In my locale, many whisky events populate our calendars, and a few Rum Clubs have popped up over the last several years which feature tastings and the like where consumers have an opportunity to taste a new spirit before plunking down their cash to buy it. With respect to tequila however, consumers (again in my locale) have very little ability to read about or taste any of the new Tequila brands as such clubs and events are rather scarce. Perhaps my 2013 Rum Howler awards for the Year in Tequila can help remedy the situation somewhat. (And hopefully I will be able to sample more of these new brands and feature more reviews in the coming year.)
I was able to sample and taste 17 different agave spirits for my 2013 Rum Howler Awards. The Awards I am presenting are based upon side by side tastings of the various spirits which are in competition for each particular award. Depending upon the style of Tequila I was sampling, I would build one or two Cocktails with each brand to taste, and I also sampled each spirit neat side by side with those of the same style. And so without further ado, it is time for me to reveal the recipients of the 2013 Rum Howler Awards for Excellence in the Production of Tequila.
These Awards are for the best Tequila Spirits I encountered in the year 2013!
The 2013 Rum Howler Awards – The Year in Tequila
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Enjoy this break from my Rum Howler Top 10 Rums Countdown, which will resume on Monday with the number 7 rum.
The tradition of producing rum on Barbados dates to an early period in the seventeenth century with evidence suggesting small-scale distillation as early as 1637. The first recorded written usage of the words ‘Rum Bullion’ appears in a document from the Island in 1651 which describes the sugar cane distillate from Barbados as “a hot and terrible liquor”. This is in fact the earliest recorded usage of the word Rum as it relates to the distilled spirit anywhere in the world. As such, Barbados is generally considered the birthplace of rum. Evidence exists of stills in use at the Mount Gay Plantation site as early as 1667, and we have confirmation (with the first written records) of rum produced on the site in 1703. This makes 
The Mount Gay Silver Eclipse arrives on my Top Ten White Rum list at the number 8 spot. You may read my original review (written almost three years ago) by clicking the following excerpt link. (I confess I edited the review recently fixing some annoying punctuation and grammatical errors.)
Here is a link to my recently revised review of Newfoundlander’s Rum:
It is that time of year again when I present my annual Rum Howler Awards where I recognize the best spirits which I have had the pleasure of sampling over the past two years. You see, I save my sample bottles after writing my reviews, and have a fun little tasting competition (usually with a few friends to help me). The aim is to determine which spirits are truly the best. My gin tastings were completed a few weeks ago, and I have complied the results for The 2013 Rum Howler Awards – The Year in Gin.
The Rum Howler Blog 