Tasting: 2 Tequilas from Siempre Tequila (Plata, Reposado)

There are few places on the American package store shelf where more jockeying for position is currently happening than in the world of tequila, and few niches within the spirits world where it’s more difficult to make a brand stand out based solely on the merits or details of its production. This is due in some respects to the relatively high bar of regulation involved in tequila production–distilleries tend to produce it the same way, especially if they’re using the more widely respected traditional methods (brick ovens, tahonas, etc.), rather than modern tools like autoclaves or diffusors. Short of getting geeky about your specific agave sourcing, how does one make a new silver tequila sound different or special compared to a competitor’s tequila that is produced in almost exactly the same way? This is perhaps why the tequila industry has been so associated instead in recent years with celebrity ownership and sponsorship–it is, after all, rather easier to market The Rock or George Clooney than the nitty gritty of agriculture, fermentation and distillation. Celebrity has become so associated with the tequila market, in fact, that one of the faster-rising national brands in the U.S., Siempre Tequila, has instead chosen to highlight its lack of celebrity ownership as a selling point via the following slogan: “Celebrity Not Required.”

Siempre, however, isn’t exactly a new brand. It was founded in 2014 and is currently available in 28 U.S. states, having undergone a recent brand redesign. Founded by Monica-Patricia Sanita-Ramirez and Alex Lacroix, and inspired by the mezcal-making history of Sanita-Ramirez’s grandmother, it’s a traditionally produced tequila eschewing most modern shortcuts, with agave pinas steamed in brick ovens and crushed via roller mill before open-air fermentation and double distillation in copper pot stills. The two products I have to taste today–the Siempre Tequila Plata and Reposado–actually hail from two different distilleries, with the Plata being produced at NOM 1414 (Feliciano Vivanco y Asociados, S.A. de C.V.) under Master Distiller Sergio Cruz, and the Reposado at NOM 1438 (Destiladora del Valle de Tequila Casa Maestri) under Master Distiller Agustin Sánchez Rodríguez. With MSRPs of $50 and $60, they’re somewhere in the modern tequila midshelf, though both weigh in at a basic 40% ABV (80 proof).

So with that said, let’s get to tasting these two Siempre Tequila expressions.

Siempre Tequila Plata

MSRP: $50

The company notes that the agave for Siempre Plata was grown on Vivanco Family Estate Farms, and fermented via the “Mozart Method”–which literally involves playing classical music at the fermenting agave, if you were wondering–with a blend of rum and champagne yeast, creating “a balanced flavor that combines highland and lowland characteristics.” All bottles are made of 100% recycled glass, with labels made from agave and hemp fibers, and closures of 100% natural cork.

On the nose, Siempre Plata is pleasant and approachable, redolent in fresh agave and white pepper spiciness, with flashes of sea salt and a little dried herbaceousness. On the palate, the mouthfeel is more robust than one would expect for the low proof point, with a slick and oily texture. Black pepper is big on the palate, with accompanying character of mildly roasted agave, salt, bay leaf and pear fruit. Residual sweetness is mild to moderate, conveying a pleasant richness to the dram. Ethanol is unsurprisingly quite mild at this proof point.

All in all? It’s just a pretty versatile, standard, traditionally produced tequila that is ready to step in to any purpose you would put it toward. The lower proof point perhaps holds this one back from expressing itself as boldly as it would like, but you can’t argue with the classic flavor profile. This would fit with pretty much any way one likes to consume tequila.

Siempre Tequila Reposado

MSRP: $60

Siempre Reposado is made via what sounds like a somewhat more complex process than the Plata, with the marketing material mentioning the expected American ex-whiskey barrel aging for “up to 6 months,” but then also citing its aging in “American oak pipones,” which are larger wood tanks. Likewise, Siempre says this expression was made from a “50/50 blend of agaves sourced from the valley and highlands.”

Immediately in the glass, one notes that this is a very lightly colored tequila, even by reposado standards. It’s almost clear in a small volume glass, with just a subtle golden sheen to it. On the nose, agave has become more faint than it was with the Plata, harder to trace down, though the pepper is still there in abundance. This is joined by a light butteriness and suggestion of popcorn, with a bit more floral character as well.

On the palate, it seems to me that the barrel-aging the Siempre Reposado has undergone has had the effect of scrubbing away some of the fresher agave notes found in the Plata, without replacing them with much. I’m getting faint caramel candies or butterscotch, mingled with caramel apple, a little clove and some mustiness that unfortunately evokes wet cardboard. The alcohol, likewise, seems more prominent and “raw” in the flavor profile here in comparison with the livelier flavors of the Plata. The moderate residual sweetness is fine, but it’s the loss of the more engaging agave flavors from the prior brand that seem to be hurting this reposado most.

All in all, I’m not sure this is the reposado tequila for me. I’d be more likely to stick with the sunny and approachable Siempre Plata.

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident craft beer and spirits geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.