
Don Pilar Extra Añejo Tequila
Don Pilar · NOM 1472 — Destilería Leyros
Don Pilar's extra añejo is unapologetically wood-forward, yet the agave heart never goes missing. Three years in American oak barrels develop a spirit that approaches brandy-like richness while retaining its tequila identity. For those who enjoy sipping tequila like a fine cognac, this delivers without pretension.
Nose
Rich cooked agave sweetness meets dark chocolate and toasted oak. Vanilla and butterscotch layer beneath, with subtle leather and a hint of cinnamon warmth.
Palate
Luxuriously thick, with caramel, roasted agave, espresso, and dark cocoa unfolding in waves. The oak presence is assertive but well-integrated, and a gentle peppery heat arrives mid-palate to cut the sweetness.
Finish
Very long, with tobacco, vanilla, and dark chocolate tapering to a warm, leathery close.
- Agave
- 100% Blue Weber Agave
- Production
- Stone oven roasted, tahona and roller mill crushed, natural fermentation, copper pot distilled
- Region
- Jalisco, Mexico
- Cooking Method
- Stone oven roasted, tahona and roller mill crushed, natural fermentation, copper pot distilled
- Distillation
- Double distilled in copper pot stills
- NOM
- 1472
- Additives Free
- Yes
Food Pairing
Mole negro over slow-braised short ribs
Produced at Destilería Leyros in the Jalisco highlands, Don Pilar is the passion project of a multi-generational agave family that slow-roasts piñas in stone ovens and ages their extra añejo for a minimum of three years in carefully selected American oak.
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