Your Essential Guide to the Best Tequilas
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Tequila has come a long way in the last few years. Where once it was slammed with a lick of salt and a wedge of lime, it has grown up to become a sophisticated sipping drink or a top-class cocktail ingredient. The allure of this Mexican spirit is such that celebrities including George Clooney, Justin Timberlake, Kendall Jenner, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have all started their own tequila brands, and with great success.
Tequila-based drinks are fast becoming firm favorites with cocktail lovers. Building on the ubiquity of the flagship margarita is the paloma (traditionally tequila and grapefruit soda, but this drinks works really well with Ting, or San Pellegrino’s blood orange offering), now tequila and tonic is challenging the traditional G&T. The tequila variations pair wonderful with Mexican food, too.
Our guide pulls together some of the best brands to sip straight, as well as those for making the perfect paloma or mean margarita—¡Salud!
Be sure check out our other beverage buying guides, including our list of the best non-alcoholic beer, wine, and spirits for our favorite picks in every category.
Old Faithful
Patron led the charge of change in the tequila category, platforming the idea that quality should be at the heart of the spirit, investing in an innovative distillery, and producing a consistent product that mixes incredibly well. Its iconic bottles are made from recycled glass and are individually numbered and hand-wrapped, the entire process involving more than 30 people from start to finish at the Patron Hacienda in Mexico. The result is a crisp yet flavorsome silver tequila that has been a mainstay for bars around the world.
The Bartenders’ Favorite
Probably the bartenders’ favorite tequila, this añejo (meaning “aged”) is made from 100 percent blue agave by highly respected master distiller Carlos Camarena. Double distilled to the desired alcoholic strength for bottling, this tequila doesn’t require any dilution after distillation. It is aged for around 18 months in casks formerly used for bourbon, giving it a light golden hue and rich buttery notes, alongside a distinct citrus freshness and a slightly earthy note. Perfect for sipping or for a truly indulgent tequila cocktail.
Class in a Glass
Tequila made from 100 percent Blue Weber agave comes in four categories: silver or blanco, which is unaged; reposado (meaning “rested”), which is matured in oak casks for two months to a year; añejo, which has been aged for one to three years; and extra añejo, which is reserved for anything older. This expression from Maestro Dobel is blended from reposado, añejo, and extra añejo tequila before being filtered to remove any color from the oak casks while retaining the rich and rounded flavor of a distinctly vanilla and floral note, meaning it is in a class of its own.
All About the Base
The key to good tequila is good agave, the base from which tequila is made. In fact, the single variety of Blue Weber agave is the only one allowed for tequila production. Far from being a cactus, which most people believe, it is in fact related to the lily. It is from the piña, or heart of the plant, that the drink gets its distinctive flavor. Ocho captures the true taste of the agave by calling out the year of production as well as the precise field from which the plants were harvested. Each batch will differ as a result.
Micro Marvel
Cazcabel tequila is distilled at an independent micro distillery in the town of Arandas, located in the highlands of the Jalisco mountains in Mexico, the heart of the designated tequila producing region. The Arandas region is famed for agave grown in mineral- and nutrient-rich soil, producing particularly large plants full of flavor, with an average age of around seven years old. Cazcabel’s tequila is distilled twice on a combination of copper and steel stills, which gives the spirit a clean and rounded taste. Cazcabel Reposado is matured in American oak barrels for a minimum of nine months, adding a subtle aroma of toasted oak to the spirit.
The Master Blend
From the most famous name in the world of tequila, Jose Cuervo, this bottling is the pinnacle of releases from the family-run distillery. Only the finest agaves grown for more than a decade are hand selected, roasted, and distilled. The resulting spirit is rested in casks made from French and American oak, each bringing a distinct flavor to the mature tequila. These aged spirits are then expertly blended by Alex Coronado, the Cuervo Master Distiller. The result is an exceptionally well-made tequila designed for sipping, either neat or over ice. If you’re a whisky drinker, this expression will please you the most.
Boss Level
This expression from Patrón is the real boss of the tequila world. An extra añejo, the tequila has been distilled from 100 percent Blue Weber agave from the highlands of Jalisco before being aged in a combination of both American and French oak casks for more than three years. The result is a spirit that is designed for sipping and sits, flavorwise, somewhere between a whisky, a cognac, and, of course, tequila. One for a very special occasion indeed.
