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
We have seen a number of tequila brands fronted by celebrities, but this is the first I know of to be fronted by a celebrity company. Ravella is a new tequila brand being released by 11 Ravens, a high-end manufacturing company known for its custom luxury game tables, including billiards, table tennis, poker, and more.…
Calirosa, which ages its tequila in red wine barrels from California, is back with a new expression. No, it’s not a reposado — though the company finally now makes one — but an extra extra anejo, aged for five years, roughly three times the length of aging of the anejo offering and two years longer…
The march of Cristalino tequila bottlings continues courtesy of Gran Centenario, which takes anejo and extra anejo tequila, finishes them in Calvados brandy casks, then filters out all the color. It’s a bold approach and it shows in the finished product. Gran Centenario Cristalino Tequila Review The nose is festive and fruity, bold apple cider…
We reviewed Astral Tequila last year, but at the time they only had a Blanco expression. Today we try their newly released Reposado and Añejo. As with the earlier release, these tequilas are also distilled from 100% Blue Weber agave drawn from the Lowlands region of Jalisco, Mexico and are made using traditional methods. The…
Dos Primos‘ blanco tequila was a hit with us back in 2021, enough so that it landed a spot on our top tequilas of the year list. While a reposado followed soon after, it somehow got lost on the shelf here and was uncovered only when the follow-up anejo recently arrived. Today we look at…
Cierto tequila’s membership in the ultra-premium category can be witnessed as much by their high price point as by their implausibly tall, thin, ornate bottles. Luckily, their tequilas have much to recommend them. They are made without additives from Highlands agave by Master Distillers Enrique Fonseca and Sergio Mendoza, fourth and fifth generation agave farmers…
More off the wall, upmarket expressions are arriving from our friends at Don Julio, the latest being Rosado, a reposado tequila finished in ruby Port barrels for at least four months. Tequila Don Julio Rosado Review The result is a delightfully pink tequila that looks like a rose wine but which offers an intense nose…
Dulce Vida Tequila has been steadily expanding their offerings and availability (while periodically rebranding itself), and today we swing back to retry two of their tequilas and see how current bottlings compare to older ones. We last reviewed Dulce Vida Blanco in 2010 and 2017, both as an 80 proof offering; today we’re checking out…
OK, who’s Lalo? Not a celebrity, but rather Eduardo “Lalo” González, the grandson of the one and only Don Julio González — who you know best as Don Julio. As you can imagine, the concept with Lalo is to go ultrapremium, using Highlands agave to make tequila using traditional processes and Champagne yeast. The company…
Cuervo’s Tradicional tequila line has long been an affordable way to get 100% agave tequila from a familiar brand, and while it started with a blanco, Cuervo’s been moving up the agave chain, offering a reposado, anejo, and now a cristalino version. This expression is actually built around a reposado, “matured in American white oak…