Primo 1861 Blanco Tequila

 

El Pandillo Distillery (NOM-1579), Jesús María, Jalisco

43% ABV

 

The esteemed El Pandillo Distillery.  Headed up by Felipe Camarena, it has pumped out hit after hit - G4, Pasote, Volans, an ArteNOM selection - and has gained a reputation such that each new release causes a Pavlovian response to the tequila aficionado.  But what happens when a beloved tequila like Pasote moves on to another NOM?  Why you make another tequila.  Primo 1861 is in honor of the birth year of Pedro Camarena Ramírez who founded the first tequila distillery.  Felipe Camarena, invited the great-great-grandson of Pedro to collaborate and Primo 1861 was born.  Fermented in a combination of wood and stainless steel vats and cut with spring water from under the distillery, the first release to use entirely spring water.  Agave is cooked in stone ovens, crushed by mechanical tahona, and distilled on copper pot stills.  Cinnamon spice, green apples, and a mix of citrus.