2021 La Mula | Aromas: A terrific nose. Warm and inviting agave notes. A touch of cedar. Nutmeg, cinnamon, orange peel. Almond pastry and mellow black pepper. Flavor: A surprise hit of pepper. Sweetness and saltiness in equal measure. A tiny bit thin in the mouth. Again, almonds appear, now more similar to those found in a praline. This starts to really pull together as it opens up. Agave galore. A nice follow up to their Plata and Repo.

2017 Las Aguilas | A friend held this for several Covid years and I finally had a chance to retrieve it from their possession. This has a synthetic cork and it didn’t fit as well as others have. On the multi stage trip home the bottle leaked a bit inside the airbag in the suitcase. The cork glue melted and came apart when removing lol. The Añejo inside this bottle, #2992, is some of the best I’ve tasted from any brand in recent memory. Agave and barrel spice on the nose gives way to stone fruit some melon and roast agave. A moderate length finish with lingering sweetness rounds this out.

2018 El Vergel | On the nose, sweet agave and some barrel spice. A little fruity and a light vegetal note. A very light vanilla and candied orange. On the palate, very rounded sweet agave, baking spices and the barrel is very faint, but there’s enough to round out the agave. Very oily, the finish lingers for a long time, I’m going to give this an extra point for finish. Great tequila, you can’t go wrong. Certainly not a barrel forward añejo, but very delicious.

2018 El Bajío | Agave, strong citrus, vanilla, and flowers—very inviting nose. Flavors include agave, pepper, jalapeño, slight oak and citrus. The nose is sweet and flavors spicy.

2019 La Laja | Deeply herbal, with light and balanced agave and white pepper. It lacks the beginnings of caramel and cinnamon that I’ve come to expect from anejos, but the beautiful raw agave is a wonderful replacement.

2021 La Ladera | Made from the same Plata as the Puntas, this has some great viscosity and is per the usual lightly aged Ocho profile we all know and love.

2021 La Ladera | Nose: oak,some citrus, earthy, light floral notes, and a hint of cooked agave Flavor: fruity, black pepper, brown sugar, oak essence, and some citrus Finish: medium with a chocolate and coffee thing going on

2021 La Ladera | Nose: Aromas of a freshly cut plank of wood, as well as lightly aged oak barrels. Green fruit, a tease of citrus, a hint of cucumber and a slightly sour umami element that I will have to revisit to sus out. A warm medley of spice that is round and creamy. A dusty earth note. The nose is on the timid side, but interesting. Flavor: First sip brings an escalating crescendo of pepper with fruit and toasted nuts. Medium oils. The pepper is the dominant player, but fruit and cookie spice play supporting roles. Also a stray sulfur note, similar as found in asparagus? Finish brings some rich coffee or dark chocolate nuances.

2020 Cerro Grande | I feel a bit more oak and sweetness from the barrel in this iteration of the añejo, it’s wonderful since it creates a nice harmony with the natural sweetness that was already there in the blanco.

2020 Cerro Grande | Nose of green pepper spiciness and fresh-cooked agave. A very pleasant flavor across the palate, a light sweetness with good mouthfeel. A nice burst of black pepper, spicy sweet cinnamon, and green apple on the finish, that lingers afterwards. Another excellent añejo that leans towards lighter barrel influence.

2020 Cerro Grande : Nose: roasted pineapple, tangerine, citric, lemon, green apple, oak barrel, cooked agave. Palate: pineapple, anise, citric, orange peel, wood oak, pepper, salt.

2018 El Bajío | On the nose, clean cooked agave, what I’ve come to expect from a Carlos Camarena tequila. Herbal. Hints of cinnamon. Barrel spice, vanilla. Green apple, pineapple rind. Very complex. On the palate, crisp agave. Definitely some heat. I get a note of chile, almost jalapeño like. Very full bodied. Long finish. Will be very curious to see how this evolves now that I’ve opened the bottle. Excellent, another he run from Ocho.

2020 Cerro Grande. Very easy to sip. Agave is retained on the pallet which Ocho is amazing at doing.

2018 El Bajío | A sample from a friend, but I also bought a bottle for USD60, so I think it's a great price for an añejo. I have also had the 2018 Las Presas añejo, although I have finished it, so I cannot compare the two side by side. From memory, this one is very similar, though. I've never had the 2018 El Bajio blanco, so I'm not sure how the aging impacted the original profile, aside from the obvious oak influence and dilution to 40% alcohol. Nose: cooked agave, vanilla, oak, ginger, mint. Palate: cinnamon, salt, agave, oak, citrus, spiciness. Finish: long and spicy (as if from a pepper, not barrel spice).

2018 El Bajío | Sweet roast agave with some oak spice. This is typical of the profile of any Ocho Añejo, likely aged just a few more days than the minimum allowed.

2020 Cerro Grande Nose: Lightly aged oak and caramel. Cinnamon, leather and vanilla bean. Fruit and agave forward. A sweet slightly sour hard cider aroma. A harmonious nose. Flavors: A touch thin, yet a creamy feeling. Rounded spice, mature agave and butterscotch notes. Pepper notes pulling up from behind. A suggestion of coconut? Pineapple with a squeeze of lima. Richly sweet with a sensual nuance of leather. Just enough salinity to give balance. Finish: Fruity and spicy, with a back palate dark chocolate/coffee adiós.

2018 El Bajío | Aroma: there’s a good amount of alcohol on the nose. I get a really strong fruit aroma like pineapple, some stewed lemon. Theres a little orange zest. Flavor: flavor comes through with a little more cooked or stewed fruit flavor up front. It fades into some nice cooked agave. Theres a bit of oak. A strong bite in this tequila (bite in a good way). It hits the sides of the tongue and creates a bit of tingle and numbness on the tongue. Finish: this one sticks with you for a long time. Sweet, tangy and warm. Overall: I love this tequila. It’s super different and nothing like what I taste in most aged tequila. Lots of fruit and tang. Not a ton of agave flavor and I don’t get the same oak, caramel, cinnamon, etc. like most Añejos but I still really enjoy it.

2020 Cerro Grande | Nose: Lightly aged oak and caramel. Cinnamon, leather and vanilla bean. Fruit and agave forward. A sweet slightly sour hard cider aroma. A harmonious nose. Flavors: A touch thin, yet a creamy feeling. Rounded spice, mature agave and butterscotch notes. Pepper notes pulling up from behind. Pineapple with a squeeze of lima. Richly sweet with a sensual nuance of leather. Just enough salinity to give balance. Finish: Fruity and spicy, with a back palate dark chocolate/coffee adiós.

2019 La Laja | Nose: Green pear/apple/pineapple aromas, faint oak barreling, butterscotch, and a kiss of citrus. A sprinkle of pepper and cinnamon, and a forest note: pine needles? There is also an intriguing, slightly sharp fruitiness that l can’t quite identify. Flavor: Pepper heat, an uncharacteristic punch of barrel & barrel spice, dark toffee and an undercurrent of orange liqueur. Some tannic bite on the back palate. The nosing promised more than the tasting delivered.

2018 El Vergel | Nose: Pineapple, orange and lime zest. Cut grass, a forest of fir trees. Minerals. A dash of vanilla, a dusting of pepper, oregano and thyme. Flavor: Light vanilla, piquant barrel spices and orange liqueur coats the tongue with a sweet and oily panoply. Pepper heat insidiously creeps in and builds. The herbal aroma elements remain, but have acquiesced to the sweeter agave and oak nuances.

2018 El Bajío | Nose: Pineapple, green apple, spicy candied fruits and a sweet and sour cider note. Herbal aromas of rosemary and thyme layer on top of rich agave sweetness. Flavor: Begins with vanilla and almond cream, but soon black and green peppercorns creep in. Buttery salted caramel, with a dash of dark cocoa powder. The cider note perseveres in the flavor. Finish: Lengthy pepper heat and pleasing mouth feel predominate. Not overly complex, but very sippable over the course of an evening. There is a slight note of bitterness - but not to a fault. Aging has improved this Rancho’s blanco. Wasn’t crazy about the blanco, but improved impressions with the reposado and añejo.

2018 Las Presas Subtle aromas of cooked agave, vanilla, caramel, black pepper and hints of citrus peel. (Flan at some point) Small kick of alcohol. Flavors sit really well on palate confirming previous aromas, then a hint of fruity notes pass by, pear/green apples.

2018 Las Presas | Nose: Pineapple, citrus zest, nougat, piquant baking spices, thyme, earth and minerals. Flavor: Butterscotch, assertive combination of cloves, cinnamon and pepper, citrus, grilled pineapple, and creamy vanilla/almond flavors. Velvety texture.

2018 Las Presas | Quite spicy in aroma and taste this is one of the latest in yearly releases from the brand. The bottle says the agave are planted in north-south rows to avoid being shadowed on the sloped terrain of Las Presas and was owned by Carlos' bisabuelo. Harvested at 6.5 years at an avg. weight of 26 kilos and 28.6 brix. Per the usual for Tequila Ocho we're told very little about aging or the vessel used except the general indication of it being quite played out as evidenced by the pale straw color. Aging is an additional element of the flavor profile and adds rather than subtracts. Agave is front and center when this is sipped, as are crisp tannic grape notes, minerals and a bit of anise that comes out in the finish that fades to natural sweetness.

2007 El Vergel | Nose: Pineapple, orange and lime zest. Cut grass, fir trees in a forest and minerals. A dash of vanilla, a sprinkle of pepper, oregano and thyme. Flavor: Light vanilla, piquant barrel spices and orange liqueur coats the tongue with a sweet and oily panoply. Pepper heat insidiously creeps in and builds. The herbal aroma elements remain, but have acquiesced to the sweeter agave and oak nuances.