturation.

This latest explosion of tequila on the world market is promising, not least because it allows both artisanal reinforcement of the traditional styles, but also because it allows some awesome experimentation as well. Of course some of that experimentation isn't going to work out very well, but that's what we can expect when a spirit goes through a revolution, eh?

Tequila makers now are experimenting with aging/maturation in a big way. Incentive, of course, is that they can charge more. But different styles are being created. I know that one tequila anejo is a result of a Mexican/French collaboration, and is aged in a combination of both the traditional old whiskey barrels and some cognac barrels as well. Gives a different taste, as you can imagine.

Even with the whiskey barrels, some tequila makers are experimenting with different levels of char, and some are doing barrel-scalping to expose new layers of wood in their barrels.

Combine that with the element of terroir than can be employed---there's a distinct difference between Highland tequilas and Lowland tequilas, and blends of the two can be used to put a signature stamp on the preferred style---and the fact that some tequila producers do only natural ambient-yeast fermentation, and you've got some distinctive differences emerging in tequilas.

Which means experimentation is a whole lot of fun.