Poncho Blues (Sierra Tequila Silver)

Member Name: SlyClone2k

Product:	Sierra Tequila Silver
Date:	11/04/03 (863 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sociable, fun and friendly, Great for making cocktails, Highly intoxicating

Disadvantages: Highly intoxicating, Can cause indigestion

History

Mmm Cactuses. Aren't they great? The plant that keeps on giving... umm.. prickliness? Well actually yes, often they are prickly but occasionally, and in the case of the Agave plant, they aren't. Well not very. I'd say they are more, spiky. Perhaps, and this is a big perhaps, that is why tequila is thought to be made from cactus, but in fact the Agave isn't a cactus at all its actually more closely related to the lily!

Tequila was first created, by the Spanish. Ah those intrepid Conquistadors, they bought us so much! Tequila was brewed by the Spanish to replace their diminishing supplies of brandy. That might strike you as kind of odd as the Conquistadors rarely created anything new, sure they introduced many fine things to Europe, but as for new stuff... not a sausage (the creation of the first sausage is another op altogether!). The answer you are searching for is that the Aztecs had already invented an alcoholic wine from the heart of the blue Agave plant. The Spanish in all their wisdom decided to further distil this product to produce what would eventually know as tequila.

Despite it's creation in the late 1500's it was another 200 years before, due to various forms of prohibition from the Spanish king, it was allowed as a marketable export product. It was 1795 when Jose Cuervo finally gained the first official license to produce tequila. But we won't talk about him here 'cause he makes the other tequila that I'm not writing an opinion on.

Mexico has several laws regarding the proper production of tequila; for the most part the law governs that no less than 51% of tequila can be made from the juice of the Blue Agave. Though you'll only ever find tequila made from 100% blue Agave in Mexico itself, bought in Mexico you'd find your tequila has various controls and labels such as the NUM and the DNG. NUM indicates the unique number that signifies which distillery produced it <
br>and DNG stands for Direccion General de Normas, much the same as the Appelation Controlle label you might find on a bottle of French wine.

There are three main types major types of tequila; Blanco, the unrefined and unaged. Silver, is more refined, as it gets a filter before bottling, but still unaged and provides a much fuller flavour of the Agave plant than the blanco, and finally Repasodo or Gold which is allowed to rest in Oak Casks, in some instances old bourbon casks, for two years before bottling.

Personally I'd recommend your average Joe go for Silver, Gold isn't always a better product. Occasionally its just poor silver tequila with a hint of yellow colouring to make it appear better! During investigating tequila I was stunned to learn that in the U.S. you can pay up to $120 for a bottle! Quite a comparison to the £12 to £15 price you'd expect to pay here and one might say that those commonly available are unlikely to be anywhere near to the top of the range.

The Actual Stuff

So, Sierra Tequila is most distinguishable. I suppose the most noticeable feature is the little red sombrero that can be found acting as a lid. The clear bottle itself is shaped to look like a Mexican, head and shoulders clearly defined with fine detailing that lends the air of a poncho.

It's somewhat difficult to establish exactly where Sierra Tequila originates from. The bottle itself says it is a Mexican tequila, the website www.sierratequila.com indicates that the company are German, and the product details on the Tesco website say that The Drinks Company Limited is its manufacturer (they are English based but don't appear to have a website. This is something of a contrast to Jose Cuervo tequila which most certainly originates from Mexico. But does any of the matter?

Many of you will have tried tequila shots, as I recall it was one of the first methods my mates and I employed to get obliterated on a Sat
u
rday night; youngsters today have it easy with their most palatable After Shock. We'd be standing at a bar, with a dash of salt and a slice of lime ready it would be Salt - Tequila - Lime. This tradition derives from the early days; salt is used to reduce the fiery kick, lime to dampen the taste of the alcohol. Tequila, much the same as many spirits, is something of an acquired taste. I feel it is worth mentioning here that often a tequila shot is misrepresented as a tequila slammer, well this just isn't the case. A tequila slammer is a slightly longer mix that includes an additional 4cl of sparkling wine. Slam - Drink.

Well I must say in comparison to my recent exploits with JC gold I found Sierra Tequila far more palatable. Though I'd knocked back several tequila shots I?d used most of my JC to pep up a Margarita mix I'd been buying, and even then it was still quite rough. The addition of salt and a slice of lime did little to improve the after taste. Sierra on the other hand provides a rather less harsh shot, full of the peppery taste that you'd expect from good tequila. It has a much lighter, less musky smell and has a vaguely whiskey-ish quality to it, probably the oak casks! I found with Sierra Tequila I could dispense with the salt and lime, such need to diminish the devilish flavour isn't necessary as Sierra is far smoother.

As a shooter it is definitely fiery. The liquid, downed in one, barely touches the taste buds but the resulting swallow hits the stomach and spreads nicely into a decidedly hot finish. As a mixer; well as you either know, or have probably gathered, tequila is the major component of a good margarita. Along with Triple Sec (or Grand Marnier) and lime juice. Personally I find the idea of using two fairly expensive liquors to produce another somewhat disturbing, particularly in the pocket area. To such end I usually buy Fat Sams Margarita (another op again) and use tequila to give it a little m
ore zing. Sierra adds a great flavour to Fat Sams, providing more body and a greater alcohol vibe. This is as far as I've gone, though I'm tempted to get hold of some grenadine and produce a few Tequila Sunrises.

Even though Sierra is good, it still isn't a sipping drink. I don't recommend that you take a tumbled full of the stuff and drink it like you might a good cognac or whiskey.
Sierra is a good clean tequila that is definitely a good way to get your self drunk. Unlike another spirit (that shall go unmentioned) I've heard of very few people getting angry on the stuff. This would indicate that it will make for a highly sociable drink. I have found, on times drunk with friends, that we've all got quite giggly.

Warnings

It doesn't take a lot to get you drunk. Three, maybe four shots, will elevate your alcohol levels way over the legal driving limit, in fact I should think two shots would take you to the driving limit. Sierra, as with all tequilas, is fast acting; I'd expect a shot to reach my head within a few minutes. Taken as a chaser with beer it will most certainly elevate you to heightened levels of drunkenness.

As a chaser it isn't too bad, it doesn't maintain the malt essence that you might get from a whiskey, though the flavour isn't so opposed that your next sip of lager (I haven't tried it with bitter or ale) will leave you licking your sleeve. I find drinking Margarita an exceptional way to become inebriated, I've drunk an entire pitcher without getting too sloshed, though getting into the open air often reveals that your level of inebriation is much higher than you might have previously expected. It either gets to you quick or creeps up on you like a lame boogie man (I'm a little concerned that this analogy might be difficult to get so, in other words.. slowly but with a real scare at the end!).

Too much will most definitely see you producing a grea
t technicolour yawn, and it doesn't taste fantastic on the way back up. It will almost definitely give you a hang-over.

The Worm

This might disappoint some, but in fact tequila never had a worm in it. Mescal, produced from an entirely different Agave plant (not even the same species) did have an Agave worm added. Mescal is often thought to be derived from the same plant (peyote cactus) that produces mescaline which was popular during the 70's as a hallucinogenic narcotic. You can see where I'm going with this can't you?

Conclusion

In closing I'd say that Sierra Tequila provides a more subtle alternative to its harsher cousin. But any differences may well be lost on most.


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