Agave love

Sample greeting here at Range:

Bartender: "Hey, how's it going tonight? Our featured cocktail is called "The Hothouse", and it has Pueblo Viejo silver tequila, basil..."

Thirsty Guest: "Ugh... you can stop right there. I can't do tequila".

Whenever our cocktail of the day features tequila, we are met with extreme reactions. Sure, many people get a twinkle in their eye and order it before we finish listing the ingredients, but often we hear something like the above comment. It makes sense, considering how many people have had ridiculously excessive, somewhat blurry, severely humiliating, dry-heave-inducing experiences centering around shots of cheap tequila. I won't get brand-specific here, but the "gold" it claims to be is really just caramel coloring, and who knows what they used instead of Agave. Fortunately, the tequilaphiles are beginning to outnumber the tequilaphobes, and that's due primarily to the fact that there are so many great tequilas now available in the U.S.

We just added Fortaleza reposado to our tequila arsenal, and man, is it tasty! Lots of vanilla and a hint of cardamom on the nose, with minimal alcohol-fume heat. The mouthfeel is silky and has ample agave-honey on the palate, with a light wood, medium-bright mineral finish. This is a great sipper, but it has enough backbone to make a smooth margarita as well.