Tequila
Tequila is one of the fastest-growing spirits in the U.S., with America consuming even more than they do in its homeland of Mexico. The biggest growth is in the premium and super-premium categories, as drinkers discover the pleasure of sipping rather than slamming good tequila. Tequila is in fact a type of mezcal, but one that has a specific “domain of origin” status and which must be made from a single species of agave, the blue agave. Tequila must be made in certain designated areas in Mexico, the biggest being the state of Jalisco, where the town of Tequila is located. Rack “tequila” must contain at least 51% blue agave sugars, and the remainder can be just about anything, including corn syrup. However, quality tequila will state on the bottle that it is made from 100% blue agave. Anything less than this (think Cuervo Gold) is called a mixto. Within Mexico, tequila can be bottled at anything from 62 to 110 proof, but within the U.S. it must be at least 80 proof. Blanco (silver or white) tequila is sold unaged, reposado tequila must be aged at least two months in white oak barrels, and añejo (aged) tequila are aged for twelve months minimum. Finally, extra añejo must be aged for at least three years. A new variety of tequila, generally called cristalino, is aged tequila that has been filtered to remove color, giving it the appearance of a blanco but the flavor of an añejo.
Top Tequila Posts:
Understanding the Different Styles of Tequila
A Visit to Casa Herradura
A Visit to the Don Julio Tequila Distillery
Fosforo is joining a growing list of mezcal producers hoping to grab a piece of the much larger tequila market. It’s admittedly a bold move jumping into the overcrowded world of tequila, but brands like Fosforo seem confident that their experience with the more artisanal production methods required of mezcal will set their tequila project…
What makes a reposado and reposado gran reserva? El Tequileno‘s latest repo is aged for at least 8 months in American oak and is blended with a small amount of anejo. That’s distinguished from the distillery’s standard reposado, which is aged for 3 months, and its Reposado Rare bottling, which spends 6 years in a…
It’s not just whiskey overcrowding liquor store shelves these days. You’ve probably noticed the same thing happening on the tequila aisle. The rapid-fire launch of new agave-based spirits has been head-spinning, especially of late. Luckily, there are subscription services available like Taster’s Club to help with the inevitable decision paralysis. They’ve got most of the spirit…
In 2022, we covered the launch of Dos Hombres, a then exclusively mezcal brand backed by actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. At the time, we tipped our hat to the Breaking Bad stars for the super cool way they chose to focus on mezcal instead of the more ubiquitous and celebrity-saturated tequila category. But…
Maestro Dobel continues to innovate, this time by returning to the good old days of artisanal tequila production (and eschewing its trademark cristalino presentation). Dobel Tahona Tequila Blanco is a 100% organic blanco tequila made with classic techniques: tahona agave pinas crushed on a volcanic stone wheel, masonry oven roasting, fermentation with open-air wild yeast…
Dona Victoria is a line of tequila from Ocean Azul, which is by all accounts an independent spirits bottler that leans hard into the bottle part. Check out their website, and you’ll find alcohol inside bottles shaped like a pair of handguns, complete with fancy display box, or even a birthday cake (both vanilla and…
Corte Vetusto is a new brand to us, though it lays claim to status as “the world’s most highly awarded mezcal brand.” Newly available in the U.S., Corte Vetusto is a small batch, single-sourced mezcal that is uniquely distilled to proof, with each expression offering a different, natural, and uncut abv. While the espadin expression (100%…
As cristalinos go, El Jimador‘s is pretty basic — which is in keeping with its legacy as a budget tequila producer. This bottling begins as a reposado with just two months of age on it. It’s then charcoal filtered to remove the color — though, to be fair, there can’t have been that much to…
Sotol is a tequila-adjacent product made both in northern Mexico and in Texas, made from the Dasylirion plant (aka the desert spoon), a plant that’s widely regarded as a weed that grows wild across the deserts of these regions. Turns out it works a lot like agave in distillation, and the product that’s made from…
We first reviewed El Jimador Blanco in 2014, when this entry-level offering was in the midst of a reinvention. Produced at the same distillery as Herradura, it’s reportedly the #1 selling 100% agave tequila in Mexico — or at least it was at the time. The product is a Lowlands spirit, unaged and named in…