Clase Azul Añejo & Ultra Tequila

Clase Azul Tequila has launched Clase Azul Añejo and their premium Clase Azul Ultra at a trade tasting held at Barrio Chino in Sydney presented by master distiller, Arturo Lomeli.

Arturo Lomeli, Master Distiller

Clase Azul Tequila comes from the Highlands of Jalisco and is made from 100% organic Tequilana Weber Blue Agave matured for nine years and cooked in traditional brick ovens for 72 hours. The liquid is fermented using a proprietary yeast which is said to give the tequila its key characteristics of natural sweetness and smoothness.

Clase Azul tequila produce four expressions which come in decorative ceramic bottles that are handmade and hand-painted in the town of Santa Maria Canchesda by the Mazahua people. It takes 11 days to make one bottle and as demand for Clase Azul has grown, an additional factory was built employing 100 people from this town of 1300.

Clase Azul Plata (40% ABV) is the unaged spirit. Clear in colour, it is viscous in the glass, aromatic on the nose with sweetness, floral and some herbaceous notes. On the palate, it is markedly sweet, smooth with a thick, syrupy mouthfeel. Clase Azul Plata is best served cold or on ice. The bottle design is in the recognisable shape of Clase Azul and made of clear glass featuring the silver agave plant as decoration and a blue base.

Clase Azul Reposado (40% ABV) is aged for 8 months in second hand ex bourbon casks. Pale gold in colour and retaining the same viscosity in the glass as the Plata, the Reposado is sweet on the nose with hints of oak and vanilla which translate to the palate. The honey sweetness remains with hints of spice and toffee but is ever so slightly subdued from the short time the spirit has spent in oak. The reposado moves into the ceramic decanter as made by artisans who finish the decanter with a representation of the silver agave. As each decanter is hand made, they are unique as none are exactly the same.

Clase Azul Ultra Tequila

Clase Azul Añejo (40% ABV) is aged for 25 months in ex bourbon casks. Golden in colour, it is not as viscous in the glass and has more noticeable nose burn despite having the same ABV as the younger tequilas. Smooth on the palate with caramel, vanilla and oak, it is ever so slightly less sweet. The finish is short with some spice. In thisd instance the decanter combines unfired clay, representing the history of the people and their land, and ceramic that is hand painted and finished with a 24k medallion at the neck. Each decanter is numbered and signed by both the master distiller and the Mazahuan artisan who decorated the piece.

Clase Azul Ultra (40% ABV), the jewel in the crown of the brand, is produced in numbered batches of 100 bottles. The Extra Anejo is aged for 5 years in Oloroso sherry casks. Deep Amber in colour, the aromas are intense on the nose with soft oak and dark spice. The palate is a mix of caramel sweetness and spice with a long and lingering finish. The agave flavour is subdued and the spirit is much more like a whisky than a tequila which makes for fine sipping.

For Clase Azul Ultra, a distinctive black ceramic decanter was created made of high quality ceramic with a 24k gold label and the design hand painted in liquid platinum. The Agave medallion here is in Ley sterling silver. The decanter takes 14 days to produce and presents in a custom made case and retails for $2000.