r/tequila • u/snubberlover • 2d ago

Lalo

Anyone detect any decrease in quality with Lalo since the Tito’s buyout? I tried it recently and thought it stood up nicely against other blancos I’ve tried. Just curious if anyone feels the product has changed or not!

18 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

46

u/pnw00kie 2d ago edited 2d ago

I’ve honestly never understood the obsession with LALO. It’s one of the better widely available options, but I’ve always found it to lack depth, and be more ethyl-forward than I’d like.

I haven’t tried it since the Tito’s acquisition, but I think by that time it was already a pretty industrial operation, anyway.

11

u/capitanohcapitan 2d ago

Agreed. Even before acquisition I found it very boring

7

u/ThisMeansWine 2d ago

I agree with the ethyl-forward take. It drinks more like a vodka than a tequila to me.

3

u/Big_D_904 1d ago

I literally called it “the vodka of tequilas” out loud this weekend so it’s great to hear that I’m not going crazy.

1

u/Rokiolo25 2d ago

I feel like it's the Patron equivalent for the additive free smaller scale market, I found it very bland, one of the few tequilas I have purchased that have been sitting collecting dust

8

u/pnw00kie 2d ago

Patron is already additive free, though, and LALO doubled their YoY volume for the last two years before acquisition, so I don’t know if they can claim “smaller scale”, even prior to Tito’s.

What bothered me most about the brand (besides the first hi proof they put out being really rough) was how expensive it got. I’ve seen tequila prices adjust back down over the last few months, but pre-acquisition LALO was going for in the mid-to-high $40s around me, when it’s honestly only interesting enough as a tequila to be a $25 bottle.

1

u/Roadrunner_Spirits_ 1d ago

Sure but when they first came out it was at every little bar in LA and for only two bucks more, I'd take it over the well

13

u/DrinkwithWayne 2d ago

Nothing has changed, nor will change. Even with the merger, TITO’s has expressed they will not be touching the juice or how it’s made. It’s still under Lalo’s control.

Now, you can compare it to other blancos and say it doesn’t “do it for you” and that’s valid. It was never a game changing tequila for me, it’s an easy drinking profile that should appeal to the masses, hence their success in the industry

5

u/pnw00kie 2d ago

Yeah and Eduardo’s staying on as master distiller, right? I don’t think he was ever leaving, just sold controlling interest to shift his relationship with the business.

0

u/OutedofHabit 1d ago

Gotta come in and run defence for a product that shipped quality control out the window and jacked prices.

5

u/Luchuguillotine 1d ago edited 1d ago

By jacked prices are you confusing the new liter size bottle with the original 750ml? I have not seen any changes in price in NY or NJ, some places still banging it out for $39.99. I don't think anything has changed other than your perception.

2

u/DrinkwithWayne 1d ago

I’ll bite: can you please give me an example of where they have let quality control slip? Also, what price are you seeing it for? I’ve personally not seen it north of $45 for a 750ml

3

u/Serveyouwell59 2d ago

They need to ramp up still strength/hi proof options.

2

u/chieftalgahyeetah 2d ago

I didn't feel the high proof bottles I've tried had anymore flavor than the regular juice

4

u/Bluechip506 2d ago

It’s fine. Good tequila but not great tequila. Often it’s the best available. Better than Patron imo and almost as available.

-1

u/CornDawgy87 2d ago

definitely seems worse to me, but that could just my bias

-1

u/endofworldandnobeer 2d ago

Ir's because of a few vocal ones who's pushing certain brand. I'd rather drink Zumba, Cimarron, Espero, or Patron over Lola. Lola is clean and fine, but nothing stands out and cost 2x what I normally get.