Alongside a feast that included semita poblana, tetelas de camaron, chuleta de cerdo en guasmole, and arroz con leche, Adobo Grill (110 E. Washington St., 317-822-9990) unveiled a new line of cocktails spiked with Casa Noble tequila last Wednesday night. Winner of the Double Gold Medal from the San Francisco and World Spirits Competition, Casa Noble tequilas are considered among the best to come from our friends south of the border.
For the event, guests were seated at a table lined with three Casa Noble tequilas and agualmiel (honey water). Casa Noble owner and seventh-generation tequila-maker Jose Heriberto Castro Hermosillo was on hand to guide everyone through the tasting tour, providing instruction on how to get a full visceral experience by using all of the body’s senses when sipping the label’s complex blanco tequila. First, look at the tequila to see the clarity and purity. Then, smell the variety of aromas (white pepper, citrus, and black cherry). Next, take a swig while breathing out through the nose. If guests did this correctly, they could taste all of the flavors they smelled, including the smokiness from the oak barrels.
The first of three cocktails sampled, the Casa Noble Margarita, is the classic cocktail made with blanco tequila that combines the sweetness of the sugars with the spice and bite of the tequila. (According to Hermosillo, Casa Noble’s blanco tequila is best right before a meal, to help relax and open the senses.) Next came Adobo’s new Fiesta Tropical cocktail, which combines pineapple, lime, honey, and ginger with reposado tequila for the perfect summer drink, emphasizing the spice of the reposado while leaving a fresh aftertaste. The last tequila and cocktail showcased was Casa Noble’s añejo and Adobo’s Sangre de Jalisco. The añejo tequila has a dark tint and smells of dark chocolate. Though this tequila had more of a bite to it than the others, the drink’s myriad flavors from blood-orange liqueur, blood-orange juice, and agave nectar pleasantly covered the sting and highlighted the smoky, dark-chocolate taste of añejo tequila.
