JAJA Anejo Tequila
Travel Distilled reviews JAJA Anejo Tequila, one of three expressions in the range from JAJA Tequila, also including a blanco and reposado, and all made in Jalisco.
How Do You Pronounce JAJA?
This is Spanish, so the ‘j’ is pronounced as ‘h’. So, just as Jalisco is pronounced Halisco, that means JAJA is pronouned HAHA! At least in English. They’ll have different ideas in Germany.
The JAJA Tequila Story
All good spirits have a good story behind them. JAJA owes its existence to three friends who toured Jalisco a few years ago, looking for the best tequila they could find. It also had to be made at a distillery using traditional methods, and that was using eco-friendly production methods.
In the course of this they learned that the best tequilas are, of course, made from the best quality blue agave plants, which are generally harvested at about 7-8-years-old.
The Range of JAJA Tequilas
The agaves for all three JAJA Tequilas are baked in brick ovens for 32 hours. Each batch is then rested for 8 hours before being fermented for 72 hours.
JAJA Blanco Tequila
The blanco is bottled immediately, and is said to have ‘subtle notes of black pepper and citrus fruit while capturing the essence and sweetness of its only ingredient: Pure Agave Azul’.
JAJA Reposado Tequila
Some of the blanco is set aside to age for 6 months in oak barrels to produce their reposado, and this is said to have hints of ‘vanilla, oak, honey, and caramel’.
Tasting JAJA Anejo Tequila
It was the anejo I was keen to try, however. This is aged for two years in American oak barrels before being bottled, and so should be the most complex of the three tequilas.
First, though, a shout-out for the bottles. Each of the three labels has a different design, but all in the same fun and original style, as you can see from the photos. I’ve done close-ups of some of the details, I like the style so much. Yet another bottle for keeping!
By chance, the bottle was sitting on the shelves next to a bottle of whiskey, which arrived about the same time. In color, the tequila’s indistinguishable from the whiskey, both a beautiful golden brown.
On the nose, the anejo is definitely not a whiskey, although it’s a tequila that whiskey fans should definitely give a try if they want to learn about the subtleties of a good tequila. It’s got a fruity, lime/lemon aroma, with some earthiness from the agave and sweet vanilla and oak from the barrel.
All these aromas are intensified when you sip the tequila. What a taste! Lime, lemon, herbs, vanilla, oak, agave, and on the palate a definite hint of spicy ginger appears. The tequila is a cocktail all by itself, but I tried it with a Q Margarita Mix and was in Margarita Heaven. (Those Q Mixers are really good – more about them soon).
In short, this is one of the best tequilas I’ve tasted all year and is going on the top shelf for special occasions and for special friends.
Buying JAJA Tequila
You can find out more on the JAJA Tequila website, where you can details of stockists. As well as buying the tequilas, with free shipping, you can also find some pretty cool merch! I definitely need a t-shirt that says ‘Tequila made me do it’!
Buying JAJA Tequila
You can find out more on the JAJA Tequila website, where you can details of stockists. As well as buying the tequilas, with free shipping, you can also find some pretty cool merch! I definitely need a t-shirt that says ‘Tequila made me do it’!
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