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House of Rare Founder’s Cut Blanco spirit image
84

House of Rare Founder’s Cut Blanco

  • Distiller

    Herencia De Agaves

  • Bottler

    House of Rare

  • ABV

    46%

  • Age

    NAS

  • Price $100 to $199.99

Originally launched as a dedicated barrel-aging curation program, House of Rare recently acquired its own distillery (NOM 1648) and has moved into the distillate game. Its Founder's Cut Blanco is priced at an intriguingly high $180 and was limited to a total of 777 bottles. The tequila makes use of 7-year-old single-estate agaves cooked in traditional brick ovens for 68 hours, crushed with a roller mill and open-air fermented with wild yeasts. Bottled at 46% ABV.

  • Raided Score: 83
  • Agave Matchmaker
  • By Panel Score
  • Agave Matchmaker Panel Score
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  • Raided Score: 84
  • The Daily Pour
  • By Pedro Wolfe
  • A wildly unique flavor profile, and one that will surely be divisive for both tequila novices and die-hards alike. Upon further research, it looks like the distillery is located right next to a eucalyptus tree forest — goes a long way to explain why this turned out how it did.
  • Read Full Review

Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

  • Nose:

    A haymaker of a nose — all bitter, no sweet. A punch of raw agave, saline, tarragon and brambles. There's a cooling edge somewhere between menthol and eucalyptus, and a trace of lime zest that gives it a much needed pop of levity. No mistaking this for anything but a lowland tequila.

  • Taste:

    Flavors of black tea, anise, pine needles and artichoke, paired with a surprising amount of cinnamon rarely found in an unaged blanco. Did I mention this was bitter? The agave feels decidedly raw, not roasted, and there's plenty of salty minerality lingering around in the background.

  • Finish:

    An oily, medium-length finish packs in tilled earth, grassiness, licorice and black pepper. Ends on a spicy note.

  • Overall:

    A wildly unique flavor profile, and one that will surely be divisive for both tequila novices and die-hards alike. Upon further research, it looks like the distillery is located right next to a eucalyptus tree forest — goes a long way to explain why this turned out how it did. If you're interested in tasting a tequila that embraces every last inkling of its terroir, then House of Rare is it. If you're even remotely cautious about shelling out $180 for a blanco, look elsewhere.

  • Score:

    84

  • Disclosure: The producer provided this sample to review free of charge, and without expectation of review or rating.

  • By Pedro Wolfe
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources