Roca Patrón Tequila is a pure 100% Agave Tequila made from agave grown in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. The agave is 6 to 7 years old when harvested, and the heart of the plant or the piña is all that is used. After harvest the piñas are chopped in half by hand and slowly steamed in masonry brick ovens for about 79 hours to soften them. The softened piñas are then shredded and placed into a traditional stone pit, where they are crushed by a large 2 ton stone milling wheel called a Tahona.
Roca Patrón Anejo Tequila is distilled twice in copper pot stills , and then aged for about 14 months in used American oak bourbon barrels. The lightly aged spirit is bottled at 44 % alcohol by volume.
Here is a link to my review which completes my analysis of the Roca Patron line-up:
Review: Roca Patrón Anejo Tequila
Please enjoy the review and for you enjoyment I have included the links to my previous reviews of the Roca Patron Blanco and Reposado Tequilas below.
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The 1800 Tequila brand is owned by the Beckmann Family, who also own the Jose Cuervo brand. And indeed, according to the NOM identifier upon the bottle (Nom 1122 CRT) the brand is produced at the same facility, the Casa Cuervo, S.A. de C.V. (established in 1758) which is located in the central lowland tequila region of Jalisco Mexico.
Cabo Wabo Tequila was created in 1996 by Rock & Roll legend, Sammy Hagar and named after the nightclub he owned in Cabo San Lucas. In 2007, Gruppo Campari purchased 80 % of the brand from the musician, and then purchased the remaining 20 % in 2011. Campari has also purchased the distilly, Destiladora San Nicolas S.A DE C.V. which produces both Caba Wabo and the Espolon Tequila brand for Gruppa Campari as well.
Espolon is a tequila brand created by Master Distiller Cirilo Oropeza made in a small batch process from ‘hand-selected’ 100% Blue Weber agave, grown in the rich red clay and cool climate of the Jalisco, Mexico. At that facility piñas of the hand selected agave are cooked for 18 to 20 hours prior to their fermentation. They apparently use a slower distillation technique than is in use at most other facilities, and when the spirit is finished, their Espolon Blanco tequila is rested for at least 11 months in ex-Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrels, and then bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.
It’s been five years since I published my review for Bacardi Anejo Rum, and I noticed the brand has had a facelift recently. It is now branded as Bacardi Anejo Cuatro, and it sports a spiffy new age statement, “Aged 4 Years” according to the new label. When I saw the changes in a local retail store I decided I should reach out for a new sample bottle so I could see if my thoughts on the brands had changes in the past 5 years.
The Rum Howler Blog 