Review: Patron Cristalino Tequila
Review: Patron Cristalino Tequila
Surely you saw this one coming: A cristalino version of Patron Anejo, a traditionally produced tequila aged for 12 to 15 months in four different types of casks, then filtered through wood charcoal back to transparent.
Fans of Patron will find no faults here: This tequila has a mild, gentle nose — lightly lemony, showcasing easy overtones of coconut and white chocolate. Agave is an afterthought, but not invisible, and time in glass allows a gentle note of mixed herbs and mint to rise to the top.
The palate finds an ample sweetness dominating, with bright notes of lemon-infused simple syrup, more coconut (nectar), and this time around more of a milk chocolate quality. Agave is even less visible on the tongue, though the finish sees a lightly peppery quality that at least reminds you you’re drinking tequila — evoking a Mexican chocolate quality that is mildly dusted with spice.
Anejo cristalino bottlings are often very sweet and easy-drinking, but I don’t know if I’ve encountered another expression in the style that’s quite as mild and crowd-pleasing as this one.
80 proof. NOM 1492.
A- / $64 / patrontequila.com [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR]
Patron Cristalino Tequila
$64
Christopher, I’ve liked your writing for a long time. But any cristalino is so widely separated from what authentic and great tequila tastes like that an A- seems overly generous. When you point to coconut, I get the aroma of 80s suntan oil. When you point to white chocolate, I suspect glycerine is in the mix. That any tequila distillery goes to the effort to age tequila in wood and then filter out the barrel influence, that says to me that they overaged it, they screwed up or chose bad barrels. But I have to credit the shrewd distiller who saw a sales opportunity in this and found a market it to buy it.
Thanks, Steve. It’s good to hear from you. Cristalino is certainly a divisive category in the tequila world, but I’ve tried to make it my policy to be accepting of change and to consider these advances and new types of spirits on their own merits. It’s easy for us in this industry to fall back on “tradition is the only correct way” to do everything, but if we did that we’d never have things like extra anejo tequila or Tokaji-finished bourbon or even climate-controlled aging conditions. Buffalo Trace makes a whole cottage industry out of its “Experimental Collection,” and while those are hit and miss, they serve as a guidepost for the way the industry may be headed in the face of changing tastes and a changing climate. Not every advance is going to be a good one — remember when Diageo tried to wrap barrels in plastic wrap to prevent the angel’s share from evaporating? — but I don’t think Cristalino is inherently a bad thing on its own and that it has an emerging place for drinkers, including in cocktails. Most white rum is effectively the Cristalino of the category, after all, and that can hardly be called the result of a screw-up or bad barrel choices. Whether the Patron Cristalino is great is another question, and while I stand by the rating assigned in the moment, I don’t know how it would hold up in a broader Cristalino roundup against multiple competitors. Perhaps that’s an idea for another feature down the road… Thanks again for your comment.