Siembra Valles Ancestral - 50%
Siembra Valles Ancestral employs early distillation methods to deliver a contemporary product that offers a window into historic tequila production. Cooked in an earthen pit, hand macerated with wooden mallets, ambient-yeast, wooden and brick fermentation tanks, distillation in copper, steel, and pine wood Filipino-style still - the result is a pour that satisfies everything required to be a blanco tequila while showcasing a style from a time when the lines between tequila and mezcal weren’t so starkly drawn.
The website goes into a ton more detail as well.
Notes: Extremely layered and deep on the nose: light smoke, clay, earth, smoked cheddar cheese. Some crisp minerality adds range. Fully and earthy on the palate. Most of the nose translates here. Some citrus (orange, grapefruit) adds to the structure and speed with bright top-notes. Otherwise, the pour is fairly round and slow moving on the palate with a short, gentle finish.
Score: 7 (Highly Recommend) The smoke and earthier notes effectively mask the abv. This drinks well under its 50% and delivers a very round, weighty profile. For my palate, it could benefit from a little more zip and length. That said, as long as you can tolerate a little smoke, you'd be hard pressed not to enjoy a pour.
Rating System
10 - Reevaluate The Budget
9 - Stash Two (If Able)
8 - Stash One (At The Right Price)
7 - Highly Recommend It To Strangers
6 - Solid - Above Average
5 - Acceptable For The Situation
4 - Not Vocally Complaining
3 - Anything Else To Drink?
2 - Nothing Nice To Say
1 - Drain Pour