Every year, Suerte Tequila releases a special-edition extra añejo tequila. In 2018, that comes in the form of Lucky Lips, a tequila that’s been aged for eight years. This follows last year’s special release, which was aged for seven.
For a tequila to be considered extra añejo — extra aged — it needs to spend at least three years in a barrel that is no larger than 600 liters. For Lucky Lips, that meant aging in American white oak whiskey barrels for the entire maturation period. Due to the extra time that this spirits spent in barrels, this release is extremely limited. We can only assume that the name comes from the fact that, if you are able to try the spirit, your lips are indeed going to be quite lucky. (If you do get to try it, feel free to share it with us.)
To make Lucky Lips (as well as the brand’s blanco, reposado, and añejo expressions), Suerte uses spring water from Atotonilco el Alto in the highlands of Jalisco and agave hearts — known as piñas — that have been slow-roasted for 52 hours, then crushed using a tahona (a large millstone traditionally used by tequila and mezcal makers) to prepare them for fermentation by releasing the sugars from the agave. The crushing takes an additional 16 hours to complete, making it a much longer process than the use of a screw or roller mill, which many other tequila producers employ instead.
Wondering what this eight-year-old tequila tastes like? A full-bodied tequila thanks to the time spent in the barrel, the brand says that you can expect strong notes of oak with hints of vanilla, cinnamon, honey, and even dates.
With a tequila that’s been aged this long, the best way to experience it is neat in a tequila-specific tasting glass (such as this one) or with a rock in a brandy snifter.
Suerte’s Lucky Lips will be available in 24 states, as well as at Suerte’s flagship restaurant and tasting room, El Conejo, located in Sayulita, Mexico, on the Pacific coast. It will retail for around $110. Can’t afford to drop a Benjamin on tequila? Check out one of these budget bottles instead.
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