Review: Cabrito Blanco Tequila   80.5/100
A review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Published April 23, 2018

Cabrito is a Tequila Brand owned by the Phillips Distilling Co.. The agave spirit is produced by Tequila Centinela, S.A. de C.V. (Nom 1140). (This is the same distillery which produces Centinela Tequila). The distillery is located in the Arandas, Jalisco which is the main tequila production center in the Los Altos highlands.

Cabrito Blanco is produced from 100 % agave grown in the Los Altos highlands. Tequila produced from highland agave typically exhibits strong fruity citrus notes and has a little squeal of hot pepper in the finish.  In the case of Cabrito, their harvested agave is cooked in a stone oven. The cooked agave is shredded with a roller mill and the extracted juice is double distilled. The blanco spirit is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

In the Bottle 4/5

Cabrito Blanco is presented in the 750 ml medium tall long-necked bottle pictured to the left. The label features a picture of a small goat which is an homage to the brand name, as ‘cabrito’ is a Spanish word for a young goat kid.

The bottle and labeling are satisfactory for an economy priced tequila which is what Cabrito is. The long neck makes pouring easier, and the plastic reinforced metallic screw cap closure is better than the common pressed on metal screw cap closure which I normally see on  economy offerings.  I have no real quibbles with what I see.

In the Glass 8/10

The blanco spirit is colourless, and when I tilt my glass and give it a slow swirl I see medium-sized droplets forming at the crest. These droplet fall as slender legs back down to the spirit below. The breezes above the glass are agave forward with the vegetal smells of baked squash and grilled pineapple. There is a light punkiness hinting at fusel oils which is slightly off-putting. When the glass is given some time to breathe, I begin to notice the familiar peppery notes of highland agave. Impressions of green bell peppers and hints of cilantro are combined with black pepper.

In The Mouth 49/50

Cabrito Blanco displays a few rough spots when I sip. The flavour starts out lightly sweet with punky agave which is quickly followed by a squeal of peppery spice. I taste sweet impressions of cotton candy and vanilla; vegetal impressions of impressions of baked squash, plantain, and musty burlap; and peppery impressions of lime zest and black pepper. The combination of the vegetal agave and the squeal of black pepper is perhaps invigorating; but perhaps things are just a little too rough and tumble for me to enjoy the agave spirit as a sipper.

So I mixed a Margarita cocktail. However, I found that the firm vegetal flavour of the spirit seemed to coexist rather oddly with the lime in the mixed drink. So I changed things just a little, and mixed the same cocktail using a combination of lemon and lime rather than just lime and now the cocktail was much better. Then I experimented with a little grapefruit juice. Again I found that I like the serving much more than the standard Margarita. The punky vegetal agave seems to like grapefruit and lemon juice much more than it likes lime.  This means that Palomas and Picadors are preferred over the standard Margarita.

In the Throat 11.5/15

The finish is lightly sweet with flavours of vanilla and cotton candy. After the swallow hot peppery spices settle in as does a light burn. As indicated things are just a bit too aggressive for sipping.

The Afterburn 8/10

I hosted a tasting a few weeks ago, and Cabrito Blanco was one of three clear agave spirits served at the event (I also served Milagro Silver Tequila, and Jarnal de Berrio Mescal). As a sipping spirit, Cabrito Blanco did not impress my guests as the common refrain was that the flavour was just a little too punky and the finish was just a little too rough.

However; as part of that tasted event, I mixed small cocktails for everyone with each spirit. The cocktail I mixed with Cabrito Blanco (see below) was the preferred mixed drink of the day. Although it took a bit of experimenting beforehand, I learned that when a little lemon juice is introduced, this tequila becomes a very appealing mixer. Most tequilas are not sipped, they are mixed and the strength of Cabrito as a mixer must be accounted for in the review.

My final score of 80.5/100 reflects the enthusiasm which my friends at the tasting event displayed for Cabrito Blanco as a cocktail spirit.

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 Serving:

Lexi’s Cocktail (a Margarita with Lemon and Lime)

1 1/2 oz Cabrito Blanco
3/4 oz Triple Sec
2/3 oz Lemon Juice
1/3 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Sugar Syrup (1:1 ratio)
Ice
Lime Slice for garnish (option)

Chill a cocktail glass and if desired rim the outside with coarse salt
Place the Tequila, Lemon and Lime, Triple Sec, and Sugar Syrup into a metal shaker
Shake until the outside of the shaker frosts
Strain into the chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with Lime if desired

Enjoy Responsibly!

Note: If  you are interested in more 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)