On the lower shelves of the tequila aisle, the bottles tempt the gambling man. There's a definite line between value and cheap. However, with the NOM printed on every bottle, you can generally get a pretty good feeling about what you are getting so long as it is a 100% agave tequila. La Puerta Negra dwells in that area and boasts a price of only $10-15. However, it comes from NOM 1173, which makes so nice value offerings, so my expectations are still that this will be a quality juice. Let's find out...

Price: $10-15/bottle

Aroma: A crisp agave scent with a nice sweetness and light earth.

Initial Taste: The nose doesn't lie. The agave is very up front with a balance of earth and sweet spice.

Body: Medium bodied and nice, oily mouth feel. The agave sweetness is balanced with a medium pepper kick. There's a hint of sweet fruit and the earth is still present.

Finish: The finish is a bit understated, but the agave flavors linger for a short duration.

All in all, this is a wonderful value in the tequila world. It's good enough to sit and sip and cheap enough that it will make a flavorful mixer. The bottle is nothing special, but when you're talking about something cheaper than mixtos and with an overall profile this good, it's a no-brainer of a buy if you see it on those lower shelves.