Earthquakes and Tequila

Today, August 23, 2011, the East Coast experienced an earthquake that registered a 5.9 on the Richter scale. It was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the region. The record is a 5.9 earthquake in Virginia in 1875. Mother Nature loves to show off how powerful and scary she is. It's almost as scary as the inevitable Zombie Apocalypse, which is scheduled to begin later on this year. I don't know about you guys, but I've been working on my chainsaw and baseball bat swinging skills. I'm not EVEN going to get into the whole Rapture thing.

Naturally, since this is the end of the world, I decided I needed a drink. I had to ask the question. I said, "Self, what would you drink if it were the end of the world?"  I answered, "Partida Elegante Tequila." Perfect! And at around $350 a bottle, why not?

It comes in this fancy, high falutin package. It's quite impressive with a leather strap wrapped around the neck, sporting a sterling silver Partida Spirit Bird, that can be worn as a necklace. The bottle itself comes with a glass stopper so you can reuse the bottle as a decanter (my fiancee will be thrilled!). The color is a tarnished copper reminiscent of a fine cognac, largely in part from aging in American oak for 36 months. It's impressive without even taking a sip.

After pouring it in my glass, I immediately get notes of caramel and madagascar vanilla bean. Then sugar and spice, dried peach mango and just a touch of cupcake. On the palate the first to hit you is the sweet roasted agave. Then black pepper, cinnamon, light oak and hints of vanilla shine through. The finish is long and fascinating to the olfactory, lots of black pepper and spice wrapped in sweetness. Just a touch of spicy burn on the mid palate that diminishes after about one minute. It creates a conundrum. You want to let the final flavors do a dance on your palate. But you want to take another sip because it's so damn good.


This is simply amazing tequila. I couldn't have found a better bottle to experience Armageddon unfolding right in front of my eyes. As the sun begins to set, I shall proclaim that this has been a fine day; now a mighty fine day in my opinion. Thank you Partida.

P.S. I consider myself a fair guy so I must admit that I stole the "end of the world" pictures from someone elses' blog.