Patrón XO Cafe

Visuals: Deep mahogany/burnt sienna color, opaque. Smell: Mild coffee scent, like black drip coffee. An unusual alcoholic aroma mixed with an oily characteristic. Taste & Mouthfeel: Arrives thick, syrupy, and very sweet, with sugar being the initial flavor. This is followed by a mild black coffee taste, then a subtle alcoholic note that's clearly tequila but not overpowering. The tequila presence lingers throughout the fairly long finish. This is exceptionally sweet and syrupy – truly, remarkably sweet. It reminded me of plain black coffee loaded with about ten teaspoons of sugar and a splash of tequila. For my preference, the sweetness is excessive. While the tequila works here and isn't unpleasant, I personally favor rum, cognac, or neutral spirits as the base for coffee liqueurs. This isn't a flaw of the drink itself, just my personal taste, and despite my efforts at objectivity, something about this liqueur doesn't resonate with me. Naturally, the other significant factor is the competition from recently released coffee liqueurs in a similar price range that are substantially better. Tasted from a 50ml sample provided by the distillery. "Adequate": 70/100 (2.25 stars)

I've recently been exploring more liqueurs. A coffee liqueur with a tequila base made me very doubtful. To my pleasant surprise, it worked. The aroma has notes of roasted coffee, light chocolate, and sugar. This liqueur uses Patron Silver as its foundation, and I was astonished by the flawless and harmonious blend of tequila and roasted coffee notes. Upon a second tasting, I detected subtle chocolate and bold black coffee flavors, along with sweetness reminiscent of Werther's Original coffee toffee on the initial taste. The conclusion of the flavor profile featured a strong tequila presence at the back of the palate, providing a satisfying reminder of its Patron origin. This liqueur is delightful and possesses a light to medium mouthfeel, less heavy than cream-based coffee liqueurs. It's worth sampling and would pair excellently with a more full-bodied cigar!

The aroma presents espresso and grape juice. The taste is a very sweet and pleasing coffee liqueur with notes of amaretto and brown sugar. The tequila is largely masked by the espresso, though hints of it remain. It's a delightful after-dinner beverage, especially for those who enjoy Cuban coffee.

The nose offers strong, fresh, dark coffee beans with a faint hint of tequila. The palate delivers a superb black coffee flavor with some vanilla and a noticeable tequila presence toward the end. It's well-balanced between bitter and sweet. Very viscous and sweet, like a liqueur. A short finish.

It's clearly coffee. Also dark chocolate. I detected nuts, specifically burnt almonds. Hints of dark cherries were present. Vanilla played on the finish, but ultimately, the dominant sweet coffee made me contemplate insomnia.

Coffee-forward tequila, absolutely! Having it neat, and I'm already dreaming of using it as the Kahlua in a White Russian. Sounds fun!