ArteNOM 1146 Tequila Añejo

ArteNOM Selección de 1146 Añejo is a rich, dessert-leaning añejo tequila made at Tequileña (NOM 1146) in Tequila, Jalisco by master distiller Enrique Fonseca, using 100% Blue Weber agave grown at high elevations in Atotonilco El Alto; it’s cooked for about 30 hours in a low-pressure cook, milled, fermented in stainless with winemaker’s yeast, then double-distilled in copper pot stills before going through a very distinctive double-maturation: first at least 14 months in ex–Cabernet Franc French oak barrels from France’s Loire Valley, then at least another 14 months in toasted American white oak that previously held Canadian whisky or Tennessee rye, building deep oak complexity while keeping agave presence intact.   In the glass it pours a rich amber and comes across as plush and layered—butterscotch, citrus, vanilla, and baking spice on the nose, followed by a palate of toffee, walnut candy, custard, orange zest, and dark chocolate, finishing warm, polished, and very “after-dinner.”   It’s bottled at 41.3% ABV (82.6 proof) and is positioned as additive-free, so it’s best treated like a sipping añejo (neat or one big rock), but it also makes an unreal luxe tequila Old Fashioned when you want the barrel character to show off.