September may be National Bourbon Heritage Month, but appreciating America’s native spirit doesn’t mean bourbon drinkers have to spend the entire month drinking nothing else. In fact, one of the more interesting ways to understand what years in an oak barrel can do to a spirit is to see how those same influences translate beyond whiskey.
That brings us to tequila, and more specifically Espolòn Tequila Añejo, an aged tequila with a particularly interesting connection to Kentucky bourbon.
Espolòn Añejo spends 10 months aging in American oak barrels before receiving an additional two-month finish in Wild Turkey bourbon barrels. For bourbon drinkers who might normally overlook tequila, that final step provides a familiar bridge between two spirits with very different beginnings.
Tequila, of course, begins with agave while bourbon begins with grain, but once oak enters the equation there are similarities worth exploring. Aging can introduce vanilla, caramel, baking spice, dried fruit and deeper roasted flavors to both spirits, depending on the barrel and maturation process.
Espolòn takes that connection a step further by finishing its Añejo in Wild Turkey No. 4 alligator-char bourbon barrels, allowing some of those familiar bourbon-barrel characteristics to become part of the finished tequila without covering up the agave underneath.
“Barrel selection is an important part of what makes an Añejo unique,” Jesus Susunaga Acosta said. “Espolòn Añejo begins with 10 months in American oak before a two-month finish in Wild Turkey No. 4 alligator-char bourbon barrels, adding layers of butterscotch, caramel, vanilla and dried fruit while keeping the agave at the forefront.”
For bourbon drinkers, the Wild Turkey connection alone makes Espolòn Añejo an interesting bottle to explore during National Bourbon Heritage Month. The heavily charred finishing barrels provide a direct link to Kentucky whiskey while demonstrating what happens when a barrel that once influenced bourbon is given an entirely different spirit to work with.
The result isn’t tequila trying to become bourbon, nor should it be. The attraction comes from discovering some of the flavors bourbon drinkers recognize — caramel, vanilla, dried fruit and oak — built around the distinctly different character of aged agave.
“Tequila has a natural place in the dark-spirit conversation,” Acosta said. “Espolòn Añejo and bourbon may start with very different liquids, but both show how much character can come from time spent in oak.”
That makes Espolòn particularly interesting for a Bourbon Flight audience. Many whiskey drinkers have become increasingly adventurous about barrel finishes, seeking bourbons and ryes matured in everything from port and sherry casks to rum, cognac and tequila barrels. Turning that idea around and tasting an añejo tequila influenced by bourbon barrels offers another perspective on how much the previous contents and treatment of a barrel can shape the next spirit that enters it.
There is also an easy way to put the comparison to work without abandoning one of whiskey’s most familiar cocktails: Make an Old Fashioned.
The traditional Old Fashioned is beautifully simple, which is one reason it has endured. Spirit, sweetener and bitters leave very few places for mediocre ingredients to hide. Replace the whiskey with a mature añejo tequila and the cocktail changes considerably while remaining immediately recognizable.
For an Espolòn Añejo Old Fashioned, combine 2 parts Espolòn Tequila Añejo, 0.25 parts simple syrup and two dashes of Angostura bitters in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until properly chilled, then strain into a rocks glass over a large block of fresh ice and finish with an orange twist.
The simplicity of the recipe allows the barrel influence to remain noticeable. Caramel and vanilla provide some of the familiarity a bourbon drinker expects from an Old Fashioned, while cooked agave and the tequila’s underlying character take the drink somewhere entirely different.
“The Añejo Old Fashioned is a great example of how naturally tequila can fit into the dark-spirit conversation,” Acosta said. “The simplicity of Añejo, agave syrup and bitters allows the spirit’s rich caramel and vanilla notes to shine, while the agave keeps the cocktail distinctly tequila.”
There is one slight variation worth trying as well. Acosta references agave syrup, while Espolòn’s provided recipe calls for simple syrup. Either can work, but using agave syrup makes considerable sense for someone wanting the cocktail’s tequila character to remain front and center. Bourbon drinkers who prefer a traditional Old Fashioned profile may find simple syrup provides the more familiar starting point.
No one is suggesting replacing your favorite Kentucky bourbon during National Bourbon Heritage Month. Around here, that would be close to heresy.
But bourbon appreciation has increasingly become an appreciation for barrels, maturation and the remarkable number of flavors oak can create. A tequila that spends its final two months resting in heavily charred Wild Turkey bourbon barrels fits nicely into that conversation.
For the bourbon drinker who has been curious about aged tequila but hasn’t known where to begin, an Añejo Old Fashioned might be one of the easiest introductions possible. The cocktail is familiar, the bourbon-barrel connection is legitimate and there are enough caramel, vanilla and oak notes to make a whiskey drinker feel at home.
The agave reminds you that you’ve ventured somewhere new.
And during National Bourbon Heritage Month, there is nothing wrong with occasionally seeing what bourbon’s barrels can do after the bourbon is gone.
Espolòn Old Fashioned
2 Parts Espolòn Tequila Añejo
0.25 Parts Simple Syrup
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
– Method: Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over a large block of fresh ice, and garnish with an orange twist.
