Distiller Notes
Seeking to create the world's longest-aged tequila, master distiller Enrique Fonseca distilled this lot in copper double-column stills in order to achieve a leaner structure without too many agave vegetable fats, which could breakdown over the foreseen ensuing decades.
From mostly 1984 plantings, these agave were harvested in late 1993, distilled just barely into the new year, and laid into barrel in February of 1994. The casks were stored for 10 years in a dry, earthen-floor aging room in the town of Atotonilco el Alto, before being designated as worthy of a longer aging, and moved to a higher, cooler climate of Chapingo, Jalisco, which sits on the slope above Atotonilco el Alto. The barrels rested in Chapingo for an entire additional 11 years before finally being bottled in 2014. All but one barrel was 180L Canadian white oak previously used for aging Canadian rye whiskey. The remaining barrel had been used to age a California white wine.
Proof: 87
Because of their great complexity, Anejo Tequilas are most often used as a substitute for Brandy or Whiskey in cocktails like the Manhattan or Old Fashioned. Anejo Tequilas must be aged in oak barrels for between one and three years, while Extra Anejo refers to any Tequila aged longer than three years. The prolonged contact with the oak barrel allows the wood to make a much stronger impression on the Tequila by adding toffee, caramel and vanilla to the sweet, spicy agave flavor profile.