Sip greenville south carolina how to#

They have an extensive wine selection as well as beer.

His first love remains whiskey, but he is partial to tequila, rum, gin, cognac and all things distilled.There is great potential at SIP.it has a fabulous, it's in it's infancy as far as the culinary selections go.but, the cocktails seem fair.

His work has appeared in many different national outlets covering trends, new releases, and the stories and innovators behind the spirits. Jonah Flicker is an experienced writer who has been covering spirits and traveling the world visiting distilleries for many years. This roundup was edited by Jesse Porter, who got into tequila by way of big, oaky añejos.and then discovered the visceral joy of bright, clean blancos.and then realized that well-balanced reposados represented the best of both worlds.and finally came to accept that he just really loved them all. You can assume a tequila is a mixto if it doesn't state anywhere on the bottle that it's made of 100 percent agave (a phrase that you'll notice is absent from the labels of the bottom-shelf brands that might have traumatized you during college). While many tequilas at varying price points will boast that they're made of 100 percent blue Weber agave (including all of those featured in this roundup), the law technically only requires that agave compose 51 percent of any given tequila, and a bottle that's not entirely made from agave is known as a 'mixto.' Producers employ various types of sugar to make up the remaining percentage, including high fructose corn syrup and molasses-although sometimes a lightly processed Mexican cane sugar known as piloncillo is what's used. Between the income lost during the waiting period and the actual spirit lost to evaporation, tequila will inevitably get more expensive the older it gets-a characteristic it shares with nearly every other aged spirit. And then there's the time: a reposado must age for a minimum of 60 days, and an añejo must age for at least a year. Oak barrels cost money (even if they're previously-used barrels sourced from whiskey distilleries), and the investment in quality cooperage is reflected in the price of your reposado or añejo. It's a two-part answer: the time and the barrels. Why are aged tequilas more expensive than unaged? This limits the ability of producers to respond quickly to changing market trends, and several well-publicized agave shortages in recent years have demonstrated the role that scarcity plays in the booming world of agave spirits. Unlike spirits such as whiskey or vodka, which are made from plants that yield a crop every year, tequila is made from a plant that takes a minimum of about seven years to reach maturity. If they're made from 100 percent blue Weber agave, yes, they can be-and that has everything to do with the specific limitations of working with agave. Just seek out a gorgeous reposado like the Cazadores ( view on Drizly) or an under-the-radar blanco sleeper like the Pueblo Viejo ( view on ), and you'll be transported straight to Jalisco for the mere cost of a checked-bag fee.įAQs Are cheap tequilas more expensive than other affordable spirits? Tequila's obviously having a huge moment right now-but despite the category's surge in popularity, you don't need to spend the equivalent of a plane ticket to Mexico in order to avail yourself of some serious blue Weber quality.

Sip greenville south carolina how to#

We spoke with some expert bartenders and beverage consultants from the United States Bartenders’ Guild to find out what some of their favorite cheap bottles of tequila are, along with some recommendations on how to use them in cocktails. Whether you're blending your tequila into a Margarita, serving it on the rocks, or simply sipping it neat, there's a budget bottle out there with your name on it. 100 percent blue Weber agave, oven cooking, stone crushing, etc.), while others employ modern technologies like autoclaves and diffusers, but all of them represent good bang for the buck in a category that's becoming pricier by the day.Ĭrafted with blue Weber agave, Pueblo Viejo Blanco is our top choice no matter how you drink it. Some of these are made with very traditional ingredients and methods (e.g. Tequila is a category that's gotten a lot of attention in recent years, and the most exclusive bottlings are commanding increasingly elevated prices-but in all the excitement about the latest extra añejo or celebrity vanity project, it's easy to forget about the quality budget tequilas that continue to represent incredible values.