After enjoying so many delicious dishes at Leaky Palapa in Xcalak, I was relaxed and in the mood for something mellow to sip on. Owner Linda must have been reading my mind because a moment later she delivered a sample of Agavero to our table. It was a perfect liqueur for the occasion: sweet, smooth and bursting with flavors of tequila and caramel. I wasn’t ready to jump through all the hoops required to bring a souvenir bottle home. Luckily, Agavero is more readily available than I expected, and I was able to pick some up at my local liquor store. Agavero is a blend of reposado and aƱejo tequilas mixed with essence of Damiana flower. Damiana is indigenous to Jalisco, the same region where tequila is made. Mexican folklore claims that Damiana was used in the original margarita. Damiana has a reputation as an aphrodisiac, and the makers of Agavero really play this up in their marketing. If you can look past the cheesy references to love and romance on the packaging, you might enjoy this sipping liqueur. Agavero has more bite than other liqueurs, and the tequila flavor is quite pronounced. It would be foolish to think of this as tequila however. It is very sweet and would never be mistaken for anything other than a liqueur. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth so I can’t picture myself drinking Agavero straight very often. It does make one fine margarita though. I simply replaced the triple sec in my standard margarita recipe with Agavero. The resulting margarita had a subtle floral aroma and a richer tequila flavor. I’m sure there are countless other cocktails that could benefit from a splash of Agavero. I went to Mexico expecting to try lots of different tequilas; I did not expect to discover a delicious tequila liqueur!

1 Comment »

  1. mmmmmmmm, photo! Nice photo.

    best,
    pss.

    Comment by Philip Swanstrom Shaw — April 5, 2010 @ 2:22 pm

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