Posted on 07/21/2006 8:16:23 AM PDT by presidio9
Forget about the kind of tequila you slam down on the bar or knock back at parties in throat-burning shots with salt and lemon. If you're paying six figures, you might prefer to savour it in small sips.
An impossibly upmarket brand of tequila -- 100 percent blue Agave lovingly aged for six years and sold in a limited edition platinum bottle with fancy artwork on the label -- went on sale in Mexico on Thursday night for $225,000 (121,000 pounds) a bottle.
"Tonight we are trying for the Guinness Book of Records with the most expensive bottle in the world," Fernando Altamirano, chief executive of producer Tequila Ley .925, told a launch party for the liquor.
Tequila Ley .925 has produced 66 bottles of the "Pasion Azteca" tequila, half of them pure platinum bottles and half of them gold and platinum-decorated bottles that sell for the slightly less extravagant price of $150,000.
"Since we started out, we began with the idea of making the finest, most expensive bottle of tequila in the world," Altamirano told Reuters.
For those on a smaller budget, there are 999 bottles of the same tequila in silver and gold bottles priced at $25,000.
Showing off one of each type, Altamirano said they had already been sold to a collector, but declined to give away the buyer's identity.
Altamirano, whose company has won awards for its stylish bottles, said his next goal was to create a million-dollar tequila bottle made from diamond-encrusted platinum and auction it at Sotheby's next year.
PS - If you've got any new recommendations, I'm always up for trying something new!
Surely, those prices are in pesos.
I have never been able to tell the difference between tequila and mescal. Aren't they both made from agave cactus?
Whoa, maybe the worms came from me! :)
Whoa, maybe the worms came from me! :)
We did a blind taste test with my boss: Cuervo, Hornitos, and Patron he nailed them, actually didn't even need to taste them he got them on smell. Of course he grew up in Jalisco so he had a bit of an advantage. I can tell the difference in taste of various brands of cigarettes, and beers. Then with premium alcohols there's always the next day test, the fewer impurities creates fewer after effects. With some brands of some things there may be a price quality illusion, but not over all.
Not all at once.
Interesting. So, what planet are you from originally?
:-)
That has been my experience and I have really tested the limit doing shots. Maybe drinking good stuff straight has something to do with it.
I guess you can tell a book by its cover...
I believe that Tequila is only produced in one region and only with the Blue Agave plant. Mescal is produced in other regions and can use other varieties of agave.
Tequila is made from Blue Agave only. Mescal is made from a variety of Agave plants and only in Oaxaca.
What would you recommend for a good 'rita?
Of course if you don't mind dropping $50 on the Patron for Margaritas, you probably won't ever have a smoother one - especially if you like them strong.
Thanks! I've used the Hornitos and love it. I've never tried sipping though. I'll try Patron. Is there something you eat when sipping to enhance taste (like wine with various cheeses/fruits)?
That must be the secret. My experience has been with Cuervo Especial for the most part, but I've sunk to drinking vile potions such as "Potter's Tequila" on a few occaisions-- think I would have enjoyed sterno about as much and had less of a hangover.
I'll get a bottle of Patrón one of these days and try it.
As straight up hard liquor goes, I think it's rather sweet (but that might be because scotch is my other liquor, and is a definite contrast to tequila.)
Since it is a mild, sweet taste, you don't want anything over powering or spicy since you'll mask the liquor's flavor. Maybe fresh raw veggies and a ranch dip? Or maybe chips and a mild fruit salsa.
Of course you could go with regular chips and spicy salsa, but I'd have a beer there too to wash out the food before enjoying a sip of the tequila. Kind of a Mexican boilermaker I guess you could say.
Thanks and cheers! You've given me something to look forward to this weekend!
A little salt and a lemon or lime, you know the drill. No Beer, other hard stuff or mixes.
PS - I was thinking the veggies might be good because I swear you can actually taste the plant itself in Patron. I know that sounds obvious, but I can't think of a better way to describe it.
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