Tequila's turn?

Whoops! wife reminded me that this was our trip to Puerto Vallarta! Not Ensenads...apparently, we went to the wineries in ensenada...i do recall the wines were just ... not great, but one of the wineries was also growing and crushing olives, and we brought back some wonderful olive oil. Dona Engracia Tequila has a web site if you are curious about the process, it is fully described. Much better than my poor summary. Cheers!

I love it; chillaxin- I must use this term (and of course give Tom6897 the credit)! It sounds like a great trip to Puerto Vallara Lcouplin. I will definitely try some of everyone's recs

Short list -
Corralejo reposado for margaritas (or Patron silver)
Agavero (tequila mixed with domiana flower tea) for easy sipping
La Fogata, Casa Noble, Milagro or Corralejo Anejo for guests.
Rey Sol or Don Julio Real when its just you......

A few years ago I picked up "The Great Margarita Book" by Al Lucero. Al is the owner of Maria's New Mexican Kitchen restaurant in Santa Fe, NM. The book has Margarita recipes for most of the well-known and not-so-well-known brands and types of Tequila.

While I can't say we tried them all, we did try many of them. I hate to be boring, but Patron was our favorite. By far. It's pretty much the only Tequila we buy now. We like the Reposado the best (orange ribbon). It provides a good middle ground of flavor between the Silver and Anejo.

Here in the NY and CT we have a store called Stew Leonard's (I think they have 4 locations). Their liquor prices are very good and some of their stores carry the large 1.75 liter bottles of Patron. Unfortunately, their store closest to me does not.

The other day I was talking to the manager of the store and asked if they could get the 1.75 liter bottles of Patron. He said they could order them and he quoted me the prices. I forget the exact numbers, but it was something like $65 for the Silver, $75 for the Reposado and $85 for the Anejo!

If you are familiar with Patron prices, those are a steal! Remember, we are talking 1.75 liters, more than twice as much as the .75 liter bottles. The manager said these were the lowest prices he was allowed to charge by law. I ordered a Silver AND Reposado and we picked them up this week. We are all set for the upcoming football games. Go J-E-T-S!!!

Gerry

Oro Azul Resposado. Double distilled and 100% blue agave, Oro Azul Reposado is rested for over six months. It has a deep old gold color with pickling spice and sweet, creamy nougat aromas. A round entry leads to a dryish medium-bodied palate with creamy caramel, faint brown spices and ripe tropical citrus fruits. Finishes in a very lengthy, fruity manner, with nutty toffee and spice notes. Well-knit, balanced and delicious. As with any delicious tequila, be careful and hide your car keys.

I found this stuff on a business trip to East Bay area of California, brought it home and loved it more than any Cabo or Don Julio. Then a few weeks later I noticed my local liquor store carried it!!!! Sad story though. It was my last night in California and I was traveling with a collegue. We found this great upscale Mexican restaurant that has a tequila bar with over 100 brands. We spent some time sampling and he never gave me any indication of being a light weight and I thought he was doing fine. Once we walked out the door to walk back to the car, I noticed he wasn't walking straight. He fell asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel so I had to wake him up once we got back to the hotel. As soon as I woke him up, he projectile vomited all over the dash board of my rental car. Lesson learned? Don't mix tequilas I would say. I'm not sure why I was perfectly fine and he was staggering. He's got at least 30 pounds on me.