Article: Don Julio 70 Cristalino Anejo Tequila Review | Whiskey Gambler
Don Julio 70 Cristalino Anejo Tequila Review | Whiskey Gambler
Tequila Review — Whiskey Gambler
Don Julio 70
Cristalino Anejo
Atotonilco el Alto • Jalisco, Mexico • 40% ABV
| Type Cristalino Anejo | Origin Jalisco, MX | Agave 100% Blue Weber | Age 18 Months | ABV 40% / 80 Proof | Price ~$65 |
The Pour
The Don Julio 70 was supposed to be a milestone. Seventy years of heritage, the world's first cristalino anejo, charcoal-filtered from an 18-month aged spirit down to crystal clarity. The concept is genuinely interesting. The execution? It depends entirely on what you're looking for.
If you want a smooth, sweet, crowd-pleasing tequila that disappears at a party faster than you can refill it, this is your bottle. If you're a purist hunting for raw agave, terroir, and honesty in the glass, Diageo's fingerprints are all over this one and you're going to taste them. I'm calling it straight.
Tasting Notes
NoseOpens with a wave of sweet vanilla that arrives almost immediately, which tells you something. There's cooked agave underneath, citrus zest, a light caramel warmth, and just a touch of toasted oak. The agave is there but it's playing second fiddle. Pleasant, accessible, commercially polished. |
PalateSmooth from the first sip, no question. The charcoal filtration strips any harshness the 18-month age might have left behind. You get vanilla, light honey, butterscotch, and a soft chocolate note on the mid-palate. The sweetness leans slightly artificial to a trained palate, but it's a pleasant ride for almost anyone who picks this up. |
FinishClean and short. Light pepper, lingering oak, and that honeyed sweetness that hangs just a beat too long in the back. There's not much agave on the exit, which is the cristalino's Achilles heel. The charcoal filtration takes color, takes roughness, and takes most of the character with it. |
Tasting Notes at a Glance
- Sweet Vanilla
- Cooked Agave
- Butterscotch
- Light Honey
- Toasted Oak
- Citrus Zest
- Light Chocolate
- Soft Pepper
WG Scorecard
| Nose | ★★★★★ | Pleasant but sweet-forward |
| Palate | ★★★★★ | Smooth, crowd-pleasing, additive-forward |
| Finish | ★★★★★ | Short, clean, agave character stripped out |
| Complexity | ★★★★★ | One-dimensional, lacks depth for the price |
| Value | ★★★★★ | $65 for this level of manipulation is a stretch |
The Verdict
Whiskey Gambler Says
The Don Julio 70 is a well-executed product. It's smooth, it's visually striking, and it disappears fast at any gathering. I get it. There's a reason this bottle has a cult following. But let's be honest about what it is: a heavily processed spirit with additives doing a lot of the heavy lifting. The cristalino process filters out everything Diageo doesn't want you to see, and then the additives dial the sweetness back in. That's not craft. That's commercial engineering.
If you're buying this for a party, for cocktails, or for someone who thinks tequila tastes like college regrets, it's a solid pick at $65. If you're a connoisseur who wants to taste the agave, the terroir, and the barrel time, put that $65 toward a bottle of Fortaleza, G4, or Tapatio and taste what tequila is actually supposed to do. This one is capped at 4.0 for a reason.
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