YeYo Silver Tequila

YeYo is a premium silver tequila that hails from the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, via Beaverton, Oregon, of all places. I was skeptical at first. “Tequila”, “premium”, and ”Beaverton” don’t seem to belong in the same sentence, but I’d have to say that this is a fine spirit.

Nose: Unlike many tequilas, premium or otherwise, Yeyo has little to no harshness or alcohol to the nose. Instead it greets with an earthy sweetness, some lime, a touch of honey, and traces of what seems like mesquite smoke.

Taste: On the taste, agave sweetness, muted citrus notes, and an earthy-sweet roasted red pepper taste. Warm, but not hot or harsh, with a slight trace of bitter, but most flavors are at the front of the palate. Somewhat salty and bitter-sweet.

Finish: The finish is slightly spicy but not particularly hot, slightly bitter, a little earthy, with notes of chalk and clay, and eventually a final taste of charcoal or ash. That last flavor makes me think of the open-pit traditional fashion of roasting agave, but this agave is slowly cooked in stone ovens. A different tradition, but definitely still a tradition, since this same family has been distilling tequila since 1917.

Notes: Unique Liquid founder Jon Bullinger has worked closely with the distiller, and the result is a very nice 100 percent agave silver tequila that is surprisingly enjoyable neat (I’m a reposado man). It would work well in many tequila, or possibly cachaca cocktails. Don’t drown it in a margarita, though. This silver tequila deserves to be tasted.

YeYo, (Feliciano Vivancoy Asociados, Jalisco, Mexico) 80 proof, $46.95 in Oregon Liquor Stores

(Sample provided by YeYo Tequila)