What To Do When Your Tequila Smells Too Boozy

Have you ever opened a bottle of tequila and found its aroma a little too, well, boozy? Luckily, there's a way to approach this dilemma so you can fully enjoy the tequila without holding your nose. To get all the answers, Daily Meal spoke with Lauren Mote, the global director of on-trade excellence at Patrón, which has just released a new charcoal-filtered añejo tequila, Patrón Cristalino.

Mote says, "Properly made tequila [...] should have a balanced aroma where the alcohol harmonizes with vibrant notes of agave, citrus, vanilla, and spice." With this in mind, if the smell seems too powerful — and not in a good way — it may be because it's a cheap bottle. Typically, inexpensive bottles of alcohol have a more straightforward (boozy) smell than high-quality bottles, which have aromas that reflect the complex flavor profile.

But, Mote says, if your tequila is high quality and still smells boozy, it may just be that your bottle needs some time to aerate. She continues, "If the scent feels pronounced, allow the tequila a moment to breathe, or add a few drops of water [and] its profile will evolve beautifully."

Once you've aerated the tequila and can now savor its actual aroma, then it's time to enjoy. If you don't want to drink it straight, which isn't for everybody, then you may want to make a tequila-based cocktail, such as a classic margarita or a Mexican mule. In order to best serve the complexities of the tequila, be careful about which ingredients you mix into the cocktail.

Lauren Mote says, "Fresh citrus like lime or grapefruit is the perfect complement to tequila, enhancing its bright, natural character while allowing the tequila to remain the star. The focus is always on complementing, never overpowering, the spirit's authentic flavor profile."

With this in mind, if you really want to showcase the elements of the tequila — including its aroma — you may want to stick to cocktails that don't require too many other ingredients. The margarita is a great example, as it only calls for lime juice and triple sec in addition to the tequila, and it's easy to get ahold of fresh lime juice, to adhere to Mote's suggestion of using fresh ingredients. Meanwhile, you may want to avoid something like the tequila sunrise, which features orange juice and sweet grenadine syrup — unless maybe you did end up with a bottle of the cheap stuff.