Review: Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Private Cask Collection Tequila Edition No. 2 Mole Cask (2026)

In 2023, Jose Cuervo released a special edition of its Reserva de la Familia Tequila called the Private Cask Collection. Edition No. 1 incorporated tequila aged in Colombian oak casks, a real rarity that, frankly, I’ve never heard done before. Three years later, Cuervo is finally back to this collection, finishing anejo tequila in mole casks — barrels seasoned with mole.

Mole Cask is hand-crafted in small batches at La Rojeña, the world’s oldest tequila distillery. It begins with 100% Blue Weber agave. Each piña is hand-trimmed with the jicama cut, leaving only the sweet central core. The agave is slow-roasted in masonry brick ovens built in 1812 before it is fermented with proprietary yeast and twice distilled. The tequila ages in New American and French oak barrels, before finishing for three to four months in red Oaxaca mole-seasoned medium toast new American oak barrels. The resulting Añejo Tequila mirrors the classic mole character, drawing notes of cacao, spice, dried fruit and pepper into the spirit imparted through slow contact with virgin oak.

Ready to get your mole in my tequila? Here goes.

Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Private Cask Collection Tequila Edition No. 2 Mole Cask (2026) Review

There’s something unmistakably different about this tequila, as well you should expect given the way it is made. Rich and chocolatey on the nose, there’s an instant connection with mole from the start, the tequila backed up with spices ranging from cloves to cinnamon to red pepper. Immense and immersive, it undulates with layers of red fruit and a minty quality that pairs beautifully with the chocolate notes — classic mole, really.

The palate surprises, dropping ample fruit to start and very little in the way of the classic mole flavors evident on the nose. Greener, herbal agave comes into focus soon after the fruit hits, the grassy notes touched with vanilla and caramel sauce. Toasted coconut emerges on the finish, giving the palate a much more traditional anejo character than the nose would suggest. That’s not a bad thing, as a little mole can go a long way, both in cooking and, it turns out, in tequila. A sharp bite of raspberry informs the lengthy and pleasant finish.

All told, this is one of the most unusual tequilas to hit our doorstep in recent memory. What could they possibly come up with next?

80 proof. NOM 1122.

A- / $120

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