LALO Tequila Review
LALO Tequila Review: Lalo González is the grandson of the great tequila maker Don Julio himself but his own LALO Tequila brand will only be making blanco tequilas.
Photo by Florencia Carballido
It must be daunting to be a descendant of one of the best-known names in the tequila business, Don Julio, especially when you start making tequila yourself. But Lalo González has decided not to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, but to strike out on his own. He’s making his own tequila, LALO Tequila, and has announced that he will only ever make blanco tequilas.
Making LALO Tequila
LALO Tequila is a 100% blue agave tequila from the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. The agave are pressed on a roller mill and then roasted in stone ovens.
Photo by Florencia Carballido
It’s fermented in stainless steel tanks using their own yeast which is also used in the fermentation of champagne, to bring some fruity wine notes to the tequila. It’s then distilled twice in a pot still with a copper coil, diluted with deep well water for bottling at 40% ABV (80 proof). Being a blanco, it of course goes nowhere near a barrel.
Sometimes we can get carried away with singing the praises of aged tequilas, but a blanco is tequila in its purest expression.
Lalo González
Don Julio’s full name was Don Julio González-Frausto Estrada, and his tale was a truly rags to riches story which I wrote about for Drinkhacker. It was Don Julio himself who gave his grandson Eduardo González the nickname of ‘Lalo’, the name he’s been known by all his life. It’s a common diminutive for boys called Eduardo.
Photo by Giselle Austin
Lalo’s father was also a tequila maker, and Lalo learned his own skills from both his father and his famous grandfather. He spent ten years in the business, starting at the family distillery, before he decided to go his own way with his co-founders David R. Carballido and Jim McDermott. The three men decided to focus on making the purest blanco that they possibly could, and stick to that.
They began by making it for family and friends in Guadalajara, and it was so well-received that they started to export it to the USA where it is now available in 43 states. Their distillery is in the town of Arandas, just a 40-minute drive from the Don Julio Distillery in Atotonilco El Alto.
LALO Tequila Review
The makers recommend you try LALO neat, on the rocks or just with a splash of soda, to more enjoy the flavors of the tequila itself.
The bottle is short and square and the label has pretty minimalist typography, which looks classy and stylish. The spirit inside it is crystal clear and almost sparkling. On the nose there’s that vegetal agave aroma, some vanilla sweetness, and some cinnamon and pepper spice, with a contrasting citrus.
Photo by Giselle Austin
Tasting the tequila is like sipping all those aromas, with maybe a hint of butter and caramel added to the mix. It’s definitely a sipping tequila, and the finish continues the agave/spice theme. It’s certainly a superior blanco, but with a price of $52.99 on the LALO website, it ought to be. And with a blanco this good, I can’t believe there isn’t some quietly aging in barrels out there in Jalisco, just to see what happens. But one thing I know: Don Julio would be proud of his grandson for what he’s done.
Buying LALO Tequila
You can learn more and find out where you can buy LALO Tequila on the LALO Tequila website. You can also buy it on Drizly.
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