Tres Generaciones Plata Tequila

Bill Dowd photo

Tres Generaciones traces its roots to 1873 when Don Cenobio Sauza created his first tequila. The brand name covers his tenure as well as those of his son Eladio and his son Javier -- three generations. The company history says Don Cenobio was the first to export tequila to the U.S.

• Tres Generaciones Plata Tequila

This expression is a delight from the first sniff to the last nuance on the palate. I don't recall having such a positive response to a Tres Generaciones blanco before this re-launch.

A pleasantly buttery, peppery nose immediately made me realize this was a tequila to be savored. The more it is inhaled, the more the faint nuances of banana, jalapeño and tequila nectar emerge.

This is an unaged 100% Weber blue agave estate-grown product, created from agave piñas harvested on the Sauza ranch in Jalisco state.

It is triple distilled, but that is a term open to interpretation; in the distillation process a spirit can be "distilled" numerous times, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee smoothness. However, in this case it has resulted in a tequila with a silken mouthfeel, a full-bodied expression with lush middle notes, and a long, slow finish that gives rise to the desire to quickly take the whole trip again.

I mentioned this is a re-launch. Tres Geraciones' 80-proof tequilas are packaged in plata, reposado and añejos expressions in its familar bottle with a barrel-shaped bottom but the bottles now feature a front label with medallions of the three founding Dons, the family crest on the neck, and a textured, beaten medal collar -- silver for the plata, gold for the reposado, bronze for the añejo -- and the bottle is topped with a wood and cork stopper.

Suggested retail price: $45.99 for the Plata in a 750ml bottle, $47.99 for the reposado and $49.99 for the añejo.

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