Don Valente Artesanal Anejo Tequila
Don Valente Artesanal Anejo Tequila is a 750mL anejo bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof) for the US market, from Don Valente of El Arenal, Jalisco (NOM 1450) — rested, per the producer, more than a year in fine white American oak barrels, and presented in the Artesanal bottling, whose aluminium label retailers describe as hand-painted by Mexican craftsmen. It arrives dark amber with intense golden hues and a thick body, per the producer's description. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 40% (80 proof), US bottling
- Size: 750mL
- Age: More than 1 year in white American oak, per the producer (anejo minimum is 1 year)
- Origin: El Arenal, Jalisco, Mexico — NOM 1450, Marco Antonio Jauregui Huerta (brand-level record)
- Agave: Tequilana Weber (brand's anejo record, Tequila Matchmaker)
- Production: Stone/brick-oven cooking, roller-mill extraction, stainless-steel fermentation, twice distilled in copper pot stills (brand's anejo record)
An Artesanal Face on the House Anejo
Don Valente is a small, family-run producer in El Arenal, in Jalisco's Tequila Valley lowlands, making tequila the traditional way at brand level: pinas cooked in brick ovens, crushed by roller mill, fermented as 100% agave and double-distilled in copper pot stills. The Artesanal line is the house's craft presentation of that anejo — the bottling retailers describe as carrying an aluminium label hand-painted by Mexican craftsmen, each bottle finished by hand. Under the paint is the producer's standard anejo profile: dark amber, thick-bodied, and built on cooked agave and oak. Browse the house on the Don Valente vendor page and more anejos in our tequila collection.
Tasting Notes
Per the producer: an aroma of cooked agave, vanilla and fine oak; flavours of intense wood, cooked agave, almonds, nuts and vanilla. Tasters on the brand's Tequila Matchmaker anejo record detect a more earthy, woody register — oak and mushroom up front, with earth, caramel, butterscotch, black pepper and dill behind — a drier profile than the producer's sweeter framing suggests.
How to Enjoy
Neat or with a single cube — the oak and earth hold up to a little melt. It also makes a grounded Anejo Old Fashioned. More anejos are in our tequila collection and the full range in our spirits collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is Don Valente Artesanal Anejo aged?
More than a year in fine white American oak barrels, per the producer — past the one-year anejo minimum, with no more precise duration stated in the producer's copy.
What does "Artesanal" mean on this bottle?
It is the presentation: retailers describe the Artesanal bottlings as carrying an aluminium label hand-painted by Mexican craftsmen. The tequila inside follows the house anejo record.
Where is Don Valente made?
In El Arenal, Jalisco (Los Valles / Tequila Valley), by producer Marco Antonio Jauregui Huerta — NOM 1450 on the brand's Matchmaker record.
Hand-finished outside, traditionally made inside — order Don Valente Artesanal Anejo Tequila online from Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.