Shelter Los Hijuelos California Agave Review [In Depth]

Shelter Los Hijuelos California Agave

by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer

Shelter Los Hijuelos California Agave Details

Distillery: Shelter Distilling

Type & Region: Agave Spirit, California, USA

Alcohol: 46%

Composition: 100% blue weber agave

Aged: 0 seconds

Color: 0.0/2.0 on the color scale (clear)

Price: $80-100

From the company website:

This extraordinary batch of agave comes to us from Luis Velazquez and Jordie Ricigliano from Los Hijuelos, made entirely from Agave Tequilana (blue agave) grown near a cherimoya orchard in Carpinteria, CA, and harvested using the “Capón” method. Typically, agaves are harvested at maturity but before they grow a flowering stalk (quiote), which marks the end of their life cycle. However, in the Capón method, the mezcalero allows the agave to fully mature and begin to develop a quiote, which is then quickly removed. This redirects the energy and sugars back to the piña, resulting in a uniquely concentrated and complex profile.

Shelter Los Hijuelos California Agave overview

Now that I’ve had one agave spirit from Shelter Distilling (called Yolo), I’m excited to try another one. But first off, who the heck is Shelter Distilling? I definitely wondered that when they contacted me. First off, Shelter Distilling, founded in 2017, is located in Mammoth Lakes, California. If you don’t know where that is, it’s northwest of Freso by Yosemite National Park, and not too far from the California-Nevada border. It’s out there off the beaten path.

They make a range of spirits, including bourbon, malt whiskey, gin, agave spirit (not quite tequila), and more. The topic of this review, Shelter Distilling Los Hijuelos California Agave, is named after the company (Los Hijuelos) that grew the agave in California. Really simple right?

One note – I think that these were initially $130+, but now they’re $90.

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There are multiple reasons why this is called agave spirit and not tequila or mezcal. While this spirit has just about all the qualifications to be called tequila, there’s one major difference – everything was grown and distilled in California instead of Jalisco, Mexico. Just like Scotch can only be made in Scotland, making virtually the same thing in Taiwan makes it Taiwanese single malt.

This is an American interpretation of Tequila.

Here’s a bulleted summary of how it was made, and I wish that they provided more information like they did with Yolo.

100% Blue Weber agave grown in California
No additives
Agave harvested using the Capón method – “the mezcalero allows the agave to fully mature and begin to develop a quiote (flowering stalk), which is then quickly removed”

So it’s…tequila-esque with an American twist. Let’s re-discover what’s happening with California Agave in this Shelter Los Hijuelos California Agave review.

This bottle was provided to me at no cost. All opinions are still my own.

As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.

Shelter Los Hijuelos California Agave smell

I smell sweet simple syrup, asian pear, white peach, licorice, sweet minerality, a hint of sweet vegetalness, and pineapple. The alcohol is very calm too. Unliketequila, there’s virtually no smoke or roastiness.

Shelter Los Hijuelos has medium body, and good richness and expressiveness, although neither are exceptional or noteworthy. They don’t detract from the experience but they don’t burst out of the glass either to completely elevate it. This wins with the interesting assortment of fruitiness, and it smells amazing…like no tequila that I’ve ever had.

Learn more about Shelter Yolo California Agave

After swirling and rest, I smell sweet and floral asian pear, peach, and simple syrup, followed by other “green” scents such as green grapes, minerality, a hint of fresh agave (not roasted, odd), and stone.

Shelter Los Hijuelos provides more of the same fruity experience that I’ve never had in any tequila or mezcal, but have had with Shelter Yolo California Agave. I wish that it had a little more vibrance and pop, but otherwise I’m very pleased with this – a big fan.

Shelter Los Hijuelos California Agave taste and aftertaste

To start, I taste asian pear, pineapple, lightly toasted vegetalness, minerality, black pepper, green grapes, rose, and a little more toasty sweetness in the back. Shelter Los Hijuelos is very fruity, more than I even expected, and a total 180 degree change from tequila.

The flavors have a tad bit more roastiness and vegetalness, but it still comes off sweet and fruity…but without the additives. And yes I did try Teremana one time just to understand that side of tequila. California is doing things very differently than they do in Mexico, but both versions are great and unique in their own ways

This is delicious, unique, and interesting

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With hard “chewing”, I get more fruity burst of asian pear, peach, pineapple, simple syrup, and some type of berry, followed by lightly toasted agave, minerality, more fruity sweetness, green grapes, black and spicy pepper, and a little heat.

“Chewing” pulls out more fruitiness, which makes this even more delicious and interesting. This is a fantastic agave spirit that impresses me with its unique and captivating personality.

I wish that the flavors had a little more pop and vibrance to elevate the fruitiness, which honestly might have been enough to propel it even further, but overall this is a memorable and delicious agave spirit.

I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too. Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.

Consider supporting The Whiskey Shelf and Warehouse H by buying the book via this affiliate link.

Shelter Los Hijuelos California AgaveRating

I thought that Shelter Distilling Yolo California Agave Spirit was going to be hard to beat, yet Los Hijuelos somehow surpasses it by being even more fruity, varied, and interesting. This may be the best agave spirit that I’ve had so far in my relatively short time with agave spirits. I adore fruity whiskeys, and a fruity agave spirit (I almost typed Tequila) checks off many of the same boxes.

I was experimenting making cocktails with this, and 1 part of this and 1-2 parts of a cucumber mint juice (I get it at Bibibop) is pure magical delight. I highly recommend trying it.

I’m a big fan and recommend that you buy this if you can. For $90, assuming you can obtain it, this is fantastic quality and uniqueness for your money, and Shelter Distilling is bringing us some fantastic stuff. It’s expensive for sure, but super premium tequila / mezcal / agave spirits these days have become quite expensive.

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It’s a must buy if you have the chance to get it.

I’m going to be honest with Shelter Distilling and you (the reader) – the agave spirits are the winners and the differentiating product between them and everyone else. I can’t say the same thing about their whiskeys, and I’ve had those too. There are a lot of distilleries that make better whiskey, but agave spirit is a totally different game.

Shelter Distilling produces some standout agave spirits, and that’s where I think they’ll succeed and separate themselves from the pack.

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Meet the Author: Alex

I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.

There are no sponsors, no media companies, and no nonsense. Support The Whiskey Shelf by Buying Me A Shot.

Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.

BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)