In a world where hype and cynicism prevail and integrity is at a premium, it’s a rare privilege to come across a celebrity tequila that has a genuine story to tell.
This is how they describe Diego Osorio, their founder, and ‘chief creative officer’:
“…With Lobos 1707, his goal is to create a brand that encourages unity, legacy, and authenticity, and represent the endangered subspecies of humans who are intentional, audacious, and balance the art of being unapologetically genuine while still caring the greater good of the pack.”
Lobos 1707 is on the side of the good guys. They know that the bad guys enjoy an unfair advantage but that doesn’t mean they’re going to compromise. Quite the reverse, in fact.
If the English on their website is a little rough at times, it’s because – like their tequila – everything is produced in-house by their ‘pack’ (lobos means wolf), the term they use to describe the crew responsible for the day-to-day running of Lobos 1707 Tequila.
If you click the Our Pack tab, you’ll find pictures of the key players – including LeBron ‘The King’ James (an early adopter of the brand) – along with bios and background information. They’re a disparate bunch, not at all what you’d expect from a body corporate.
Here’s their mission statement:
“Lobos 1707 is the culmination of many hands and hearts. We are a brand built on the strength of each individual. Our collective spirit is a fervent belief – that in order to achieve excellence, we must rely on each other and lift each other. We are driven by purpose and passion, and there is always a seat at our table.”
Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call marketing! Let’s take a closer look at Lobos Tequila, from history to buying guide, on this award-winning tequila.
A Brief History of Lobos Tequila
Back in 1707, Diego’s great-great-grandfather, also Diego Osorio, heard about an alcoholic beverage called tequila being made from agave azul in the highlands of the Mexican state of Jalisco and decided to import it to Spain.
Somewhere down the line, he discovered that the tequila stored in oak barrels that had been previously used to hold sherry – a fortified white wine – was particularly tasty with a unique and original flavor.
Cut to 2020 when Diego’s great-great-grandson recreated the original recipe and launched 1707 Lobos Tequila.
Aside from LeBron James, other investors of note include Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maverick Carter.
How Lobos Tequila Is Made
The agave azul is picked, cooked in an autoclave, and crushed in a roller mill. The juice is fermented in stainless steel vats, distilled in copper stills, filtered through charcoal, then aged in Pedro Ximenez wine barrels made of white oak according to the solera method.
The solera method is a long-established process of very careful fractional blending that combines different vintages so that the average age of the tequila increases over the course of the years. Its purpose is to ensure reliable consistency across a range of tequilas manufactured by the same brand or marque. (A marque is the brand’s logo or ‘mark’.)
Side note: Solera means ‘on the ground’. Back in the day, fractionation proceeded from the top row of barrels down, the bottom row (the oldest barrels) being ‘on the ground’.
1707 Lobos currently makes 4 types, known as ‘expressions’:
Lobos 1707 Joven (‘young’)
This is a blanco tequila mixed with reposado to age its taste profile.
Lobos 1707 Reposado (‘rested’)
This is a joven tequila that spent six months in barrels made of American white oak before being blended with extra añejo and finished in Pedro Ximenez (PX) wine barrels.
Lobos 1707 Extra Añejo (‘very mature’)
This expression is aged for three years in white oak before being finished in PX barrels.
Lobos 1707 Mezcal Artesanal
Espadín agave is the species of agave used to make mezcal. It takes a minimum of 8 years to mature – even longer than agave azul’s minimum of 7).
The espadín is roasted in an Oaxacan fire pit, an open-air hearth pit lined with brick. This caramelizes the sugar contained in the agave, radically changing its taste profile.
It’s this mash mixed with spring water and yeast that is finally distilled into mezcal.
Lobos Tequila Expressions
| Taste | Aroma | Body & color | Finish | Distinguishing Feature | |
| Lobos 1707 Joven | Freshly-cut agave azul, slightly balsamic | Agave azul with herbal and oak tannin notes | Balanced, clear | Sweet, long-lasting | Mixed with reposado |
| Lobos 1707 Reposado | Predominantly agave with a strong hint of oak | Agave, oak, nuts | Light to medium bodied, golden yellow | Sweet, long-lasting | Aged in oak for 6 months, blended with extra añejo |
| Lobos 1707 Extra Añejo | Agave nectar, stewed fruit,a hint of pepper, oak tannins | Vanilla, oak, fig | Full-bodied, warm amber | Rich & warm with a faintly peppery bite | 3 years in white oak |
| Lobos 1707 Mezcal Artesanal | Slightly sweet, warm citrus | Roast herbs, charred pepper | Full-bodied, translucent | Long and lingering | A very traditional recipe |
Lobos Tequila Pricing Table
| Volume | Price | |
| Lobos 1707 Joven | 750ml | $46-$50 |
| Lobos 1707 Reposado | 750ml | $51-$53 |
| Lobos 1707 Extra Añejo | 750ml | $160-$175 |
| Lobos 1707 Mezcal Artesanal | 750ml | $45-$55 |
Alternatives to Lobos Tequila
Avión Reposado Tequila
- There’s a reason why tequila makers prefer agave grown in the Mexican highlands: the Los Altos were formed by volcanic activity and, although the volcanoes are long-extinct, the minerals they threw up from the depths of the earth are still there, in great abundance.
- Not only is Avión Reposado made from agave grown at altitude, but the agave itself is also slow-roasted in huge clay ovens called ‘hornitos’.
- Color: Pale gold.
- Body: A slightly oily texture that stays on the glass.
- Taste: Savory, with a complex array of flavor notes that encompasses the fruity (cherry, peach, and citrus), the mineral, and the arboreal (oak).
- Bouquet (Aroma): This is where the caramelization of the agave comes into its own, turning the flavors into scents. Everything you can taste you can also smell.
- Finish: silky smooth
- ABV: 40%
- Price: $48 for 750ml.
Marqués de Casa Noble Tequila
- From the renowned La Cofradia distillery.
- All of the Casa Noble expressions originate with one man, tequilero maestro Jose “Pepe” Hermosillo. He hand-picked the trees he wanted his barrels made from forests in the Allier region of France where they aged for 3 years, the idea being that a lengthy, sustained curing would enrich the profile by allowing the tequila to extract even more flavor from the wood.
- Like 1707 Lobos, Marqués de Casa Noble employs the solera method of fractional blending to create optimal profiles. This particular expression is a blend of 12 extra añejos and 9 añejos.
- Color: Amber.
- Body: Full-bodied.
- Taste: Everything that makes the taste of tequila unique has been brought to the fore: cooked agave, roasted nuts, and vanilla with fruity accents.
- Bouquet (Aroma): Cinnamon, honey, and caramelized agave.
- Finish: Smooth with pecan and almond accents.
- ABV: 40%
- Price: $170-$200 per 750ml.
Espolòn Tequila Añejo
- Distilled in stainless steel, and aged for a year in barrels of white oak, Espolòn Tequila Añejo was the brainchild of Don Selso Plasencia, a wealthy farmer who launched the brand in 1889.
- Color: Golden.
- Body: Medium to full
- Taste: A mêlange of caramelized sugar, tannins, coconut oil, pepper, pineapple, honey, and oak.
- Bouquet (Aroma): Same as taste.
- Finish: Long, smooth, peppery.
- ABV: 40%
- Price: $30-$40 per 750ml.
Cazadores Reposado Tequila
- This Bacardi-owned tequila is one of Mexico’s most popular brands.
- To say that it’s mass-produced is an understatement. Hundreds of thousands of gallons at a time are fermented in dozens of tanks – to the sound of classical music.
- Twice-distilled in stainless steel and aged in oak.
- Color: Very pale straw silver.
- Body: Light.
- Taste: Caramel, citrus, peppermint
- Bouquet (Aroma): Agave, citrus, oak
- Finish: medium length, velvety smooth
- ABV: 40%.
- Price: $25 per 750ml.
How To Drink Lobos Tequila
This is already a complex, textured tequila with a fully-developed profile. It doesn’t need help delivering a rich taste experience. To do it justice, take the time to try it neat. Once you’ve gone the cocktail route, you might find that you prefer it straight and revert.
How to Drink It Neat
Don’t refrigerate it. Drink it at room temperature.
Don’t add ice. Ice melts and dilutes the taste, the body, and the mouthfeel. The aroma also suffers.
Don’t bolt it, sip it. This is a premium tequila, made from the finest ingredients using techniques it has taken hundreds of years to perfect. It’s not something whipped up in a washtub by the boys in Cell Block C. Think of each sip as an opportunity to educate and inform your palate.
Cocktails
There are more recipes on the Lobos 1707 website than you could comfortably sample over a 4-day long weekend. Here are a few of the stand-outs, in case you feel like a challenge:
Eclipse
- Mix 2 ounces of reposado, ¼ ounce of mezcal syrup, aromatic bitters (2 dashes), orange bitters (2 dashes).
- Pour into a glass over ice.
- Garnish with a flamed orange peel.
Watermelon Inferno
- Mix 1½ ounces of mezcal, ¾ ounce orange aperitif, ½ ounce plain syrup, ½ ounce lime juice, and a splash of club soda with 3 cubes of watermelon in a shaker half-full of ice.
- Shake till chilled.
- Dip the rim of a highball glass into a plate of lime juice, then dip it again into a plate of lime salt, chili powder, and sea salt, then add some ice.
- Pour the shaker mix into the highball glass, top up with club soda, and garnish with a watermelon cube.
Copper Guild
- Pour 2 ounces of reposado, ⅔ ounce vanilla liqueur, ½ ounce of vermouth, and some apple blossom bitters (2-3 dashes) into a mixing glass and stir gently.
- Pour over ice in a copper-dipped glass and garnish with an orange peel.
FAQ
Why doesn’t my tequila taste like the reviews say it tastes like?
These are just guidelines. Taste is highly subjective. What might be too sweet to one reviewer isn’t sweet enough to another. The same goes for the tones and notes.
Even professional tasters contradict each other. Focus instead on what tastes good to you and don’t worry about what reviewers say.
What’s the difference between tequila distilled in copper and tequila distilled in stainless steel?
Short answer: no matter what anyone says, there is no difference. There is no exchange of properties in the distillation process so it’s hard to see how either one could affect the flavor.
Human beings discovered copper long before stainless steel was invented. For that reason, copper is considered more ‘traditional’.
Plaudits and Laudits
2021
SIP AWARDS
- Joven: GOLD
- Extra Anejo: GOLD
- Mezcal: GOLD
SAN FRANCISCO WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITION
- Joven: SILVER
- Extra Anejo: SILVER
NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL SPIRITS COMPETITION
- Reposado: DOUBLE GOLD
INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRITS
- Extra Anejo: SILVER
- Reposado: SILVER
- Joven: BRONZE
2022
TEQUILA AND MEZCAL MASTER
- Extra Anejo: MASTER, Ultra-Premium
- Reposado: GOLD
- Mezcal: GOLD
INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRITS
- Joven: BRONZE
- Extra Anejo: SILVER
- Reposado: SILVER
- Mezcal: GOLD
SAN FRANCISCO WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITION
- Joven: SILVER
- Extra Anejo: SILVER
- Reposado: DOUBLE GOLD
- Mezcal: SILVER
SIP AWARDS
- Joven: GOLD, CONSUMER’S CHOICE, INNOVATION STAR
- Extra Anejo: GOLD, CONSUMER’S CHOICE
- Reposado: DOUBLE GOLD
- Mezcal: PLATINUM, BEST OF CLASS, CONSUMER’S CHOICE
WORLD TEQUILA AWARDS
- Extra Anejo: SILVER
- Reposado: BRONZE
ULTIMATE SPIRITS CHALLENGE
- Joven: 83 POINTS
- Extra Anejo: 91 POINTS
- Reposado: 95 POINTS, TOP 100 SPIRITS
- Mezcal: 89 POINTS
NY INTERNATIONAL SPIRITS COMPETITION
- Extra Anejo: DOUBLE GOLD, 96 POINTS
- Reposado: GOLD, 95 POINTS
- Mezcal: GOLD, 94 POINTS
BEVERAGE TASTING INSTITUTE
- Extra Anejo: 93 POINTS, GOLD
- Reposado: 86 POINTS, SILVER
- Mezcal: 96 POINTS, PLATINUM
CHILLED 100 SPIRITS AWARDS
- Joven: 90 POINTS
- Reposado: 94 POINTS
- Extra Anejo: 95 POINTS
- Mezcal: 94 POINTS
