No, this is not the smooth, womanizing, tall, dark, and handsome man of whom you all may be thinking. Look again; it’s Don Julio not Don Juan. Although there are some similarities between this tequila and the fictional person, one should not be confused for the other. Let me see if I can make this absolutely clear for everyone.
Don Julio tequila is produced at “La Primavera” distillery in Los Altos de Jalisco in Mexico. Don Juan is a character of Spanish legend dating back as far as the 17th century. A quick look at a map will show you that Mexico and Spain are not the same country. No contest there.
Don Julio started his tequila journey in 1942 as a young man. Don Julio only uses fully-matured, ripened agave plants that can take between 7 and 10 years to ripen! Of course, this can only be accomplished in the highlands of the Jalisco region. Don Julio even has a special process for cultivating the agave that leaves only the body of the plant. Don Julio slowly cooks the agave in masonry ovens to obtain the juice used for fermentation and then double distilled. His passion for the growth, cultivation, and distillation of the agave plant has lead to a hand-crafted tequila that is well-known throughout Mexico. The distillery has been using the same processes for over 60 years.
Don Julio Blanco has a fresh, crisp tequila scent with hints of citrus. I can only imagine that, if he were real, Don Juan would smell like a musty, sweaty man (they did not have deodorant in the 17th century). This one is a no-brainer, with the tequila a clear winner. So now we arrive at the best part of any liquor review, the drinking. It is here that we finally come to one similarity, smooth. Don Julio Blanco and Don Juan are both very smooth. Blanco goes down nice and easy. The fresh citrus notes really shine through for me. There is a slight spiciness on your tongue and at the back of your throat that finishes clean. The aftertaste tastes green. I know a color does not describe a taste, but I guess you could say that it tastes like fresh agave would, but it’s not overwhelming.
When mixing Blanco with Sprite, I must say that I was a little disappointed. The Sprite covers up the clean tequila taste and adds an unpleasant artificial flavor to the agave aftertaste. Not everyone agreed with my assessment, but they’re not writing the review. I must say that I rather enjoyed Don Julio Blanco with a simple margarita mixer. I felt that the flavor of the tequila worked quite well with the sour and citrus flavors of the mixer. This is definitely the way to go and I thoroughly enjoyed my drinks in this fashion.
We now arrive at our second similarity, drunkenness. While Don Juan may get you love-drunk with his devilish good looks and charm, Don Julio Blanco will get you nice and liquored up with it’s 80-proof muscle. Here at BoozeBasher, we prefer the liquor drunk route. So this means that Don Julio wins again! The next morning, though, Don Julio will not be treating you as well as Don Juan might. You will encounter the same problem that all tequilas have, the hangover. I was not completely worthless the next day, but I was no spring chicken either. In this case, the choice is yours as to which Don is victorious, but there is still a very clear difference between the two.
So, to recap, Don Julio does not equal Don Juan. You can pick up a bottle of Blanco for $50. While you’ll never be able to buy a Don Juan, you can pick up a book about him for $13. Overall, Don Julio Blanco was an enjoyable experience, and it even did well with the seasoned tequila drinkers (Wade and myself) in the blind tasting last month. You can read more about here. Salud!
Shootability- 7.0
Mixability - 7.0
Drunkability - 7.5
Hangover-ability - 7.0
Bang for the Buck - 4.0
Overall - 7.0 
Comments
I agree. This is a good one. I enjoyed some shots after it was chilled. Mmmmmm. Delicioso!
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