Taste Testing Maestro Dobel Diamante Reposado Tequila, The World's First Cristalino

Say what you will but the Cristalino appears to have become entrenched as a bonafide category of Tequila of its own, with ever more producers now fielding their own Cristalino, alongside the once staple age-tiered trio of the Blanco, Reposado and Anejo. 

At its core, the Cristalino is an aged Tequila that at its simplest has been filtered using activated charcoal in order to remove the tannins imparted by time in oak barrels - this is said to remove the harshness and bitterness of the Tequila, whilst preserving the depth and richness that comes with ageing, with of course also the notable aesthetic effect of producing a clear spirit despite its ageing in wood that would otherwise colour in gold if not amber. And so in that sense, the Cristalino as a category steps outside of the classic age-based classification, and instead offers a new qualifier that is more a process that the Tequila goes through than it is a matter of what the Tequila is. Like anything striking, this has of course divided Tequila fans, with some touting its ease of drinking (citing its smoothness) and if anything, its ability at drawing new Tequila fans, whilst the traditionalists have been quick to call it an abomination that is all marketing hype at best, and a lesser Tequila at worst. 

A Tequilero holding a charcoal carbon filter.

Regardless, it's clear that most major Tequila producers seem to think that the results justify its existence and have thus produced Cristalino's for well over a decade now, even as the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (the industry's regulators) have yet to officially recognise the style despite having laid out several qualifying criteria for what counts as a Cristalino.

So where did it all begin? Unlike many standards and classifications that we have today that come from undefined sources, or perhaps a broad practice that over time became formalised, the Cristalino does in fact come from a definite ground zero - the Maestro Dobel Diamante. 

Juan Domingo Beckmann Legorreta.

Maestro Dobel was originally founded in 2003, but would really only get the ball rolling in 2008 - the very year they released the Diamante, or Diamond as it was called then - having been established by 11th-generation Juan Domingo Beckmann Legorreta of the family behind Jose Cuervo (one of Tequila's four founding families, and of course the world's best selling Tequila brand), and thus takes its name from the acronym of Beckmann's name. It was created in collaboration with Maestros Marco Anguiano and Luis Yerenas with the goal of producing luxury Tequilas made with modernised craftsmanship. Under the Maestro Dobel name, Tequilas would be produced from 100% Blue Agave that comes from a single family-owned estate in Tequila of Jalisco, Mexico, along with natural spring water drawn from naturally-occurring underground aquifers originating from the region's volcano. It would also be uniquely packaged in a vintage apothecary-style bottle that is inspired by laboratory sample bottles used by the distillery's distillers to reflect that cutting edge sensibility.

And so to that end, they hit it off with the Maestro Dobel Diamante, introducing the world to the Cristalino. This was a double-distilled and double-filtered blend of Extra Anejo, Anejo and Reposado Tequilas that were aged in new Eastern European white oak barrels sourced from the Balkan region, which was then charcoal filtered. The label states it as a Reposado given that that's the youngest spirit of the blend. It's bottled at 40% ABV.

Let's give it a go!

Tequila Review: Maestro Dobel Diamante Reposado Tequila, 40% ABV (80 Proof)

Tasting Notes

Colour: Clear

Aroma: Opens really fresh and clean with forward scents of cooked agave, rather vegetal of eggplants and zucchini, yet at the same time it's backed up by a richness of vanilla with little drizzles of butterscotch. Tinges of delicate citrusy outlines and a touch of pepper and almonds. There are warmer woody tones that serve as the canvas, giving it a more mellowed depth. No sharpness, with then a gradient to its aromas.

Taste: Medium-bodied, it's richer and more luscious, with this time the cooked agave vegetals more gentle and integrated to the more earthy tones of oak and brown sugar. It's alittle more concentrated and mellow, yet still rather lifted and without much overt heaviness. There's cracks of black pepper, vanilla cream, with again light flashes of citrus and delicate touches of white chocolate.

Finish: Clean finish, the fresh vegetals, citruses and white florals surface more prominently. Little bit of cream richness, before a crisp finish that's followed by a deep and firm warmth.

My Thoughts

A pretty classic Cristalino that ticks all of the boxes, balancing both freshness and earthy tones, where you're always getting that vegetal cooked agave leading the charge, which then cascades through towards richer, more earthy tones of oak, brown sugar and chocolate. It shows good richness, it's certainly really luscious on the palate, and yet delightfully finishes off clean and crisp, which makes it a really enjoyable sipper, not to mention its lack of any sharpness - it's in fact quite mellow and concentrated. There's also some nice complexity here, again blending the best of both worlds of a younger and an older Tequila, ranging from citruses and white florals to chocolate, butterscotch and nuts. Granted it's not mindblowing today, but I can certainly see why it was such a big deal when it first came out close to two decades ago. All in all, a very enjoyable classic that doesn't break the bank and something that's a crowdpleaser which you're not going to really ever get tired of.