1800 Reposado Reserva Tequila 750mL

Alright in our final ‘we did too much whiskey let’s do all but whiskey’ set of reviews we have something that’s been an old favorite of the site that we’ve finally gotten around to reviewing. 1800 is the lounges current choice of tequila if you are looking for something cheaper, good quality, and also that you can find easily while not looking like Eurotrash in your bar.

Again our main love of 1800 comes from the fact that is unmistakably tequila and that instead of just hiding behind it with some sugary awfulness, as we’ve seen before – or by embracing the name and quality that comes from the mistakes people associate with tequila, we get things like 1800. Tequila that you can enjoy, and here it’s no different. This smells like a punch in the face, but it’s really one to your tastebuds.

 

What they Say: “Since 1800. The first drops of tequila began to flow from our copper pot stills in the year 1800. This is the year in which real Tequila was born ~ and we commemorate it with 1800 tequila reserva.
Using only 100% agave harvested and handpicked from our family owned ranches, in Jalisco, Western Mexico, 1800 reposado (meaning “rested” in Spanish) is double distilled for a smoother, cleaner flavor and aged in French and American oak barrels.
Our range of hand-crafted tequilas includes Silver, select silver (100 proof) and anejo ~ please try them all to experience the taste of real tequila.”

 

Taste: 8.0 – Considering the smell I was expecting something to punch me in the face. Instead I get something warm, flavorful, and downright delicious.

Aftertaste: 7.0 – It leaves with a sort of ‘airy high note’ almost like the taste is evaporating. However other tastes are going on and lingering to make this very nice.

Burn/Smooth: 6.5 – There is a tiny bit of burn here, but the length of the warmth it gives makes up for that in spades.

Aroma: 6.0 – Damn that is a powerful smell. It’s almost too powerful if you ask me. While I lacks a certain ‘drink me’ characteristic, it might as well be shouting ‘TEQUILA’.

Honesty: 7.0 – Nothing about that is dishonest, the bottle shape stands out, and unlike some other tequila’s 1800 has grown to a status of being the ‘thing blue collar workers buy as a treat’ which is well deserved considering it’s affordable but not stellar price range coupled with a good taste.

Mixability: 6.0

Tequila and Lime: 5.5 – While no part of that was bad, I don’t think this was intended to be drunk in that way.

Tequila Sunrise: 6.5 – It does fairly well  here. I like it.

Editor’s Note: I did the Lime/Sunrise cocktail as it’s consistent with our other gold reviews. However taking this on ice like an Anejo is actually quite good. It also works well in a margarita (however we used premixed instead of fresh so no scoring)

Value: 5.5 – While it’s a bit on the steeper side, it’s a good tequila. While this works best on ice or in a margarita (uncredited) it’s not a perfect reposado, and there are those that do better in some respects at this price.

Google Shop Average: $29

Website: http://www.1800tequila.com/

 

Reviewer Scores:

BuffaloJern: 6.5

Want to compare this spirit against our archives? Visit our statistics page.

Metric Score: 46/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.57 |+| Reviewer Average: 6.5

New to Honest Booze Reviews, or just wondering how we score? See our FAQ/Review Policy.

 

Final Thoughts: We’re glad that we’ve finally found a good gold tequila, by which we mean reviewed because we’ve been buying handles of this for years (although getting handles at this size looks silly). It’s a nice reposado to have in the lounges decanters, and warms the cockles of our hearts. We’ve done a bit more silvers than golds here, and we look forward to correcting that. However the bar has been set by 1800 and we can only hope something surpasses it on all aspects.