Don Julio Tequila Real Extra Añejo Limited Edition

Don Julio Real is the oldest and most aged expression in the Don Julio range, a 100% Blue Weber tequila produced at NOM 1449 in Atotonilco el Alto in the Los Altos highlands of Jalisco, the house Diageo owns today. First released in 1996, a decade before the Extra Añejo class existed, it is built from distillates rested three to five years, so it sits squarely in Extra Añejo territory even where the box reads only Añejo. The presentation, a leather wrapped flask in a hinged gift box, marks it as a collector bottle.

The extended time in oak pulls the agave back to the mid palate and lets barrel character lead. Expect rich caramel and toffee, vanilla and red fruit such as cherry, with chocolate, cinnamon and toasted almond, then dried fruit, cooked agave and peach across the palate. The finish is warm and sweet with lingering vanilla and a touch of oak, bottled at 38%.