El Tesoro de Don Felipe® Tequila and Master Distiller Carlos Camarena are proud to introduce El Tesoro™ Extra Añejo as a permanent addition to its award-winning tequila portfolio. This tequila has been patiently aged in ex-bourbon barrels for four to five years, with the first batch put in barrels years ago by Camarena’s late father, Don Felipe J. Camarena Orozco. El Tesoro Extra Anejo will become available in the United States this month at a suggested retail price of $99.99 (750ml).
A true pioneer in tequila maturation, El Tesoro released its first extra añejo – El Tesoro Paradiso® – in 1994 before the Consejo Regulador de Tequila (CRT) officially established an “extra-añejo” tequila classification. The addition of the new El Tesoro Extra Añejo to the portfolio further celebrates the Camarena family’s passion for pushing boundaries in aged tequila, while still honoring El Tesoro’s agave-forward flavor and the family’s traditional methods of tequila making.
“Some families pass along heirlooms, but my family passes on a passion for making exceptional tequila,” says third-generation El Tesoro Master Distiller Carlos Camarena. “I always say that we have two faces at El Tesoro – one that looks to the past and respects the tequila-making traditions of my family, and one that looks toward tomorrow for ways to push the category forward. While most extra añejos are aged for three years, my father understood that we could create an exceptional Extra Anejo by resting it for more than four. Tasting this tequila today, I agree we made the right decision!”
Though El Tesoro Extra Añejo is just coming to market, it has already top industry recognition with recent awards including: Chairman’s Trophy and 98 points, Extraordinary at Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2019; Trophy and Double Gold Medal at the International Spirits Challenge 2019; among others.
As with all El Tesoro Tequilas, Extra Añejo begins with the same time-honored techniques that Camarena’s family has upheld since 1937. The process begins with the 100% estate-grown blue agave, the brand’s most precious asset, which grow for up to eight years in the mineral-rich soil of the Jalisco highlands. The terroir gives El Tesoro a more rounded, fruity and floral taste, and each agave harvest brings unique character and complexity to the liquid. Once the agave reaches peak maturity, it is harvested by hand, cooked in old fashioned hornos (ovens) for three days, then crushed solely using the two-ton volcanic rock tahona stone. It is then double-distilled to proof before the tequila is rested in American oak ex-bourbon barrels for four to five years, longer than most extra añejo tequilas.
El Tesoro Extra Anejo is meant to be enjoyed as a sipping tequila to appreciate the balance between its agave-forward flavor and the oaky, woody notes imparted by the extensive aging process.
EL TESORO EXTRA AÑEJO TASTING NOTES
40% ABV (distilled to proof, no water added)
AGING 4-5 years in ex-bourbon, American oak barrels.
AROMA Coffee, butter, caramel, lots of semisweet and dark chocolate. Toast and spicy cinnamon.
TASTE Smooth, very well balanced. Coffee and dark chocolate followed by dry fruits, roasted almonds.
FINISH Hint of pepper and a very complex flavor of the oak.
