Bill's Tequila Reviews: Cabo Wabo Tequila
I'm a tequila connoisseur. And I can say with at least 80% confidence that I don't mean "alcoholic".
In all seriousness, I've been enjoying some fine tequilas recently, and thanks to the incessant one-upmanship that seems to
be humanity's most popular hobby and the driver of our stalling economic engines, there's plenty of good tequilas out there
to be had.
The other evening, my friend Amy and I were in the mood for some drinking, so we got down to it. Much to my horror and due
to my complete lack of preparation for a drinking session, we ran out after two shots of fine, fine Don Julio.
We had available to us a small bottle of "Cabo Wabo" tequila, so we did what any desperate drinker would. We drank it.
For those who don't know, the "Cabo Wabo" brand comes to us coutesy of Mr. Sammy Hagar. Hagar is justifiably world-famous
for his role in turning Van Halen from one of the world's coolest and greatest bands into a bland, predictable suckfest that
reminds one most of early Winger, or perhaps a slightly more rocking version of Air Supply. His one-dimensional "California
Party Guy" personality and predictable lyrics provided the perfect foil for Eddie Van Halen's laughable, deluded desire to
take Van Halen in a more "serious, artistic direction". In another group of people, at another time, in some other far off
land, this might have worked. Sadly, though, this great idea came from a band whose bassist plays an instrument styled after
a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey, and whose drummer once won a bet by holding a lit cigarette between the insides of his forearms
for ten minutes.
At any rate, the tequila:
(from the "Cabo Wabo" website)
"Sammy Hagar created this bang-up tequila while off-stage in Guadalajara and ultimately brought it back to serve at his
nightclub, Cabo Wabo, in Cabo San Lucas, Baja, Mexico.
It's the genuine article, 100% weber blue agave, baked in wood-fired adobe ovens and double-pot distilled the old-fashioned
way for a rich, soul-warming taste.
The RedRocker's Reposado tequila has been barrel-aged in oak casks for 4 to 6 months. More aging means more flavor and a
smoother style. The unique hand-blown Mexican blue glass bottles will be hard to throw away, even when they're empty."
Now for what I think:
Taste: Tastes of cheap ethanol with no redeeming smoothness, with notes of "sediment" and "algae" predominating. I will
give it this...at least it does lack the "oiliness" of some tequilas, which I loathe. However, we get something even worse;
the taste most resembles drinking the last quarter-inch of water out of the bottom of a fishtank that hasn't been cleaned
for a while.
Smell: See above. Mostly algae and dirt.
Bottle: Completely as advertised. The bottles are truly lovely.
Overall impressions:
Better than:
Diseased hookers
Gin (any)
Old milk
Sterno
Bandolero
Used motor oil
Cuervo
Round-Up
Worse than:
Any beer
Any non-fortified wine
Cuervo 1800
Water
Robitussin