The five dimensions
- Appearance — clarity, color, viscosity.
- Aroma — the volatile compounds you perceive on the nose.
- Taste — sweet, bitter, acidic, and characteristic agave notes on the palate.
- Mouthfeel — body, texture, warmth, weight.
- Finish — length and evolution after swallowing.
Three origins of aroma
The CRT tasting guide organizes aromas by where they come from in the process.
- Primary aromas — from the agave itself, including raw and cooked agave notes.
- Secondary aromas — created during fermentation and production.
- Tertiary aromas — developed during maturation in oak.
About faults and intensity
Not every chemical or sulfur note is automatically a defect. Sensory interpretation depends on intensity, balance, and context — a whisper of a compound may add complexity, while the same compound at high intensity would be a fault.
Trust your calibration over time. Faults appear when a note dominates or unbalances the profile.
Aroma families
A working vocabulary for describing what you smell. Descriptors are examples, not a checklist — a tequila may show any combination, or none.
Fruit
citrus, apple, pear, pineapple
Vegetal
cooked agave, raw agave, grass, mint
Floral
orange blossom, chamomile, honeysuckle
Spice
cinnamon, pepper, clove, anise
Caramelized
caramel, honey, brown sugar, vanilla
Nutty
almond, hazelnut, toasted walnut
Woody
oak, cedar, toasted wood
Phenolic / smoky
toasted, roasted, light smoke
Earthy
wet earth, mineral, leather
Microbiological / fermentation
yeast, bread dough, lactic
Cacao & coffee
cacao, chocolate, coffee, tobacco
Chemical or fault-associated
solvent, sulfur, acetone