Review: Adictivo Tequila Reposado    82/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Published October 19, 2020

Tequila Adictivo was founded by Gildardo Partida, a third generation ‘tequileros’ from San Diego whose family apparently has a rich tradition of tequila manufacture and distribution which reaches back over 100 years. Adictivo Tequila was formerly produced at Tequilas Gonzalez Lara, S.A. de C.V. Distillery, (NOM 1560 CRT) in Los Vallos (the lowlands) at El Arenal, Jalisco. Knowing that the spirit is produced in the lowlands, gives us a clue as to its taste profile. Lowland grown agave will usually bring more earthy/punky fruit flavours through the distillation than highland agave which tends to bring more citrus-like fruit flavours through the distillation as well as a light squeal of white pepper. Of course Lowland distilleries may source their agave from the Highlands and vice versa or even use both styles of agave in their production of tequila.

Adictivo Tequila Reposado is produced from agave pinas which have been baked in traditional brick ovens, with the juice extracted with a Stone Roller Mill. The cooked agave juice is twice distilled before being aged for 8 months in french oak barrels. Depending upon the market the spirit is exported to, the bottling proof may be anywhere from 35 to 40 % abv..

My Sample Bottle is labeled as being bottle at 40 % abv..

Note: Recently, there has been a change and Adictivo Tequila is now produced at Tequilera Puerta de Hierro (Leticia Hermosillo Ravelero), (Nom 1477) which is also located  in Los Vallos (the lowlands) at El Arenal, in Jalisco Mexico. Gildardo Partida also founded the Lote Maestro which is produced at the same facility. My sample bottle is identified with the NOM, 1560 indicating it was produced at the older facility. This is reflective of the spirit in my market in Alberta.

In the Bottle 5/5

The bottles for Adictivo Tequila are stylish decanters which exhibit a touch of feminine class which is unusual in the tequila category. An interesting feature of the glass stopper is that it is hollow and filled with tequila as well. So when your bottle is empty, the last shot can be obtained by removing a plastic stopper from the bottom of the stopper. The bottle is sealed with a glass topped synthetic plastic cork stopper which adds to the ambiance of the bottle.

In The Glass: 8.5/10

Adictivo Reopsado has a light brown colour which is perhaps just a little darker than what we would encounter in a spirt left in American Oak for 8 months. This implies the french cask may have been a sherry cask which would impart a darker hue on the spirit. When I tilted my glass and gave it a swirl I saw that the crest which formed released very small droplets which formed slender legs. lender legs.

When I nose my glass I notice scents of melded notes of vanilla, butterscotch and sweet agave. The agave is somewhat restrained as if it had been reined in during the production process. There is also some nice peppery spices apparent alongside notes of grilled pumpkin/squash and pineapple, as well a just a hint of dry oak spice.

In The Mouth 48/60

When I take my first sip the tequila spirit seems sweeter than it should be with an almost rumlike taste of brown sugar and vanilla leading out in front of fruity agave. This is followed by some nice peppery spice which builds after the swallow and then dissipates. There also appears to be light flavours of raisin and chocolate present, perhaps a remnant of the french oak cask.

I find myself wishing the agave was more assertive, I suspect the spirit was filtered before aging to take some of the sharp edges off, but perhaps too much was taken away. When I reviewed the plata spirit (see here), I found I appreciated the lighter flavours which were revealed when the expressive agave was reigned in, however with respect to the reposado spirit I find the heightened sweetness within the spirit is interfering with my enjoyment of those same nuances.

In The Throat 12.5/15

The exit leaves the palate with a lingering sweetness which is accompanied by a swat of peppery spice. interestingly the sweetness tends to linger much longer than the spice. Hints of vanilla and agave linger as well, although again I find myself wishing the agave would assert itself more forcefully.

Afterburn 8/10

Although the Adictivo Tequila Reposado is not difficult to sip, I did find the experience would have been more enjoyable if the sweetness of the spirit was less omnipresent. This may have allowed the fruity agave more expression. I found that for mixing cocktails the inherent sweetness required me to adjust my proportions of sweet to sour as well. Having said that, I do believe that many people will find the Adictivo brand appealing as this added sweetness will make the spirit more approachable.

You may read some of my other Tequila Reviews (click the link) if you wish to have some comparative reviews.

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Suggested Recipe:

One of the modern classic cocktails I love to work with is the Cosmopolitan which mixes Vodka and Orange Liqueur with Cranberry and Lime juice. It is an excellent serving which never fails to please my friends when we have our Vodka Tastings. A few years ago, I came upon the idea of tweaking the Cosmopolitan using Tequila as its base rather than Vodka.

I called this new recipe, Metro Mexico.

Metro Mexico

1 1/2 ounces Adictivo Reposado Tequila
3/4 ounce Bols Triple Sec
3/4 ounce Cranberry Juice
3/8 ounce Lime Juice
ice
Slice of Lime

Add the five ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice
Shake until the outside of the shaker begins to frost
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with a lime slice

Please Enjoy Responsibly!

If  you are interested in more of my original cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

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You may (loosely) interpret the scores as follows.

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing Tequila.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, (we are probably still cocktail in territory).
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing delicious cocktails!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)