The Atlantis Casino Resort Spa here in Reno, Nevada invited us two ‘Doods’ out to their recent tequila dinner. Much like our whiskey dinner (link below), Bistro Napa ‘mixologist’ Casey developed tequila based cocktails to pair with each food serving which included stuff like a guacamole tower, Mexican-inspired seafood soup with king crab, clams, mussels and shrimp and a wonderful beef tenderloin! The cocktails were excellent and the tequila from Fortaleza was superb, especially the Anejo!
Ryan McGuiness from Fortaleza was on hand to let us know a bit more about this spirit. The family who owns Fortaleza is the 5th generation of the Sauza family and their process goes back 125 years. Suffice to say, they still make this in a very ‘old world’ way and know exactly what they are doing! While Cuervo holds tequila distilling license #1 in Mexico, Don Sauza holds #2, then bought the land next door to Cuervo…as you’d imagine, the rivalry is huge between both families.
Fortaleza uses all the original equipment on the original land that goes back decades. The amazing Anejo is aged 1 year in bourbon casks that have been re-smoked for maximum flavor.
Interesting bit of knowledge- Agave isn’t a cactus. It’s a varietal of Lilly! It’s one of the rarest plants in the world with cells on its skin which close during the day and open at night to synthesize. The Agave is grown on volcanic soil and isn’t affected by sea fog or water. The more it’s stressed, the better it grows!
Check out our review:
Two Doods Reviews 