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A bottle of tequila against a white background

Alcaraz became Patrón’s head honcho after cutting his teeth at a small distillery in Atotonilco El Alto, a town in Mexico. He was poached by Martin Crowley, a tenacious American businessman with his heart set on producing a world-beating tequila.

Patrón’s tequila is set apart by a simple motto: ‘replication, not automation’. When Alcaraz was at the helm, he swore by a small-batch method that called for care, attention and craftsmanship. Even as demand grew, Patrón simply replicated the small-batch process instead of automatising it.

As the brand’s operation grew larger, the company became more important to the local town. It's the largest employer in Atotonilco El Alto by some stretch, and Patrón has built schools and completed other public works. Care is taken to protect the local environment – potentially toxic stillage, for example, is treated and repurposed to heat machinery used in distillation, and some is used as fertiliser for agave fields.

What does Patrón Reposado tequila taste like?

Patrón has plenty of tequilas to shout about, but we’ve reserved particular praise for the Reposado. A reposado tequila is one that has spent between two months and a year in an oak barrel – a brief stint of maturation that helps round-off rough edges. Patrón Reposado is light and earthy, smooth with vanilla but bright with freshly squeezed citrus. It's all wrapped together in a slick lather of honey and agave.

While Patrón Reposado makes a perfect classic margarita, we think you should try it in a more summery twist on the classic. Make a watermelon basil margarita: grab an ice-filled cocktail shaker and pour in 45ml of Patrón Reposado as well as 30ml each of watermelon juice, agave nectar and fresh lime juice. Throw in three basil leaves for good measure. Shake well and strain into a tumbler chilled by crushed ice.

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This review was last updated in March 2021. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.