Real Minero Arroqueño

Verdict

Real Minero's arroqueño is the bottle other producers measure against. Graciela Ángeles Carreño's discipline is legible in every sip – Santa Catarina Minas clay-still production at ~49% proof delivers arroqueño's full honey-leather-slate register at weights copper-still arroqueños don't reach. The Ángeles family's rigor shows as coherence: every flavor has a reason to be there, nothing is added for decoration. Consensus 4.3 is conservative; we'd push this half an agave higher. A reference arroqueño.

Tasting notes

Nose: Dark honey, hot slate, cured leather, dry fig

Palate: Enormously dense at ~49% – the Angeles family's clay-still signature plus arroqueño's natural weight equals a drink you feel in your chest

Finish: Unending. Saline, warm, mineral

The bottom line

The reference arroqueño. Expensive, earned

Where to buy online

We found this bottle at 2 US retailers. Prices and stock vary – click through to check.

• Old Town Tequila
• Caskers