Thirsty Thursday Eve - Kirkland Signature Tequila Reposado

After discovering that Costco's Tequila Reposado was almost identical in price per volume to their Tequila Blanco, I had to compare the two.

Name: Tequila Reposado
Source: Kirkland Signature
Style: Tequila
ABV: 40%
Price: $14.49
Volume: 1L
Price per oz: $0.43

I uncorked the new bottle and poured a shot of each side by side. Fortunately, I had a single shot left from the Blanco for the comparison. This would equip me with the information to decide if I would buy another bottle of Blanco or just start keeping Reposado on hand.

Most obviously, the color of the Reposado was pretty visibly darker. Not quite bourbon or black rum dark, but something like a watered down cola. The Blanco is indistinguishable from water at a glance.

Although I am frequently advised against it, I always have to smell a new alcohol before I drink it. The Reposado didn't really have much of a smell. I'm not sure if it's because of less volatile esters or if something about the process removes some of the components that give a smell, I had to really give it a good whiff to detect the odor. In contrast, the Blanco smelled... well, it smelled like cheap tequila. I mean, it IS cheap tequila, so that is to be expected. The surprising part was that the Reposado, at the same price, smelled significantly less cheap.

Finally, the taste. Despite the Blanco smelling like cheap tequila, the flavor is fairly neutral. I suppose this is an expected trait of a while liquor, but it just tasted vaguely alcoholic. The Reposado tasted... more intense for lack of a better term. It didn't have more of an alcohol burn - they're the same proof - but I felt like the non-alcohol components of the flavor were more present in the Reposado.

Given the choice between the two of them, I would probably opt for the Reposado. However, I need to run the same taste test against my cousin, since he's the main consumer of tequila in my house. If he prefers the Blanco, I'll eventually finish off the Reposado and migrate back to the Blanco.

I typically prefer brown liquor over white liquor anyway, so the result wasn't entirely surprising. Give me a bourbon or a dark rum any day over vodka. However, I do like to keep a bottle of most styles of distilled spirits on hand. Kirkland Signature tequila scratches the itch, and the Blanco and Reposado are both contenders worth your attention. If you tend to prefer white or brown liquor, in my experience those preferences will hold true here. If you're just exploring tequila for the first time, the Reposado is the same price per volume in a smaller bottle, so it's a smaller investment.