Olmeca Altos Tequila – plata & reposado

Olmeca Altos Tequila launched last week in L.A. with a tasting and party at the Mondrian. After getting the history of the tequila which was developed for bartenders to mix with, Altos started us off by giving us steamed agave taste. It’s apparently a treat and it reminded us a bit like tamarind. I would almost say tropical or Asian in flavor as well.

blind tasting

Altos has two tequilas so far; a plata and reposado. We did a blind tasting with four other tequilas and tried to guess which were Altos’. Considering I’ve never tasted their tequila before, it became a process of elimination. We were describing each tequila after sniffing and tasting. Sometimes the smell fooled us. What would be mild-smelling would be extremely peppery on the tongue.

As expected, the Altos plata was a lightly bodied, smooth tequila which would be ideal for mixing. But one I tried the reposado, I knew I’d like to just drink this as is. It had a caramel flavor I associate with anejo. Although not as honeyed, it was quite lovely.

steamed agave

Altos bar

After the tasting, we headed to the bar and tried some drinks. Right away I knew I wanted the tequila Negroni variation- Tegroni.

Altos drinks – Tegroni (on the right)

Oh, it was great. It had a nice bitterness and Altos gave it a punch.

Da Freshness

However, it was not my first time trying Altos in cocktails. I did taste a couple while I was at Tales of the Cocktail.

Looks That Kill

At Tales, the two drinks I tasted were so different. Da Freshness (Olmeca Altos reposado, pressed cucumber mint lemonade, Canton ginger liqueur, hibiscus tea, Angostura bitters) was light while the Looks That Kill (Olmeca Altos plata, Yellow Chartreuse, lemon, arbol chile syrup, St. Elizabeth all spice dram) would be for the spice lover. It is easily the spiciest cocktail I ever had and I love spicy drinks.

I’ll have to keep an eye out for more Altos cocktails in the future.

Olmeca Altos Tequila

Tales of the Cocktail

© The Minty // LA Cocktails  2012