Tapatio Añejo
Tapatio · La Alteña Distillery (NOM 1139)
Tapatio Añejo is the work of Carlos Camarena, a fifth-generation distiller who refuses shortcuts. The tahona-crushed agave and slow fermentation produce an añejo that tastes like intention rather than decoration. At this price, it competes with bottles twice its cost.
Nose
Cooked agave leads immediately, layered with butterscotch and a warm vanilla that suggests well-worn oak. Dried fruit and cinnamon linger in the background, with a mineral earthiness grounding the sweetness.
Palate
The entry is silky and composed. Rich caramel and baked agave meld with notes of dark chocolate and a peppery warmth. There is an herbal streak — thyme-like — that keeps the profile from becoming overly sweet. The oak influence is present but not dominant.
Finish
Long and warming, with toasted oak, fading butterscotch, and a final pulse of cooked agave. The finish is where the patience of the aging really shows.
- Agave
- 100% Blue Weber Agave from the highlands of Jalisco
- Production
- Tahona-crushed, open-air fermented, copper pot distilled
- Region
- Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico
- Cooking Method
- Tahona-crushed, open-air fermented, copper pot distilled
- Distillation
- Double distilled in copper pot stills
- NOM
- NOM 1139
- Additives Free
- Yes
Cocktail Suggestion
Arandas After Dark — 2 oz Tapatio Añejo · 0.5 oz agave nectar · 0.5 oz fresh lime juice · 2 dashes mole bitters · Shake and strain over a single large cube, garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Food Pairing
Slow-braised beef barbacoa with charred corn tortillas
Distilled by Carlos Camarena at La Alteña in the highlands of Arandas, Jalisco, where tahona stone and open-air fermentation carry on a family tradition spanning five generations.
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