Moving on from the uptick of the caliente reposado we head back downhill with an anejo that is really a subpar tequila, but as an anejo is kind of worse? This lacks that critical element of the passion of tequila mellowed through age to become something woody, filled with spice, and smooth as hell.
Instead we get something that tastes terrible. From the smell to the taste to the smoothness – no part of this has any business in being a good anejo. Simply writing this review I can feel myself growing to hate it more, because it breaks a cardinal sin of HBR. The worst kind of spirit isn’t something that has a 0 in a category or two (say because it burns like death, and has an aroma that strips nail polish), but that overall it lacks nearly any defining good feature. Even the look here we know is better handled by others from Sangre.
What they Say: “” (No text on bottles)
Taste: 3.5 – There’s an upfront very agave and almost reposado taste here that’s not great. You want something nice instead.
Aftertaste: 2.0 – What lingers ranges from a bit of spice and citrus, but none of it is particularly appetizing. It’s just not good.
Burn/Smooth: 5.0 – It goes down smooth enough, but it’s not very mellow, and there’s no warmth that you would expect and want.
Aroma: 5.0 – So it’s certainly an anejo tequila, but it’s not particularly powerful, spiced, or any defining characteristic. This essentially becomes a ‘bog-standard’ anejo tequila.
Honesty: 6.0 – They don’t have any text (even on the website), and it’s a painted skull. While Kah does this as well, this has no wanky text. So therefore for this (and all of Sangre’s spirits) it will come down to a base score of 7 + the aesthetic of that bottle itself. The black skull and spiderweb do a lot, but this is just so not good it actually hurts it. That even though it starts with a 7 not being a grandpa sipping tequila is bringing it down.
Mixability: 4.167
W/ Rocks: 5.0 – This does make the tequila open up to it’s more desirable anejo tequila archetype, but it’s still kinda standard.
Tequila Sunrise: 2.5 – That is awful. It makes all the good OJ and Grenadine just worse.
Margarita: 5.0 – Subpar. It doesn’t ruin it like a sunrise, but it’s not good.
Value: 0.5 – No one should pay that much for this spirit. Pay for this what you would pay for an empty bottle and the regret of a bad tequila and this should cost $5.10.
Google Shop Average: $51
Website: http://sangredevida.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 2.5
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Metric Score: 26.17/70 |+| Metric Average: 3.74 |+| Reviewer Average: 2.5
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Final Thoughts: I debated giving this a lower score, thought better of it, and then thought again and went with it. When I doubt I would buy something for even a factor of 10 for the cost, it’s bad. This is not offensive or painful – but it’s not a good anjeo.
