Dos Hombres Blanco

A celebrity tequila brand worth your support? I say yes. After six years developing the Dos Hombres mezcal brand, actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul (who first met when they worked together on the seminal TV series, Breaking Bad), have rolled out their first tequila. They evaluated seven distilleries along the way and settled on Tequilera Tap (NOM 1614) in Amatitán. This is a positive development for the brand, as the distillery also makes the highly regarded Cazcanes, Inspiro, and Tres Agaves brands, as well as fellow newish celebrity entrant Pantalones.

Dos Hombres is made with a blended cooking process of 75% autoclave and 25% stone oven. Overall, it's not the most artisanal process, but it certainly isn't a massive-volume, diffuser-made tequila either. As you'll see in the feature article, I wrote about this launch. Cranston and Paul were very involved all the way through the process, they give back a lot to local communities in Mexico, and they coaxed a legendary master distiller out of retirement to take on the brand.

I understand you may hate celebrity tequila on general principle, and that's fine. Personally, my assessment is that celebrities attract people to agave spirits who might not normally consider the category. And as long as those celebrities are producing solid tequila that's well made, I have no problem whatsoever with the premise. Brands like Santo, Insólito, Código 1530, Juan Lobo and others are all celebrity-associated in some form or fashion, and the tequila is sound.

Dos Hombres is no different and this Blanco is certainly in the upper echelon of "celebrity tequilas" on the quality scale. The brand - starting with the mezcal - is very strong in restaurants, bars, and restaurant hotels. Consequently, a lot of their sales volume will be in cocktails, more so than neat pours, and the flavor profile reflects this decision. The tequila is crisp and clean and very easy drinking. Not enormously complex or mysterious, but from sniff to finish it’s just a solid tequila. We don't include "value" in Tequila Report scores because we believe value is extremely subjective, but this Blanco is priced very reasonably at a MSRP of $39.

Aroma: It’s a fairly strong scent overall with loads of minerals, white pepper, and a distinct earthiness. This is not a dainty, Los Altos tequila, but clearly a Valley tequila with that signature grit.

Flavor: Also very gravelly, with a tiny bit of vegetal notes, a small dose of citrus that’s invisible on the nose, and a nice sweetness that hits you as the last memory. I suggest giving this a little air, as it definitely opens up over time.

Finish: It’s a good business decision because the finish will stand out in cocktails - even very sweet chain restaurant margarita recipes - and you’ll know you’re drinking tequila. But for me, as someone who almost only drinks tequila neat - including for this review - the finish is more hot and aggressive than I prefer.

Overall, this is a quality tequila. Selfishly, as much as I travel, I hope it’s a big success and ends up in a lot of restaurants and airports and similar places where the only credible option today is Patrón.