El Tesoro Mundial Collection Knob Creek Edition Anejo Tequila
El Tesoro Mundial Collection Knob Creek Edition Anejo Tequila is a one-time 2023 release: El Tesoro añejo rested for 12 months in genuine charred-oak barrels that previously held 7-year-old Knob Creek Rye Whiskey — bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof) at La Alteña, NOM 1139. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 40% (80 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Aging: añejo rested 12 months in ex-Knob Creek 7-year rye whiskey barrels — the first time El Tesoro ever used Knob Creek rye casks
- Production: 100% Blue Weber agave, slow-cooked 48 hours in stone ovens, tahona-crushed, open wooden-vat fermented, double-distilled in copper pot stills; Master Distiller Carlos Camarena
- Ratings: 94 points, Tastings.com (2024); SRP $175; highly allocated one-time release
Where Jalisco Meets Kentucky
The Mundial Collection is El Tesoro's playground for cask experimentation, and the Knob Creek Edition is its most American-leaning idea yet: take El Tesoro's traditionally made añejo — tahona-crushed agave, fermented in open wooden vats, double-distilled in copper at La Alteña under Carlos Camarena — and rest it a full year in barrels that held 7-year-old Knob Creek rye. Released in October 2023 as a one-time, highly allocated bottling (SRP $175), it earned 94 points from Tastings.com in 2024. The rye-barrel influence is unmistakable: baking spice and char layered over El Tesoro's cooked-agave core.
Tasting Notes
Cooked agave and vanilla up front, with rye-barrel spice — cinnamon, clove, charred oak — building through the mid-palate. The finish is long, warm, and spicy with a honeyed agave sweetness underneath.
How to Enjoy
Neat in a tequila tasting glass — this is a sipping añejo, and the rye-barrel character deserves a slow pour. It also makes an extraordinary old fashioned for agave lovers: the barrel spice does half the bitters' work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Mundial Collection?
El Tesoro's limited series of cask-finished expressions — the Knob Creek Edition, finished in ex-Knob Creek rye whiskey barrels, is its Kentucky-meets-Jalisco release.
Is this a limited release?
Yes — a one-time October 2023 release, highly allocated, with no follow-up bottling announced.
Who makes El Tesoro?
La Alteña Distillery in the Jalisco Highlands (NOM 1139), under Master Distiller Carlos Camarena — 100% Blue Weber agave, tahona-crushed, copper pot distilled.
Agave collectors in San Diego, CA: this one-time El Tesoro Mundial release is orderable online from Del Mesa Liquor — allocations this small don't wait.