Partida Tequila

Forget Cinco de Mayo—If you really want to toast our neighbors to the south, you’ll knock back a few on the true Mexican Independence Day, September 16, which happens to be, um, tomorrow. We found a sweet tequila perfect for honoring that Mexican independent streak.

Partida is a 100% blue agave tequila that you can find in three traditional formats—an un-aged Blanco, and a Reposado and Anejo that are aged in Jack Daniels barrels. I started with the Blanco, which is full of heat and lime when you sip it neat. Add ice, and it’s incredibly smooth up front with a bit of pepper on the back end.

Typically, I like Blanco tequila better than its aged version, but Partida’s Reposado’s has a smoky character that I find addictive. The nose is full of caramel, but the sip is almost peaty, like a Scotch. It’s an incredibly smooth, rich drink over ice or even neat—one that you could knock back slowly over an entire evening.

If you do grab yourself a bottle of Partida and start pouring short glasses of this faintly colored Reposado, consider making a Sangrita, aka “little blood,” which is a non-alcoholic drink that’s traditionally used to cleanse the palate between sips of neat tequila. It’s a hell of a drink on its own—mixing hot sauce, tomato juice and a bunch of other fruit juices.

Here’s Partida’s Sangrita recipe. Pour a short glass of Reposado, mix up this beast of a fruit juice, and enjoy Mexican Independence.