In August we found ourselves inside a barrel-lined tasting room in the heart of Casa Herradura, tasting a flight of the storied tequileros’ spirits. The old world splendor of the surrounding grounds cannot be overstated, with parts of the leafy Hacienda de San Jose del Refugio dating back more than four centuries.
Deep in the recesses of one of these ancient stone buildings we sit with a small library of Herradura bottles, tasting them one by one. To set the scene, we’d just come from a delicious meal where local Amatitán woman had come to cook us a feast four different types of tacos, several local stewy delicacies and a dessert of tres leches with hot chocolate.
After lunch we walked through the grounds and various halls of venerable distillery, hiking over muddy clay fields lined with plump, mature agaves and past giant masonry ovens caked with black soot. Adjacent to the actual distillery lies the Herradura family estate, which is not technically part of the distillery. But they still allow some guests inside to see their retired copper stills.
These were the with ancient copper stills used to draft the original Herradura that made the name world-famous, and one of Mexico’s most prestigious luxury tequilas nearly 150 years ago. Next door’s another stone room filled with ancient steel machinery, steam-powered shredders once used to rip the cooked agave, giant hand-powered billows, and a retired tahona stone crushing wheel. The entire tableau sets the stage for the tasting, reminding all of us just how long Tequila Herradura has been crafting their agave treasures.
“Legend is pretty unique to Tequila Herradura in the sense that since we’re under the umbrella of Brown-Forman, we technically have full control on the barrels: where we source them, how we make them, etc. Versus other distillers who purchase used barrels from bourbon, cognac or other spirits,” Mariana Esquinca, Education Manager for Herradura, tells us as we sip the amber liquid.
The expression in-hand, Legend, is unique for a tequila aged 12 months—because of the particular barrels used to mature it, the juice is perhaps Herradura’s finest. This expertise in barrel-making should not surprise anyone from a Brown-Forman brand. Formed in 1870, the Kentucky based whiskeymaker launched their renowned Brown-Forman Cooperage way back in 1945, earning in the last 80 years a near unparalleled aptitude in woodwork and barrel-making.
“Taking advantage of that knowledge and skill, it’s like ‘What can we do that’s different, that is innovative?’” she asks.
“Are you familiar with Jack Daniels’ ‘Sinatra’ expression? For that whiskey Jack Daniels used grooved, charred new barrels, so we wanted to do that with tequila,” she continues. “With tequila the norm is to age it in used bourbon barrels, it’s very rare to use new barrels. So that was a first from that perspective—but not only using new barrels, we were like, ‘Let’s take it to a new level. Let’s groove it, let’s char it, and let’s see what that does to tequila.’”
Esquinca lifts her glass to show how Legend’s color is even richer and darker than older expressions like the Suprema bottle also before us—an Extra Añejo that’s aged over four years. “It really almost doesn’t taste like tequila because it has so much wood in it, but at the end of the day there’s a tequila for every palate. I’ve had Legend with people who swear they don’t don’t drink tequila and only drink whiskey, and they try this and say, ‘If you didn’t say it’s tequila I wouldn’t believe it!’ So that’s what’s unique about Legend.”
In addition to the Herradura Legend and Suprema bottles, we also sip on their Blanco that’s celebrating more than a half-century in America, and a high-proof Blanco 46 beloved in Mexico but still unavailable in America. Lastly, we try their Reposado, a category which Herradura claims to have created. Of them all, Legend stands out with a velvety mouthfeel, its bourbon-like vanilla, ripe orange and caramel notes complemented with a strong finish of toasted oak—an exceptional profile, especially for an añejo. $100
Follow Deputy Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.
