Reserva de la Familia Will Release the First Mole-Finished Tequila
Jose Cuervo is best known for Especial, a cheap mixto that combines sugar and tequila made from Blue Weber agave. But Cuervo has many other brands that are part of its family tree, including the higher-end Reserva de la Familia lineup—which just announced the launch of a new limited-edition tequila finished in mole casks, something that appears to be a first in the category.
To be clear, there have been agave spirits that have been made with mole before. Specifically, there are a few mezcals of note that have been produced using the pechuga style, in which the ingredients for a mole (or more traditionally poultry) are suspended above the mash during fermentation or in the still during distillation to infuse the spirit with flavor. Pernod Ricard-owned brand Del Maguey made one in very limited numbers that it released last year. And I had the pleasure of trying one at Enrique Olvera’s Puljo in Mexico City last year made by Tlamati, which was infused with the same mole served at the restaurant (technically, this was an “aguardiente de agave” because it’s not legally certified as mezcal).
This new release does seem to be the first mole-seasoned cask-finished tequila, however. The Reserva de la Familia brand has been around for more than three decades. Originally, it was bottled for the Cuervo family and friends, but it became commercially available in 1995. Cuervo claims to have released the first extra añejo tequila under the Reserva brand name, well before the CRT (Mexico’s tequila governing authority) recognized the category in 2006, although El Tesoro also lays claim to this distinction saying that it released an extra añejo in 1994.
This new tequila was produced at the La Rojeña distillery. The agave pinas were roasted in brick ovens and then fermented using the distillery’s proprietary yeast before a double distillation. The first maturation occurs in new American and French oak barrels, like other Reserva expressions, and then the spirit is given its unique cask finish. It goes into medium toast new American oak casks that were lined with Oaxacan red mole, as opposed to filling the barrels completely with mole which would be quite an undertaking. The mole was removed after seasoning the wood (according to the brand no ingredients were added to the barrels so this is not a flavored tequila), and the tequila was added to the barrels to finish for three to four months. I asked what the mole recipe was, and heard from the brand that maestro tequilero Alejandro Coronado used “Oaxacan red mole made with guajillo and red ancho dried chiles, cacao, nuts, seeds, and spices and aromatics like cinnamon, cloves, and anise.”
We received a sample to try, and can report back that this is a unique 80-proof tequila that definitely shows the effects of the mole cask finish. A healthy dose of black pepper immediately jumps out as you sip, but that is surrounded by other flavors like grass, chili pepper, chocolate, wet earth, sugary agave, vanilla, leather, oak, and a lingering note of pine needles that sits on the back palate. Private Cask Collection Edition No. 2: Mole Cask will be released this September (SRP $120), but it’s available to pre-order now from the brand’s website.
