Arette Tequila Artesanal Suave Reposado

Arette Artesanal Suave Reposado is a 100 percent agave tequila and the top tier of Arette, the brand the Orendain family launched in 1986 from their early-1900s distillery El Llano in the Tequila valley, NOM 1109. The serious distinction of the Artesanal line is the cooking. Where the regular range uses faster autoclaves, here the agave is baked in a traditional stone horno, a slower, steadier process that pushes the more delicate agave notes to the front.

The house also takes an unusually long four days over fermentation, uses spring water from the Tequila volcano, and twice distils in copper pot stills, selecting only the best of the run as a distiller's cut. The blanco first rests six months in steel tanks before this reposado spends a further eleven months in bourbon whiskey oak casks. The result is a pale amber tequila with a sweet, fruity nose of lemon and orange and a palate that opens notably soft, carrying the sweetness and a floral lift. Arette states it uses no glycerol, caramel or oak extract.