June 14, 2010

Given Tequila Liqueur Review

When we first heard about Given tequila liqueur, we weren't quite sure what to make of it. A Mexican spirit, fiddled with in France, and to top it all off, it's apparently not pronounced "given," it's pronounced "jee-vahn." Well, given that the folks from Given sent us a bottle, we decided to give in to the temptation and we're glad we did, since it's frickin' delicious.

The Look: The Given bottle is sleek and black with splashes of red, with a flat profile...all in all pretty good-looking.

The Nose: We got a lot more tequila than we expected when we sniffed Given, combined with a nice citrusy tang. It smells like a perfectly-mixed margarita, showcasing a bit of tequila's fire, tempered with tartness.

The Taste: Mostly citrus, with a faint tinge of tequila on the back end. We tasted a lot of lime juice, with very little sweetness. This isn't a heavy, syrupy liqueur, trying to overpower cheap booze with too much sweetness - it's nice and light on the palate with a nice long finish. If you're looking for a strong tequila flavor you're gut of luck, but this is a nice alternative.

The Verdict: Color us pleasantly surprised by Given. It's not going to replace tequila in our liquor cabinet, but it's got a nice citrusy flavor we can see working extremely well in a lot of cocktails.

We can also see ourselves sipping it on the rocks on a hot day, and seems like a good alternative when you want something margarita-esque with a lower alcohol content, or using it in citrus-based drinks to which we want to add some zing. We're seeing pricing around thirty dollars for a bottle, and you can check the Given website for tips on where to find a bottle.