Ok, so technically this isn’t a true whiskey, but it was intriguing enough to catch my eye on the shelf. It’s spring break down here, and I was coming off a week of margaritas and Mexican beer. I wasn’t quite ready to give that up yet, so perhaps the Jose Cuervo Black, a tequila that is aged in barrels to give it bourbon-like qualities, represents my stubborn refusal to once again enter the real world of being responsible and waking up before noon. I love a liquor that I can attribute abstract rationalizations to!

A – Jose Cuervo Black (JCB) looks like your standard bourbon. It’s dark brown, free of sediment, and playfully swishes around in the glass. Drink me Lucid, please, drink me!

S – Calm down JCB, we need to get to know each other first. The smell is really odd on this. You detect bourbon vanilla and wood scents, but you also have that spicy tequila pepper to it. It seems to clash, but also work well together. This is making me schizophrenic, let’s get to the tasting.

T – The taste on the rocks is eh. I can’t really pick what word I want to use to describe it, it’s almost a sort of sugary artifical thing. There is a sweetness from the bourbon and a whole lot of burn from the tequila. The bottle suggests mixing it in coke with a lime, so that’s what I’m going to do. It does MUCH better in the mix, but there is still that weird, cloying artificial taste in the finish, like I’m drinking a Diet Coke gone bad or something. However, that said, I really enjoyed the drink (you get the boldness of the bourbon up front with the nice tequila kick at the end) and would not hesitate to order this at the bar or pick it up again when I’m in the mood for something different. The taste would probably grow on me with repeated samplings.


Overall: ****
I feel weird giving this four stars because I definitely wouldn’t want to drink it every day, but I got to admit it really satisfied me in terms of something different to try that is unique and interesting. When you’re tired of the same old things, Jose Cuervo Black is a great departure from the ordinary.