In our seemingly never-ending series of great bottles of tequila for surprisingly low prices, we present Clasico de Centinela reposado. It’s another great find in Mexico that won’t set you back very much for good quality.

clasico-tequilaIf you just look at the marketing, this feels like a brand at war with itself. The name, Clasico, would seem to indicate predictability, classic reliability, something that’s not a slave to trends. Yet when you visit the company’s website, both the bottles and the navigation text are upside down. The first line says it “stands out,” but then the description could be pulled from Tequila 101. “It has a scent and well-balanced taste to cooked agave, fruity hints, vanilla, and white oak wood…”

OK, English is not their first language and better they have a website that looks pretty and has no info than one that doesn’t work at all. We run into the latter constantly for a whole host of companies in Latin America, so when the page actually loads (meaning the domain hasn’t expired), we’re thinking they at least know how to pay their bills on time.

What matters is the experience in your mouth though, not what you see on a page, right? I’m happy to report that this is a fine tequila, something your guests will be happy to sip neat. If you put it next to something that costs $40 instead of $18 (what I paid for this in Mexico), I’d be amazed if any of them would pick this one as an inferior brand. It has a nice bouquet that’s balanced, then when it hits your tongue there’s a rounded complexity that’s interesting without being harsh. It has a nice finish that’s lingering, but with no off notes hanging around. The 12 months of aging seems to have paid off, for this tastes like a mature, carefully crafted tequila that wasn’t the victim of any shortcuts.

Note: this brand name is not to be confused with Jose Cuervo Clasico, which is to be avoided at all costs. We’re not saying to write off that whole company: the Tracidional is good and their extra-aged Reserva de la Familia is a rare case where the product is as special as the packaging. The low-end stuff is awful though, a clear case of marketing dollars trumping taste.

This is a different story. Clasico de Centinela is one of those tequila brands that delivers great quality for an attracitve cost. If you hand this to someone as a gift, they’ll notice the raised letters in glass, the classy label, and then the taste to match. I haven’t seen it in a store in the USA, but it’s in the Mega supermarkets in Mexico, so it’s widely available there. For the equivalent of $20 or less, this is a sure bet for you or someone else who loves good tequila.