This $2,300 Tequila Justifies Its Exorbitant Asking Price

(Photo: The Last Drop)

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting a bottle from The Last Drop, then you’re either a collector, a reviewer or an especially resourceful thief.

Over the past decade or so, the Sazerac-owned brand has released some of the rarest spirits available to consumers, handpicking decades-old age statements that go hand in hand with infamously high prices on the secondary market. Selections like a $7,500 Hors d’Age cognac, a $15,000 Japanese whisky and a 1983-vintage Buffalo Trace bourbon that’s currently being hawked in some corners of the internet for as much as $100,000. The Last Drop is as much an expert in curation as it is in luxury branding. And it was only a matter of time before the brand got in on tequila, the hottest spirits category in the Americas.

In November, the team unveiled The Last Drop No. 40, an extra añejo distilled by the reliably excellent Casa San Matias in Jalisco, Mexico. We managed to get our hands on a pre-launch sample — and lord knows we’ve got plenty of thoughts.

First, the details. The release was blended by Maestra Tequilera Carmen Villarreal, whose husband is often credited with creating the world’s first extra añejo in 1991. Limited to a total release of 435 bottles available at $2,300 each, the elusive tequila comprises a blend of three batches: Two aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon barrels and one aged for seven years in a port pipe. The expression is bottled at 46.3% ABV, well above average for a tequila, but below the benchmark typically expected from a collector-worthy whiskey.

The concept of an ultra-aged, ultra-expensive tequila is something of a novelty, and there are more than a few reasons we don’t usually see the concept executed at this high a level.

For one, agave spirits are rarely matured for over five years. Part of this lies in the liquid itself: Agave is a peppery, vegetal and oftentimes subtle flavor, and even a handful of months in the barrel can overwhelm the finer details. The other, more practical hurdle is the angel’s share reaped by Mexico’s climate. Unlike Scotland, where frigid winds can lock whisky inside a cask for decades, a great deal of tequila left to rest in Mexico is bound to evaporate under the beating sun. Even in a temperature-controlled cellar, the angel’s share for tequila is around three to four times higher than that of most other spirits. For producers hiding away barrels of soon-to-be $2,300 juice, that’s a lot of lost product.

Last, and perhaps most importantly, there are the distilleries themselves. Most of the cult-hit, so-called “unicorn” producers — places like Fortaleza, Cascahuin and El Pandillo — aren’t known for their extra añejos, but rather for their blancos. From a marketing perspective, this makes it all the more difficult for a brand like The Last Drop to justify, let alone source, an exorbitantly expensive tequila on par with a Macallan Scotch or a Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon.

Can Casa San Matias, a distillery best known for budget-friendly fare that rarely costs a cent above $70, live up to The Last Drop’s lofty goals?

Reviewing The Last Drop No. 40

The Last Drop No. 40 was limited to a total release of 435 bottles, and suffice it to say we didn’t pick up a full 750-milliliter. For the first, and probably last time in our tequila reviewing career, we received a 50-milliliter shooter with a wax-dripped seal.

Poured into a glass, the tequila has a coppery, light caramel hue reminiscent of an añejo or robust reposado. At first glance, we wouldn’t have guessed it was blended from 7- and 10-year-old reserves. But the aroma told an entirely different story. The nose overflows with vivid scents of cinnamon dessert, leading with chewy hits of coffee crumble cake, hazelnut, molasses and vanilla ice cream. A celebration of all things rich and custardy. Hints of stewed plum, orange and roasted agave emerged after a few whiffs, adding some welcome breathing room.

The palate homes in on a similar mix of vibes. Flashes of cherry, raisin, milk chocolate, marmalade and almond call to mind port casks, while heftier flavors of toffee and leather feel decidedly bourbon-inspired. Far from overoaked, we also tasted subtle hints of flowers and flaky pastry dough, alongside a bittersweet clove note that began to crescendo toward the finish.

The backend introduces a medley of flaky sea salt, baking spice, black pepper and tobacco, balanced out by dried fruit sweetness and a dollop of roasted agave.

The Last Drop No. 40 is one of the finest tequilas we’ve tried all year, right up there with aged expressions like Suerte Black Label and El Tesoro Yamazaki Cask. It’s elegant, complex and wonderfully rich in dessert flavor, adding up to a truly unique experience that maybe, just maybe, justifies its inclusion in the pantheon of unicorn tequilas.