Most Innovative: Enemigo 89 Aejo Cristalino
ABV: 40% | Tasting Notes: Vanilla, Coconut, Oak
Looking for something unique? This añejo cristalino tequila is just the ticket. The spirit ages for over a year in new American oak but is then filtered through Enemigos three-phase Carbon-Cellulose system, which removes pigment from the spirit. The resulting beverage is smooth, silky and extremely easy to drink. The tequila gets its name from the 89 attempts it took to craft this innovative expression of agave. We recommend sipping this one solo.
What Is The Best Way To Drink Blanco Tequila
Simply put, the best way to enjoy blanco tequila is based on the quality of the product, as well as the preference of the consumer. If it’s a tequila like Fortaleza Blanco, then I am sipping it if it is a rail blanco, then I am either taking it as a shot or mixing it in a cocktail, explains Dunne. I usually don’t use nice, high-end blancos in cocktails, as the nuances that make them so beautiful usually get lost in the medley flavors. Weber, who admittedly loves tequila in cocktails , agrees that great tequila can be enjoyed neat, though that its ultimately at the discretion of the consumer. For Johnny Swet, cocktail consultant at JIMMY, the answer is in the chill. I usually enjoy it on the rocks with a nice cold Mexican beer like Victoria, he says.
Siete Leguas Reposado Personal Favorite
- Nose: Agave, oak, vanilla and caramel.
- Palate: Agave, vanilla, oak, black pepper, cinnamon.
Nose is subtle and sweet with a hit of agave, followed by oak, vanilla and caramel.
On the palate, Siete Leguas Reposado is sweet and warming at first, very clean tasting, rich in roasted agave, with fine hints of oak, vanilla and caramel and a whiff of black pepper and cinnamon.
The finish is long and sweet, subtle in oak and vanilla with a slight late burn making it entirely pleasing.
Siete Leguas Reposado is not only good, this is also one of the best reposado tequilas you can buy today.
It drinks almost like a Blanco with a gentle barrel aging providing subtle vanilla and oak notes making it sweet and incredibly satisfying.
This is something I drink every now and then along my better half at our favourite taco joint. So Im very fond of this tequila and one that I cant recommend enough.
When Patron joined the Tequila business its entire lineup was crafted at the Siete Leguas Distillery.
Recommended Reading: What Do I Mix With Coconut Rum
Teremana Small Batch Tequila
The Rocks premium tequila brand has been flying off store shelves ever since its launch in 2020. Now, fans of Dwayne Johnson and tequila alike can purchase Teremana online and get it delivered to their door.
The ultra-premium highlands tequila uses all the beverage buzz words, like small batch production, and distilled in handmade copper pot stills. But beyond the hype, its a smooth, easy to drink option naturally sweetened with the rich aroma of mature agave plants, with a clean finish.
The name, Johnson explains, was inspired by his Polynesian background. TERA means of the Earth and MANA is our powerful Polynesian spirit that guides us. Spirit of the Earth, he says.
How Whisky Wine And Wood Influence Tequila
Blancos notwithstanding, the best tequilas have traditionally been aged in American or French oak barrels. But just as Scotch whiskies, which at one time were only aged in ex-bourbon or sherry casks but are now being finished in different wine or whiskey barrels, top shelf tequila has successfully adopted this practice. As noted below, Patróns Extra Añejo 10 Años is aged in a combination of used American oak and hybrid American and French Limousin barrels, while one of their newest limited editionsSherry Cask Aged Añejois aged exclusively in ex-Oloroso sherry barrels. Plus, in our selection, of top shelf tequila youll find an even newer and rarer Patrón extra añejo that has been aged for eight years in French and American oak casks. And Volcán X.A an ultra-premium trio of reposado, añejo and extra añejo tequilasis aged in proprietary Grace Casks . In addition, Juan Domingo Beckmann, CEO of his familys Casa Cuervo empire, has been aging certain tequilas in Hungarian and Eastern European casks. Youll find Beckmans use of these casksand the reason whyin one of our selections. In addition, there is ongoing experimentation with Irish oak and Japanese Minunara oak, with the possibility of even more interesting tequilas in the future.
Don’t Miss: Where To Buy Lavender Vodka
Gran Centenario Plata Tequila
This tequila hovers somewhere in between a blanco and a reposado. Made with 10-year-old agave from Jalisco, the spirit is aged for 28 days in new French Limousin oak barrelsnot quite enough time to make it a reposado, hence its plata nomer despite its pale gold hue, but still enough to have delicious results. Its a young tequila with more depth and weight on the palate than youd expect upon sipping you’ll find notes of tropical fruit, a slight smoky aroma, and a white pepper kick at the end.Price: Starts at $29.99 for a 750ml bottle
Mijenta Tequila Blanco Price: $39
Mijenta Tequila Blanco comes from the Jalisco Highlands of Mexico in small batches. Its an award-winning Blanco tequila with a 40% ABV. Its a complex blend of cooked agave with notes of sweet spices, hints of fresh melon, and a finish that delivers floral hints for a clean and refreshing finish. Its a satiny-smooth tequila that offers a few surprises for the discriminating palate. Its made with sustainable ingredients and processes.
Also Check: What Is The Best Type Of Tequila For Margaritas
Percent Blue Weber Agave
When shopping for tequila, look for these words on the bottle. It is easier than ever to find them because almost every tequila brand has realized that this is what drinkers really want.
Blue Weber is known as the most elegant expression of tequila. While tequila falls under the mezcal category, several distillers around the town of Tequila began distilling a superior form of mezcal. They used the whole heart of blue agave, which is indigenous to the region, describes Brian Olson, the founder and owner of Café Intermezzo.
Middle Shelf Anejo Tequila
1. 123 Organic Anejo Tequila
123 founder David Ravandi has always been equally passionate about creating delicate, complex floral spirits as producing a quality product using sustainable practices and packaging. These interests combine beautifully in this wonderful Organic Anejo Tequila.
All spirits produced by the company are bottled with hand-blown, recycled glass, bearing labels that are printed with soy ink on recycled paper. Its the culmination of many small details that make this tequila an amazing, ethical, healthy choice inside and out.
The spirit is aged for 18 months in oak barrels, giving it prominent woodsy characteristics. Hanin and wood oil are prominent on the nose, followed by sweet, rich notes of chocolate and caramel on the palate. Its an interesting spirit that develops stronger hints of flavor as it spends time in the glass.
2. Casa Noble Anejo Tequila
Casa Noble Anejo Tequila is triple-distilled and crafted by a seventh-generation tequila master. Tequila has been the family business for decades and the experience behind each bottle is unmatched. This expression is a luxury.
The agave comes through on the palate in an incredible way, one that a true tequila fan wont be able to get enough of. Its aged in new French white oak barrels for two whole years, much more than most other Anejo tequilas.
3. Patron Anejo Tequila
The palate follows with similar notes of honey, oak, and raisins. The finish offers a smoky undertone with sweeter notes of caramel.
Recommended Reading: How To Make Vodka Seltzer
Top Shelf Anejo Tequila
1. Casa Noble Single Barrel Extra Anejo Tequila
Casa Noble comes in strong once again with their Single Barrel Extra Anejo Tequila. This expression is aged and finished in French oak and is one of many successes in their single barrel program.
The spirit is triple-distilled in a copper pot still, giving it rich notes of oak to go with the noticeable agave flavors. Its produced in small batches with knowledgeable distillers monitoring every step of the process to ensure quality standards are met.
While its not a cheap bottle of tequila, its quality matches the price. Its a fine tequila made with world-renowned methods. Its small-batch production and single-barrel nature mean its a rarer expression often harder to come by than most, making it even more valuable when you do find it.
The nose is sweet with notes of agave, caramel, oak resin, and vanilla. The palate follows with similar notes of oak and vanilla, hints of mature agave, and an incredibly smooth finish.
2. Don Julio 1942 Anejo Tequila
Another well-known name in the world of tequila, Don Julio never disappoints. Their Anejo Tequila is named with the year 1942 to commemorate the year that Don Julio himself began the journey to tequila master, at age 17.
The tequila is made from 100 percent blue weber agave which is harvested by experts after 7-10 years. They hand pick the plants and hand cut them uniformly to maximize the quality of the juice.
3. Grand Mayan Ultra Aged Anejo
What Makes For A Good Sipping Tequila
That depends on what style of tequila you like. If youre looking for something that shows sweetness and minerality, go for a blanco. For some honey and toasted notes, try a reposado. And for brandy-like richness and smoothness, añejo is your drink. But no matter the style, you want a tequila thats made with integrity and intention, from 100% agave and no additives. Purists love brick oven-roasted, copper potdistilled tequilas, but the big test is that agave flavor. If it tastes more like ethanol, or if it burns too much going down, skip it and sip something else.
Also Check: Does Smirnoff Ice Smash Have Vodka
Olmeca Altos Plata Tequila
This highland tequila is exceptionally well-made, and it’s outstanding in cocktails. Despite the low price, Olmeca Altos uses environmentally-friendly production methods, which is uncommon for tequilas at this price point.
The blue agave used to make Altos Tequila Plata comes from the Los Altos mountains of Mexico. Caramelized agave, pepper, and a creamy finish combine to create a taste that packs a powerful punch.
Best For Paloma: Olmeca Altos Plata
Image Source / ReserveBar
Region: Mexico | ABV: 40% | Tasting Notes: Citrus, Brine, Agave
This is great quality and affordable tequila that stands out really well with various cocktails, says Danilo Bozovic of rooftop bar and restaurant Sugar in Miami. The Olmeca Altos blanco, which is crafted from blue Weber agave grown at elevations of nearly 7000 feet in the Los Altos region of Jalisco, works particularly well in a Paloma drinka mix of tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda.
With an unrivaled smoothness at this price point, this tequila can be enjoyed straight or mixed in a cocktail. Jonathan Cunningham, bar manager, Husk Barbeque, Greenville, S.C.
Don’t Miss: What Mixes Well With Bombay Sapphire Gin
The Four Styles Of Tequila
There are four officially sanctioned styles of top shelf tequila authorized by the government agency CRT , which regulates the spirit: blanco, sometimes called silver or plata, it is bottled clear and unaged reposado, barrel aged from two to 11 months, giving it a tannish hue añejo, deeper in color and aged from one to three years extra añejo, rich, brownish-golden tequilas that have been aged longer than three years. How long? That depends upon the taste profile the maestrotequilero is after, with The Bad Stuff currently leading the pack with its recently released Doce XII, a superb 12-year-old silky-smooth bottle that goes for $1,000. Older than that, the barrels tend to dominate the spirit, often making it woody and overpowering. But no matter what amount of time it has spent in oak, to produce a superior aged tequila, you must start with a superior blanco.
Cristalinos Sustainability And Estate Agaves
Another recent and growing trend is the charcoal stripping of color from tequilas, producing an entirely new caregory called cristalino , basically a clear aged tequila with distinctive flavor profiles. Cristalino was originally created by Beckmann, but since 2020 it has caught on with other tequileros as well youll discover two of the newest cristalinos below.
And just as wineries have long heralded sustainability and estate vintages, many tequila fábricas are now replanting agaves to replace the plants they have harvested, and some are cultivating agaves exclusively from their own farms both of these relatively new practices are precautions against a projected agave shortage in a few years, which is already causing prices to rise, all due to our insatiable thirst for Mexicos national spirit. Youll find all of these innovationsand morein our selection of the best tequila on this side of the border. Salud!
The editors of Robb Report scour the globe for the best of the best and only endorse products we loveand think youll love, too. If you purchase a product or service through a link in this story, we may receive a small commission.
Recommended Reading: How Many Carbs In Skyy Vodka
Which Is The Best Tequila In Mexico
Don Julio is the best tequila distiller in Mexico in terms of: availability, consistency, brand recognition and price. Don Julio has a bottle in every category and they all rank high im yet to try a bad tequila from this brand.
There are several good brands but they do not offer such a wide range of releases. Availability is important, Don Julio is everywhere to be found across the globe so you can rest assured that when you are drinking from this brand you are drinking a good tequila.
Related article: Corona Familiar: Discover the Best-Selling Beer in Mexico!
Bets Overall: El Jimador Silver Tequila
Courtesy of Minibar
Made in Jalisco, this 100 percent agave tequila rests for 40 days before it’s bottled and sent to thirsty drinkers. This results in a crisp tequila that works particularly well in cocktails, and the fact that its one of the best-selling brands in Mexico confirms that. Tasting notes of roasted agave, lemon, and honey pair particularly well in a paloma. The name El Jimador tips a hat to the farmers, the Jimadors, who lovingly grow and harvest all the agave in Jalisco, Mexico.
Probably the best inexpensive tequila for the money is the El Jimador Blanco, says Gavin Humes, food and beverage director of Scratch Bar & Kitchen in Los Angeles. It’s smooth enough for shooting, but has enough kick to stand up well in cocktails. While I might not crave a glass of it on the rocks, the price is hard to beat.
Also Check: Can You Order Rum Online
Best Top Shelf: Cascahuin Extra Anejo Tequila
Wine.com
ABV: 40% | Tasting Notes: Honey, Cooked agave, Orange blossom, Sweet spice
Looking for a top shelf Añejo to wow the tequila lover in your life? Cascahuins got your back. This impressive spirit first ages for four years in large wooden tanks prior to resting for an additional four years in American oak barrels. On the palate, notes of honey, cooked agave, orange blossom, and sweet spice lead to a lingering, long-lasting finish.
Christopher Reyes, partner at New Yorks Aldama, shares that Cascahuin Extra Añejo is his favorite tequila in the world. In my opinion, Añejo tequila is best enjoyed sipping neat, he says. Due to the fact that so much time and dedication goes into the process of creating this product, I feel its important to appreciate the spirit in its most pure form.
Best Organic: Tres Agaves Blanco
Region: Tequila Valley, Mexico | ABV: 40% | Tasting Notes: Sweet agave, orange rind, mint leaf
This award-winning tequila is ideal for those looking to sip responsibly without sacrificing quality. Tres Agaves farms its agave organically, as the brand believes that this allows the soil-driven notes of the Tequila Valley to shine through. Additionally, Tres Agaves bottles its tequila as soon as its finished distillation to capture its clean and pure flavors. Energetic notes of sweet agave, orange rind and mint leaf harmoniously collide on the palate and lead to an herbaceous, silky finish.
Tres Agaves chose organic for sustainability and superior taste reasons, noting that the agave is not genetically engineered or irradiated. Tres Agaves uses renewable resources and conservation of soil and water, and goes through rigorous inspections of its agave fields, tequila, and distillery, to meet organic standards. As a result, Tres Agaves enhances the quality of agave for future generations. Jay Turner, senior marketing director of Trinchero Family Estates
Also Check: How Many Calories In Bombay Gin
Mi Campo Reposado Tequila
Proudly marrying tradition with innovation, Mi Campo Reposado is a 100% blue agave tequila aged over a three-month period in California wine barrels. This novel process delivers a smoother and more complex profile that tastes far beyond its price point. Its a millennials dream spirit, perfect for sipping or mixing up a paloma without bruising the wallet. I love Mi Campo because its amazingly smooth and a great tequila coupled with amazing value, Luis Morales, general manager of Baby Jane in Miami, Florida, shared. It takes me back to my happiest life moments the second I take a sip. Additionally, the display-worthy bottle showcases striking artwork from Mexico City artist Raul Urias.Price: Starts at $28.59 for a 1L bottle