Casa Noble - La Cofradia NOM 1137
La Cofradia was the first distillery that I had ever visited. This was back in 2006, and I touched on it in my blog. Expectations were high, especially after seeing pictures from the first Blue Agave Tour. I was kicking myself in the rear-end for missing that adventure. Not only did La Cofradia look more amazing that I thought it would, but Jose "Pepe" Hermosillo, of Casa Noble, rolled out the red carpet. When I got there on my own, they just gave me the dusty road - Hahaha!!! Besides the fact that our tour guide for that day was not very knowledgeable (no, he did not work for Cofradia or Casa Noble), and our time was very short, I knew that with the cooked agave in the air, the beauty of the mango trees and duck pond, that it was where I wanted to be, to stay and relax for days.
Built over 70 years ago, La Cofradia is a traditional industrial distillery that uses hornos (brick ovens), molinos (the style that is more like a grape crusher/destemer), natural fermentation, and stainless steel pot stills (with copper tubing). While there are many brands produced at La Cofradia, Casa Noble is probably their most well known product. Although, Carlos Santana recently became one of the owners of this brand, Casa Noble has been around since 1995, and has always been looking to produce tequilas that were elegant, forward thinking, yet traditional, all at the same time.
When there are different brands that are made at the same distillery, there will be a lot of similarities between them. The same cooking methods, water source, natural elements around the distillery, and the stills used will all impart unique and specific elements to each product. That said, there are a few ways to separate a brand from the pack, and Casa Noble takes a few of those steps.
There is talk of terroir in tequila (as well as other agave spirits), as La Cofradia has many agave fields near and around their distillery, Casa Noble owns their own agave fields - about 5 hours away - in the state of Nayarit. Due to a different soil, climate, and altitude, the agave will have its own unique characteristics, different than those that are harvested around the distillery. After making sure that each agave is ripe and ready, they are brought back to the distillery where they are cut in half, and the cogollos are removed. After cooking for 2 days in the hornos, they are sent to the shredder, then to the fermentation tanks. Since both Cofradia and Casa Noble employ natural fermentation, all of the elements (microbes, yeasts, aromas)around the distillery impart themselves into the musto.
While Casa Noble was one of the first tequilas to be triple distilled, Pepe Hermosillio explained the 3rd distillation as more of a filtering process that takes place in a still, rather than a distillation. This is done as a way to soften their tequilas, while still retaining a good amount of flavor. A true third dsitillation would remove more flavor than they would want, which is why it is more like filtering. Casa Noble has achieved a defined profile in their unaged Crystal that is silky, sweet, herbaceous, citrusy, and robust.
Casa Noble even has their very own barrel house on site at La Cofradia. It is a beautifully elegant place to learn, sip tequila, relax and enjoy — especially if Casa Noble Marketing Director, Dave Yan is there! What really separates Casa Noble, from not just the other brands that are produced at La Cofradia —but also from the rest of the tequilas on the market — are their aging barrels. Used American whiskey barrels are the most commonly used barrels for aging tequila. This is very traditional, and has gone back to the Prohibition era. There are also few producers out there that use French Oak. One could argue the virtues of either types of cask, but to me they are both great. Casa Noble is one of the few who use French Oak. Not only are they using barrels that had been previously used for wine or cognac, but they use brand new Taransaud and Jacques Garnier barrels as well. As far as I know, Casa Noble is the only tequila brand that uses these very special French Oak casks. Beyond the sweet, fudgy, chocolate notes that are typically associated with used French Oak barrels, these new barrels bring more defined spice, honey butter and raw dark chocolate tones to the table. The Taransaud and Jacques Garnier casks also bring a lot of depth to Casa Noble's reposado and añejo tequilas, and help create a unique flavor profile that stands out from the rest. Uniqueness is what I want from a tequila, and Casa Noble delivers!
Even with as many other distilleries that I have been to, La Cofradia, is just as beautiful and serene today as it was the first time I was there!
Built over 70 years ago, La Cofradia is a traditional industrial distillery that uses hornos (brick ovens), molinos (the style that is more like a grape crusher/destemer), natural fermentation, and stainless steel pot stills (with copper tubing). While there are many brands produced at La Cofradia, Casa Noble is probably their most well known product. Although, Carlos Santana recently became one of the owners of this brand, Casa Noble has been around since 1995, and has always been looking to produce tequilas that were elegant, forward thinking, yet traditional, all at the same time.
When there are different brands that are made at the same distillery, there will be a lot of similarities between them. The same cooking methods, water source, natural elements around the distillery, and the stills used will all impart unique and specific elements to each product. That said, there are a few ways to separate a brand from the pack, and Casa Noble takes a few of those steps.
There is talk of terroir in tequila (as well as other agave spirits), as La Cofradia has many agave fields near and around their distillery, Casa Noble owns their own agave fields - about 5 hours away - in the state of Nayarit. Due to a different soil, climate, and altitude, the agave will have its own unique characteristics, different than those that are harvested around the distillery. After making sure that each agave is ripe and ready, they are brought back to the distillery where they are cut in half, and the cogollos are removed. After cooking for 2 days in the hornos, they are sent to the shredder, then to the fermentation tanks. Since both Cofradia and Casa Noble employ natural fermentation, all of the elements (microbes, yeasts, aromas)around the distillery impart themselves into the musto.
While Casa Noble was one of the first tequilas to be triple distilled, Pepe Hermosillio explained the 3rd distillation as more of a filtering process that takes place in a still, rather than a distillation. This is done as a way to soften their tequilas, while still retaining a good amount of flavor. A true third dsitillation would remove more flavor than they would want, which is why it is more like filtering. Casa Noble has achieved a defined profile in their unaged Crystal that is silky, sweet, herbaceous, citrusy, and robust.
Casa Noble even has their very own barrel house on site at La Cofradia. It is a beautifully elegant place to learn, sip tequila, relax and enjoy — especially if Casa Noble Marketing Director, Dave Yan is there! What really separates Casa Noble, from not just the other brands that are produced at La Cofradia —but also from the rest of the tequilas on the market — are their aging barrels. Used American whiskey barrels are the most commonly used barrels for aging tequila. This is very traditional, and has gone back to the Prohibition era. There are also few producers out there that use French Oak. One could argue the virtues of either types of cask, but to me they are both great. Casa Noble is one of the few who use French Oak. Not only are they using barrels that had been previously used for wine or cognac, but they use brand new Taransaud and Jacques Garnier barrels as well. As far as I know, Casa Noble is the only tequila brand that uses these very special French Oak casks. Beyond the sweet, fudgy, chocolate notes that are typically associated with used French Oak barrels, these new barrels bring more defined spice, honey butter and raw dark chocolate tones to the table. The Taransaud and Jacques Garnier casks also bring a lot of depth to Casa Noble's reposado and añejo tequilas, and help create a unique flavor profile that stands out from the rest. Uniqueness is what I want from a tequila, and Casa Noble delivers!
Even with as many other distilleries that I have been to, La Cofradia, is just as beautiful and serene today as it was the first time I was there!
