Alright well since we here at HBR have skimped a bit too much on Tequila‘s and White Rums, be prepared for the following weeks where it will be a lot of that. Unless of course we decide to have a gathering in which case it could be anything. (read Scotch)
We’ll start this week though with a silver tequila that’s just not tequila enough. Normally this isn’t horrible, and if you have the option of being less tequila or too much tequila, less is often preferred. However when you half expect the bottle to contain a fuzzy spider in spirit of the Mezcal worm, it’s kinda disappointing to have such lackluster results.
The real issue here is that this is in direct price range to things like 1800, which are just better simply by being more of what you actually want. I really mean it when I say that it feels like a botanical gin with agave notes moreso than an actual blanco tequila.
Maybe one day I’ll try the reposado and see if the aging was the only things holding this back. But considering most anejo’s are well known for mellowing a silver, I don’t even want to consider what that would taste like. Honestly if you want something smooth, than yes I suppose Tarantula is a way to go. At the end of the day though it’s almost as if they made it so ‘daring folks’ can order it to look cooler, but not kill themselves in the process.
What they Say: Nothing aside from location.
Taste: 5.5 – It’s like it’s trying to get to the taste, and spinning its wheels – there’s something there, but it’s not enough to enjoy. It however is not offensive which puts it just a bit above average.
Aftertaste: 4.5 – It’s almost as if someone made a gin and then combined it with tequila – you don’t get juniper of course, but there’s a sort of almost botanical taste, and the agave is very much in the distance.
Burn/Smooth: 7.5 – It is admittedly rather smooth, and the warmness it provides is the perfect balance for timing and feeling.
Aroma: 7.5 – Unlike most other tequilas you don’t get the harshness of the spirit here, you get a sweetness. It’s certainly forward on the agave, but it’s otherwise pleasant – which is more an accomplishment since this runs a little hotter in proof.
Honesty: 6.5 – There is no text, so it’s a tequila named after a spider, and is 100 proof. So there is at least no wank. It doesn’t have a spider in the bottle – which would be gimmicky, but still cool.
Mixability: 5.5
w/ Lime: 5.0 – It’s par for the course here.
Margarita: 6.0 – It makes an okay Margarita
Buffalo Note: This does make a good Sunrise, but we ran out of OJ for the review.
Value: 4.0 – I of course got this on the cheap in NH with a rebate, but at 24 that just puts it so far out of the range of its competitors that there’s no reason to buy this.
Google Shop Average: $24
Website: http://www.tarantulatequila.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 5.0
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Metric Score: 41.0/70 |+| Metric Average: 5.86 |+| Reviewer Average: 5.0
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Final Thoughts:
It gets some things right, but overall it’s just not a great tequila. Sure if you want a mixer and this is the best available then go for it, but Milagro and 1800 would better serve you.
