Good to know, thanks for the heads up. I still have a Fortaleza Still Strength and a G4108 so I’ll nurse those for now. I’ve added some Terraltas to an online cart though haha so I appreciate the recommendation.
Old Town Tequila (in Old Town, of course, not far from the airport if someone has a longer layover) has a restaurant and bar above the shop that has a decent selection available to taste. Bring a designated driver lol.
You prefer Terralta XA over just Anejo? I’ve tended more toward Anejo or even reposado, seems like the extra age and barrel exposure masks the agave, without adding complexity as it does in some other spirits.
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Personal taste preference. XA is usually something Bourbon/Whiskey lovers jam.
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Heading out to Murciégalo Mezcaleria tonight. Usually fun stuff occurs there.
5 Sentidos is terrific stuff. They made a Sierra Negra that’s one of my favorites ever.
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Where u living now Doc? Assuming you can’t drop in to Bandon for a drink.
Mérida, MX.
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Incredible florals, easy to smell without nose getting close to jicara. Smooth and tasty with citrus & smoke playing nicely together.
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That NOM (1579) is known for being restrained, and only uses used oak in their aging.
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We’re gonna have to listen to this guy tell us about all the great stuff he drinks that never sees the light of day here in the states 
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I posted this on Friday in the Dry January thread. Thought it was worth reposting here. FWIW, the tequila I was looking for was Forteleza.
How’s this for karma though?
I’ve been trying to avoid anything alcohol related so that includes going to the LWS. Reading WB is an exception and looking at the agave and tequila threads alerted me to several producers that I enjoy becoming increasingly hard to find at retail. So, I scoured the websites of my local stores and made some calls. Eventually finding two bottles of the producer I was looking for at a store that’s 15-20 minutes away. I was working from home yesterday, so decided to cut my day short around 4pm and head up to the store to grab those bottles. Mentally, I knew that this was a bad idea on multiple levels, especially during Dry January. But these bottles are rare and getting more rare by the day. And that’s when karma kicked in.
After buying the bottles, I hopped in my car for the ride home. As I was leaving the parking lot, my car started to make a loud noise. At first I thought it was transmission related (fuck!) and then began to think it had something to do with the muffler. I’m supposed to take this car to Vermont today, so I was anxious. I called my guy at the dealership and he told me to bring it over. Got there and he pointed to a hole in the exhaust that’s probably causing the issue. Gave me a loaner so they could take their time and fix the car.
I put the bag of tequila on the front seat of the loaner and drove home. When I got out of the car, I grabbed the bag of booze and the bottom of the bag ripped and one of the bottles fell onto the driveway. Luckily (depending on your viewpoint) the bottle bounced off the top of my foot before it hit the driveway and somehow didn’t break. But my foot was throbbing.
Bottom line…karma is a bitch to the tune of $1500 of car repairs and a swollen foot.
I guess the moral of the story is don’t mess with the Dry January Gods.
I tracked down a Fortaleza Bianco in NJ for $60. A friend picked it up for me since it wasn’t nearby.
Mike, at least it wasn’t the transmission and a tough call as to foot vs bottle. 3 days until you can partake and ease the pain.
I’m still on the hunt for some so PM me if you have any hints
Thanks
This is how brands jump the price shark. I’ve had Fortaleza, I have a couple bottles stashed away I bought within the past couples years. It’s good. It’s fine. It’s not that different from most other tequilas. It won’t change your life. If you never buy it or taste it, you won’t be missing out on some magical experience. But yet it’s already becoming a semi-cult brand, impossible to find, and prices probably set to hit the ceiling with secondary market demand.
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For sure Alan. I hunt whiskey too so the missing out comes much more frequently than the partaking. And even when you score a cherry, it does not change your life one bit.
Deep Purple said it best
It’s not the kill, it’s the thrill of the chase
Its a supply issue for Fortaleza. They are expanding the distillery, and have been for a couple years, and have had all sorts of issues with getting product across the border.
I do think you underplay the quality, their Blanco and Reposado can be top of heap, are there some odd batches, sure. Anejo is easily one of my favorite, and Still Strength and Winter are great products. None of this makes G4, El Tesoro, Tapatio, Pasote, RDLF, ToL, or others less interesting, delicious, or desirable.
There are so many good items out there, from big companies and small, much like wine it behooves you to try many as stylistically they are very different, even with the same process, just a different water source or oak.
Sorry, not meaning to underplay the quality, I think it is excellent. My tequila palate may just not be sophisticated enough, lol. There are brands I prefer over others, but I am unable to discern differences in tequila the way I do with, say, scotch, or obviously wine.
If I am never able to buy another bottle of fortaleza, I won’t miss it at all. There are a number of other brands I’m happy to drink.
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What you guys have just written is all true. For a long time, I’ve made the effort not to get attached to a specific producer of wine or booze as I know there will come a time where I can’t justify the cost. But for now, I’m happy to buy them when I can find them locally.
The other thing to me is that I distinctly don’t like Clase Azul which has been all the rage for several years now. So the idea that I can grab some Fortaleza for $60/btl when Clase Azul is more like $150/btl makes it feel like I’m getting a bargain. 
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I sold Fortaleza for a long time when I was in WA, so drank it before it became super cool or collectible, I have an affinity for it and worked with their family, and really enjoy the taste of agave, a bit of spice, and the texture they get.
Don’t forget that with agave the life-cycle of a pina is a decade, whereas grapes are annual, so yes, you will get priced out of many tequilas as a tequila lover since agave is on a whole different harvest cycle than grapes, corn, rice, rye, etc…that make up the base of other categories like beer, whiskey, vodka, and wine.
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Just made a 212 cocktail with
2 oz Gritona Reposado
1 oz Aperol
2 oz fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
Shaken and served over fresh ice
and very delicious
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