Gran Centenario Goes Clear With New Cristalino

Gran Centenario Cristalino

Gran Centenario, the brand that describes itself as “Mexico’s #1 Tequila,” has just launched its first Cristalino. Their newest expression is aged in apple-hinted Calvados brandy casks and filtered for clarity using Mexican silver.

This newest Cristalino is a blended batch mix of añejo and extra añejo tequilas. After barrel aging and filtration, the final product bears flavors of vanilla pod, apple, baked agave and toffee.

Following the heels of Don Julio, 1800, Hornitos and even Kevin Hart, it feels as if Cristalinos are the new “it” expression that every distiller is adding to their portfolio. Gone are the days of the “three amigos” blanco, reposado and añejo; it now appears that Cristalinos are the de facto fourth expression of the industry (or, fifth, if you include extra añejos).

For Gran Centenario Cristalino, the unique twist appears to lie in silver filtration. While distillers typically use charcoal to filter their amber-tinted aged expressions to clarity, Gran Centenario claims to use real Mexican silver to achieve the same effect.

If you’re interested, Gran Centenario Cristalino is now available for retail at $79.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t add that, earlier this week, we were invited to a truly outlandish “tequila ASMR” launch event for this expression, one in which participants were blindfolded and then led through an audio-aromatic journey in which we were harvested, trimmed, steamed, distilled, barrel-aged and filtered.

Gran Centenario is really pulling out all the stops.

Here at The Daily Pour, we do more than write about current events in spirit. We are the only media property reviewing spirits and aggregating the scores and reviews of other significant voices in the spirit world in one place. If you’re interested in getting a shot of spirit in your morning email, sign up for our Whiskey Deal of the Day Newsletter