Review: ArteNom Seleccion de 1579 Blanco Tequila
ArteNom Seleccion de 1579 Blanco Tequila is crafted by Felipe Camarena at Destilera El Pandillo 6788 feet above sea level in the town of Jesus Maria Jalisco Mexico. This distillery produces a limited number of tequilas including G4, Primo 1861, Terralta, Volans, and Don Vicente. Jacob Lustig launched the ArteNom brand in 2010. Jake had worked for 11 years at Southern Wine and Spirits as their in-house expert on agave spirits. He worked closely with over 40 distilleries and over time he discovered his favorite blanco, reposado, and anejo tequilas were made by different distilleries. The ArteNom brand also includes ArteNom 1123, a Blanco rested 28 days in a barrel that previously aged Don Amado Mezcal, ArteNom 1414 Reposado, and ArteNom1146 Anejo. ArteNom 1579 is made with 100% agave grown in the Los Altos region with a brix count of 28, 50% rain water, and 50% mineral rich deep well water. The trimmed pinas are halved and quartered then steam roasted in a brick kiln oven for 30 hours including a 6 hour pre roast to melt off bitters, and a 6 hour cool down. The pinas are macerated intact with their fibers by a mechanical tahona to extract the juice. The spirit is double distilled in copper pot stills followed by a 24 hour oxygenation process before it is bottled. The aroma leads with cooked agave, vanilla, and citrus. Additional time brings out herbal and mint notes. The sweet agave entry is joined by citrus building to a milky orange peak. It fades with orange peel and steamed agave and finishes with mineral, mint, bittersweet agave fiber, floral, and black pepper. ArteNom Seleccion de 1579 Blanco tequila is a well crafted tequila with a tasty flavor profile.
NOM: 1579
40.7% Alcohol
Highland Region
Score: 90
Award: Silver Medal