Long before cristalino was a category, Don Lázaro Gallardo was already tinkering with the idea that tequila didn’t necessarily have to be left exactly as he found it.
Founder of Gran Centenario, Gallardo began crafting tequila at Ex Hacienda Los Camichines in 1857. His Selección Suave process blended younger tequilas with aged reserves in pursuit of a particular balance and flavor. By 1895, Centenario Tequila had arrived.
In 1920, Lázaro’s son Luciano pushed the brand forward again, creating its distinctive Art Deco bottle, complete with the Angel of Independence.
More than a century later, that same instinct to move tequila somewhere new brings us to Gran Centenario Cristalino.
It begins as a blend of añejo and extra añejo tequilas aged in new American oak. They are blended, finished in casks previously used for Calvados—the apple brandy of Normandy—and then put through a proprietary filtration process using Mexican silver, returning an aged tequila to crystal clarity.
There is something fascinating, and to this reviewer also very frustrating, about intentionally working to create aged tequila and then filtering out much of the goodness that was earned through time in the barrels. The gentle vanillin and caramel flavors that oak by itself can produce are typically filtered out in creating a cristalino, leaving an unusual sweetness and an imbalance to the overall flavor and finish.
In the case of the Gran Centenario Cristalino, the experience seems incredibly overproduced by man-made interference and significantly less graced by the process of nature.
On the sip, sweetness quickly dominates the experience, joined by a vanilla character that feels more confectionery than naturally made. Rather than finding balance, those flavors crowd what’s left of the agave flavor and make the final expression very disconnected. The sweetness persists through the finish, leaving a long aftertaste that, to my palate, feels exceptionally inauthentic.
Nose: Vanilla (inauthentic) / hint of cinnamon / floral, like perfume / banana / melon / tangerine / anise / celery / orange blossom / baking spices / honey / molasses
Taste: Sweetness (inauthentic) / vanilla (inauthentic) / mild cinnamon / cooked agave / banana / pineapple / tangerine / lime / anise / baking spices / honey / molasses / spearmint / hint of chocolate / cream soda
Finish: Syrup-like mouthfeel coats the palate completely / the heavy inauthentic-tasting vanilla and sweetness overpower the overall taste / there is a medicinal quality to the taste and feel / a touch of cooked agave pops out briefly but is overrun by the lingering vanilla and unusual sweetness / the taste of molasses, baking spices, and a hint of cream soda provides the final flavors of the last swallow
More than 165 years ago, Lázaro Gallardo was already asking what might happen if he changed the tequila in front of him. Only now, Gran Centenario’s Cristalino may have deviated much farther than the Gallardo family ever intended.
Despite the beautiful Art Deco bottle and all the great history of what the Gallardos created so long ago, I cannot recommend this expression.
NOM | 1122 |
|---|---|
Agave | Jalisco (Los Valles) |
Cooking | Stone or brick ovens |
Extraction | Roller mill |
Water | Deep well water |
Fermentation | Stainless steel tanks |
Still | Copper pot |
Age | Blend of añejo and extra añejo aged in new American oak, finished in Calvados casks, then filtered with Mexican silver to remove color |
ABV | 40% |
Tequila Report Score: 73
73 points out of 100 (3.7 out of 5 points)
Price $89.99
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