Herencia de Plata (Reposado)

Review: Herencia de Plata (Reposado) Tequila 92/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted on November 30, 2009

Herencia is apparently related to the english word ‘heritage’. And the Herencia does indeed have an impressive heritage. The tequila has been served by Mexican President, Vicente Fox to Queen Elizabeth II; it has won awards internationally as you will see when you read the review; and it was originally produced to commemorate wedding of Juan Garcia, the son of the of the company founder, Manuel Garcia.

I should note that Herencia de Plata Reposado Tequila is also a true 100 % Agave Spirit. A sample bottle was provided to me by Westway L. LTD., who is the importer of this spirit in my home province of Alberta. I met the Operations Manager of Westway at the Edmonton Food and Wine Festival and introduced him to my review blog. Two weeks later I was asked to review their Tequila on my site and I was happy to oblige.

The bottle provided is pictured here:

In the Bottle 5/5

As you can see Herencia de Plata Tequila Reposado comes packaged in an attractive turquoise box.  The box is adorned with three separate award certificates.  A Double Gold award from the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a 2007  ITQI Superior Taste Award (International Taste and Quality Institute), and a 2002 Best Spirit for a Tequila Reposado from the Chicago Institute.    The bottle inside the box is  attractive as well, a squat decanter style bottle  complete with a  solid wood topped straight sided cork.  I have no complaint with this presentation.

In the Glass 9/10

The glass features a pale straw coloured liquid which shows flashes of orange. Swirling the glass leaves traces of liquid film on the sides indicating a slight butter which should lengthen the finish.  The aroma is a sweet peppery lime with hints of orange citrus, and passionfruit.  The agave aroma is melted nicely into the citrus and does not overwhelm the glass at all.  I also smell a faint touch of vanilla but this may be more closely related to fantasy than reality.

In my Mouth 55/60

I never imagined tequila could be so clean and crisp as this spirit is.  The agave flavour,  orange and lime citrus  notes, and the hot pepper burst are all wonderfully mixed in a crisp, sharp, but very pleasing combination.  The agave is aggressive but not in the punky manner I am accustomed to.  This is fresher and sweeter than other tequila I have previously tasted.  A very light oil allows the flavours to dance on the palate providing a delightful marzipan which sits under the spicier pepper and citrus.  My imagination may be playing tricks on me, but I swear I catch a tiny ripple of spearmint playfully hiding in the back of the palate as well.

In the Throat  14/15

Tequila, in my understanding, is supposed to burn.   This does, but not in a manner that brings discomfort.  This is a pleasing burn where a sweetened lime and other citrus flavours stay behind and give the throat a clean refreshing burn similar to fresh squeezed lemonade.  The final exit is a spicy pepper afterglow which stays in the throat well after the tequila is consumed.

The Aftermath 9/10

What can I say except that I am thoroughly surprised.  The Herencia de Plata may even make a tequila aficionado out of me, as  I enjoyed this tasting completely.  I sipped the tequila straight;  I drank it on ice; and I mixed several types of  Margaritas.  In each manner in which I sampled the tequila, it was really good.  I’ll admit that this is undiscovered country for me as I was not expecting such enjoyment.  I guess all those awards I mentioned at the start were well earned!

You may read some of my other Tequila Reviews (click the link) if you wish to have some comparative reviews.

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Suggested Cocktail:

I find variations of the Margarita always work well with Tequila.  For the Herencia de Plata, I enjoyed adding a little lemon with the lime.

The Herencia Slushie

1 1/2 oz Herencia de Plata Reposado Tequila
1/2 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
1/2 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
2 tsp. Simple Syrup (Dissolve a sugar cube in 1 Tsp hot water then let it cool)
(Note: Add more or less simple syrup to taste)
4 large Ice Cubes
Slice of Lime

Combine ingredients into a blender with ice.
Blend until the ice is thoroughly crushed
Pour into a chilled cocktail or glencairn glass.
Garnish with lime slice

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You may (loosely) interpret the scores as follows.

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing Tequila.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, (we are probably still cocktail in territory).
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing delicious cocktails!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)

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