Wakey Whiskey: Familia Partila Reposado Tequila

by Eric Ducote

Yeah, I know... it's not a whiskey.  However, today is Cinco de Mayo, and I'm going to leave the margaritas made with grain alcohol to the amateurs and enjoy some tequila in the way it was meant to be enjoyed, sipped like a fine whiskey. I know to most of us, myself included, tequila is a spirit that traditionally has either been done as a shot or as part of a margarita.  And it's almost always good old Jose Cuervo showing up to the party or if someone was feeling like splurging, then maybe some Patron.  

In brief, tequila comes from a specific region of Mexico that surrounds the city of Tequila, and is made from the blue agave plant.  The plant's leaves are harvested, baked, and pressed to create a juice that is then fermented and distilled.  From there tequila is either bottled as a white "blanco" spirit or aged in wooden barrels to create a rested "reposado" or aged "anejo" variety.  These barrels are almost always second use bourbon barrels, which give color and flavor to the blanco tequila similar to what they do for a white whiskey.  

Familia Partida Reposado Tequila

This particular selection is a reposado tequila from Familia Partida out of the city of Tequila.  It's fermented from estate grown blue agave, then aged for 6 months and bottled at 80 proof.  The 6 months of aging give the spirit a light golden color reminiscent to me of a lighter Irish whiskey or Speyside scotch.  

The aroma is slightly sweet with the trademark tequila smell that comes from the agave plant.  A blend of citrus and oak with an underlying booziness.  The bourbon barrel aging gives off a definite vanilla flavor but the cooked agave is the real star, giving this tequila a bit of a margarita flavor even when drank neat.  Personally, I enjoy tequila a lot when drank neat or over ice, I find that the oak aging gives a pleasant base profile with the trademark agave flavor.

This Familia Partida Reposado makes for a really nice sipping tequila, and an excellent start to this Cinco de Mayo!