Welcome again to FTW’s Beverage of the Week sequence. Right here, we principally chronicle and assessment beers, however fortunately broaden that scope to any beverage (or meals) that pairs nicely with sports activities. Sure, even cookie dough whiskey.
You’ve most likely seen Komos tequilas earlier than, even when you don’t understand it. They’re the premium-priced Mexican spirit in ceramic bottles that look both like an elongated bell or the Iron Sheik’s outdated Persian golf equipment, relying on how outdated and/or wrestling-infected your mind is.
My press package didn’t include these huge, stunning bottles, which makes plenty of sense as a result of delivery $400 of alcohol by way of the mail is a fairly large danger. However I nonetheless wound up with three of Komos’s greatest sellers — a reposado aged in wine casks, a cristalino that leans into the rising development of purer, clearer tequilas and an anejo. A fast run by way of my native Woodman’s suggests the value on these fifths *begins* at a shade over $100, which, hooooo buddy.
Can Komos stay as much as that price ticket? There’s just one solution to discover out.
Reposado Rosa: C+
Let’s begin with the tequila that’s closest to my beloved bourbon. A barrel aged reposado affords a mellower sip because of oaky flavors imparted from a number of months of barrel-aging. You get a bit of little bit of that from the odor wafting off the pour. It’s buttery, a bit of fruity and a bit of spicy. It doesn’t appear particularly fancy, however that’s robust to parse from a sniff alone.
The primary sip is good and fruity. There’s a bit of burn towards the top. The area between is … kinda hole. There’s a spot there for spice or vanilla or oak or stone fruit and as an alternative you simply get a bit of pale agave and never a lot else.
The tip result’s a bit generic. For a spirit aged in French wine casks you don’t get a lot of that affect. It’s not dangerous by any means, it’s simply not something you’d keep in mind after the very fact. “Have you ever tried Komos?” “Sure.” “How was it?” “Tequila.”
That’s not an issue, besides, nicely, you most likely need extra for $130 per bottle. It’s simply sorta boring.
Anejo Cristalino: C+
It pours clear as anticipated. There’s a bit of patchy stickiness on the aspect of the glass, It lacks the buttery, fruity odor of the Reposado Rosa. It’s a bit of boozy however, surprisingly, doesn’t odor like tequila. Between that and the dearth of colour, there’s a minor vodka vibe to this. Dig your nostril in a bit of deeper and also you get some roasted fruit, which is nice.
There’s a candy and buttery undercurrent that strikes this alongside. It’s a bit of sugary and sharp, however not harsh. There’s extra vanilla right here than I anticipated, particularly after the barrel-aged reposado didn’t supply a lot.
Finally, it’s a bit primary. I prefer it, however there’s little to deal with right here. It’s a superbly superb $40 tequila that’ll price you $100 per bottle. There’s simply not a lot do it, nevertheless it doesn’t burn so … that’s one thing.
Anejo Reserve: B
This pours a richer shade of mahogany. It smells much like the opposite two Komos in that it’s not particularly wealthy or tequila-y.
Thankfully, it breaks from the remainder of the pack when it will get to your lips. There’s a contemporary, crisp agave taste that leans into sugar and spice, making a heat impression that lingers lengthy after it’s cleared your tongue. There’s vanilla weaved into that braid, together with a bit of cinnamon to present all the things extra depth than we’d seen earlier than.
That offers it way more sippable replay than the opposite two. It’s nonetheless barely underwhelming for a $100 bottle, however that is probably the most justifiable buy of the three. It’s obtained dessert flavors that linger all through every dram, providing you with one thing to consider from the second it hits your lips to when it clears your uvula.
Would I drink it as an alternative of a Hamm’s?
It is a cross/fail mechanism the place I examine no matter I’m ingesting to my baseline low cost beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the query to reply is: on a typical day, would I drink Komos tequilas over a chilly can of Hamm’s?
In the event that they have been cheaper, certain. However at $100-plus {dollars} per bottle, I’m all set.
