El Negocio Joven Tequila Review

BOTTLE DETAILS

• DISTILLER: El Negocio Tequila, (Tequila Cascahuín, NOM 1123)
• MASH BILL: 100 percent blue Weber agave
• AGE: 2 months or less
• YEAR: 2024
• PROOF: 80 (40% ABV)
• MSRP: $200
• BUY ONLINE: Wine Searcher

STEVE'S NOTES

SHARE WITH: Tequila fans who like lots of minerality and dry finishes.

WORTH THE PRICE: Not at $200. Especially when compared with Cascahuin Tahona Blanco, its $95 sibling from the same distillery.

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Bar

OVERALL: For anyone unfamiliar with the term joven, it literally means young. Most jovens are a blend of mostly blanco and some reposado (in El Negocio's case, the split is 90/10) to retain some fruitiness of the blanco while tempering any harsh edges with some barrel-mellowed spirit.

The maker of this brand, Tequila Cascahuín, is a place where concrete and stone are used liberally with agave roasting (stone ovens), crushing (tahona wheel) and fermenting (cement tanks). El Negocio Joven, however, is fermented in stainless steel.

Despite one less point of contact with stone, it's highly mineral, which immediately translates to dryness. Some love a dry and tight presentation, but it's not my favorite since the compromise is fruiter cooked agave notes pushed too far back. In this case, they're indiscernible on the palate.

For what it's worth, the reposado used in this joven was aged in French oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. Those barrels' influence on just the reposado alone is prominent, but not detectable to me in the joven.

That said, it's still an interesting pour. On the nose comes a load of roasted agave, agave nectar, minerality, fresh herb bouquet, white pepper and butterscotch. If too closely nosed, it becomes shrill. So swirl vigorously and let breathe a bit to release those harsher notes–or just pull back from it some.

As mentioned, on the palate, minerality rings loud and proud. Some days I tasted peppercorn and a bit of cinnamon, but on most others, not a lot else. I found the trick to extracting deeper flavors was to hold it in my mouth and exhale through my nose to illuminate some sweet notes. That's when Sprite/7-Up show up with black pepper, rye bread (of all things) and a new and more powerful push of minerality.

Just as a subset of American whiskey drinkers seek out oaky-dry releases, there are tequila drinkers who like this super-dry presentation. There are 7.5 billion palates in this world, so not surprisingly, everyone's is different. Cheers to those folks. I'll happily share my sample bottle with them.

BRAND NOTES

At first sip, bright and crisp notes of pitted fruit and flowers greet you, coupled with hints of cooked agave. The smooth, velvety texture caresses the palate, leaving a long-lasting, pleasantly warm green apple finish and smooth mouthfeel.

Disclaimer: Bourbon & Banter received a sample of this product from the brand for review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.