When you needed to go search on-line to seek out the perfect tequila manufacturers from Mexico, it must be a straightforward job, proper? See which of them get picked probably the most and then you definately’ll be set.
Sadly, as I’ve discovered after researching this topic for a few years, there’s virtually no settlement from article to article, from competitors to competitors, on that are the perfect manufacturers of tequila. Plus Google’s search outcomes have gone down in high quality a lot over the previous yr and a half that it’s onerous to seek out articles from actual consultants on most topics within the first placce, fairly than simply model hyperlinks for procuring.
There are most likely greater than 1,000 tequila manufacturers now, all made out of the identical blue weber agave plant. Every has three or 4 common classes inside every model, then you have got offshoots of these like bleached-out aged tequila that’s a brand new fad.
You usually see many alternative manufacturers on a Mexican shelf than you do in the USA, which makes it extra difficult. Plus the U.S. liquor distribution system is sort of as wacky and illogical as its electoral faculty system we use to resolve on a president. There are manufacturers from the massive Jose Cuervo firm (owned by a good bigger conglomerate) that you’ll find wherever, however then a number of the smaller producers successful awards are solely obtainable in a couple of locations.
Plus you have got the motivation points behind the scenes. Liquor distributor awards are about what sells, magazines appear to at all times sneak in a model or two from an organization that’s promoting with them, events and junkets have extra affect on what will get written about.
Amongst particular person reviewers (together with me), you may by no means get rid of private style bias. My favourite bourbon or beer received’t be the identical as yours, so how do I say what is a superb tequila, or which is the greatest reposado tequila out of all these obtainable on the shelf?
So if I would like goal solutions, I flip to the blind tasting competitions for spirits. Probably the most revered annual contest on the market within the liquor world is the World Spirits Competitors going down annually in San Francisco. It will get probably the most entries, has probably the most revered and skilled judges, and conducts blind tastings that get rid of any previous assumptions from the combo. If a spirit will get marked as gold by each decide, which isn’t frequent, then it will get the designation as Double Gold.
This text on the perfect tequila from Mexico was up to date in November, 2024, primarily based on the latest outcomes from the San Francisco World Spirits competitors, largely highlighting these Double Gold winners.
Current Finest Tequila Model Winners
I put up the primary model of this text within the 2010s and naturally there have been modifications annually in who wins. Some high-end tequila manufacturers appear to maintain standing out from the pack yr after yr, whereas different ones have a pleasant exhibiting as soon as after which disappear.
The San Francisco World Spirits competitors has modified the way it pronounces winners a number of instances and their web site will get extra difficult annually. It’s fairly onerous to trace down the winners now except you go to their procuring part they’ve added in a current company merger otherwise you quit your e-mail handle to see the outcomes.
They’ve gone forwards and backwards in selecting a “greatest in present” winner and that appears to be again, so let’s begin there Drumroll please, the winner is…
Don Fulano Fuerte Blanco
By no means heard of Don Fulano? Neither had I and it’s an odd selection. Initially, a blanco tequila (usually referred to as silver) is unaged tequila, the least well-liked sort, the yet another more likely to go in cocktails as an alternative of sipped neat. And this one is 100 proof on high: 50% alcohol. However hey, the judges gave this one the best marks.
I do wish to search this out although as a result of it’s a household owned enterprise, not a part of one of many massive worldwide liquor conglomerates, and their web site has a complete part explaining their whole course of, with every tequila sort itemizing specs intimately.
In any other case, we have to have a look at who scored a Double Gold as a result of the Tasting Alliance that runs this competitors is handing out so many awards now that the ceremony should go on for days. Getting a Bronze is beginning to appear to be a participation prize. Even among the many Double Golds, Mexico positioned 88 bottles. So both the nation is getting higher at what they do by leaps and bounds annually or the judges are actually loving a number of completely different spirits.
Among the many tequila winners, who else stood out? As soon as once more, as has been the case most different instances I’ve up to date this text, it’s the model Cierto. They’ve grow to be the undisputed king of premium tequilas. Their identify is the Spanish phrase for “sure,” which appears apt on this case. Cierto Tequila got here dwelling with 5 Double Gold awards, for one blanco, two reposado variations, and two additional añejo variations.
Reserve Assortment Blanco
Personal Assortment Reposado
Reserve Assortment Additional Añejo
Reserve Assortment Reposado
Personal Assortment Additional Añejo
Their web site says that is “probably the most awarded tequila in historical past” and I believe that’s most likely true: they’ve racked up tons of of them. These are costly bottles, however not like many on the three-figures stage, these appear to justify the worth. It is a certain factor in case you’re shopping for a present to impress, particularly if the recipient is a tequila lover.
For the remainder of the Double Gold winners, there are a couple of we now have talked about in our tequila opinions, like these:
Don Julio (although it was the blanco that received Double Gold, two others received Gold)
1800 Reposado (right here’s our 1800 anejo overview)
Casa Don Ramon (although it was two restricted version variations)
Then there are a number of manufacturers I’ve by no means heard of earlier than. That is although I reside in Mexico, I drink tequila a good bit, and I’m a spirits reviewer. Many of those bottles I’ve by no means even seen in a bar or on a shelf.
Since these tastings happen within the USA, assume that every one are 40% alcohol. The quantity you’ll pay may be risky and the worth of tequila is considerably decrease in Mexico if the model is obtainable there and the spirit is often bottled at 38% alcohol as an alternative. Typically the bottles are 700ml as an alternative of 750 and also you’ll often have at the very least 50 decisions in a large Mexican grocery store.
When you’re caught shopping for one thing on the Oxxo comfort retailer, the place you’re restricted to the top-selling tequila, go for frequent award winners Don Julio, Don Ramon, Cuervo Tradicional, or Herradura. You’ll have a wider choice at Responsibility Free, however the costs are virtually at all times greater than you’ll pay in a conventional liquor retailer except it’s a particular version you may’t discover elsewhere otherwise you’re shopping for three bottles of one thing.
Use this as a information for which top-shelf tequila manufacturers are actually definitely worth the cash and which of them you may wish to experiment with.
Tequila Manufacturers Profitable A number of Double Gold Awards
As talked about above, the large winner once more was Cierto, taking dwelling 5 trophies. Right here’s who else confirmed that it wasn’t only one strike of inspiration: they received multiple Double Gold Award.
Alquimia for 2 additional añejo variations, 5 years and 14 years
Casa Don Ramon for 2 particular restricted version añejo tequilas
El Tesoro for a blanco and a particular version
Lodge California reposado and añejo
Rodeo de la Aquas for reposado and additional anejo
Tequila de la Jente for 2 manufacturers marked “T” and “D”
Tequila Nobleza 33 for blanco and reposado
Tequila Ocho for a blanco/silver tequila and a reposado
A few of these I’ll attempt to discover and overview later, others could also be too obscure to find exterior of Jalisco and some specialty outlets. When you do see certainly one of them, or one thing else from that model, it’s most likely a strong selection the place you may’t go flawed.
Sure, the Lodge California model is owned by the individuals who personal the lodge of that identify in Todos Santos. It’s a great worth too, so decide a bottle or two up in case you’re within the space.
We famous within the final model of this put up that Tequila de la Gente was a crowd-sourced tequila model that was solely obtainable in boxed tasting kits of 4 200ml bottles ($109 plus transport). Oddly, it’s nonetheless listed that method on their web site after two years of putting as winners, so we’re unsure what’s holding them up nonetheless.
A Few Return Tequila Manufacturers
Some manufacturers that we’ve highlighted as winners previously received one Double Gold in the latest competitors, so it’s truthful to say they’re persistently placing out a great product. Listed here are a couple of that you just may wish to hunt down. I wish to purchase the primary two simply due to the enjoyable names.
Ay! Ay! Ay!
JaJa
Lana
Avion
Black Sheep
The next received Gold awards, not Double Gold, however they’ve persistently positioned a number of variations on the winners record previously and you may ensure they’ve made the tasting judges completely happy.
Cantera Negra
Cutwater
El Sativo Natural
Don Julio
Cutwater
Herradura
El Patriarca
Prime Additional Añejo Tequila: Be Cautious of Hype
If a tequila is aged in barrels for greater than two years, it’s often labeled as Additional Añejo, a classification that has been round lower than twenty years. Typically the spirit is aged in French oak barrels, different instances in used bourbon barrels.
Some suppose that’s an excessive amount of of a great factor and complain that the agave is overwhelmed by the oak, but when achieved proper these top-shelf tequila bottles are a factor of surprise. A lot of the best tequilas and the most costly bottles are on this class.
These “special day” bottles often value probably the most as a result of extra effort and time, plus since they’re sipping bottles meant to be savored for a very long time, these are typically those with probably the most elaborate bottles, supreme for gift-giving. The actual high shelf tequila.
Be suggested that there’s a number of misplaced hype on this class although. One model we are going to depart unnamed prices $1,600 a bottle however has by no means gotten higher than a silver award that we’ve seen and a number of other others that have been greater than $300 didn’t even place.
When you’re going to spend greater than $100 on a bottle of booze, make it one that’s persistently praised by consultants, just like the Cierto ones, Don Julio 1942, Black Sheep, or Lobos 1707.
Tequila Value and High quality Are Seldom Correlated
There are a couple of classes in all these high-quality tequila blind tasting winners.
1) Value is mostly a foul indication of high quality in the case of 100% blue agave plant tequila. You may get higher stuff spending $50 than you do spending $250—although there are a couple of winners this yr that promote for greater than $200. They’re within the minority although. For each Casa Dragones that leaves you saying “How a lot?,” there are bottles for half the worth which might be wonderful.
Aged tequila will value greater than clear tequila that hasn’t been via an growing old course of, after all, however examine apples to apples and there are apparent outliers. These common retail costs within the USA among the many winners are fairly affordable, particularly in comparison with the showy bottles you usually see touted as value an enormous premium. (Trace, they’re often not. You’re paying for the packaging.)
2) Don’t assume that celeb tequila manufacturers are any higher than common manufacturers, the identical method endorsers don’t make for higher cereal or power drinks. If that tequila is promoted by a actuality TV star, it’s most likely a opposite indicator as an alternative. There are exceptions, like Avion, JaJa, and Lobos 1707, however extra which might be simply bandwagon leaping. I like George Clooney films, however you don’t see a protracted record of tasting awards listed on the Casamigos web site.
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Tequila the city, not the drink
3) The highlands of Jalisco have a tendency to supply extra award-winning manufacturers than the lowlands across the namesake metropolis do. So whilst you could not have the ability to say all “Los Altos” tequilas are nice, those from there are inclined to have extra complexity and work higher as sipping tequilas, particularly the reposados. Opposite to what some individuals suppose, not all tequila comes from Jalisco. Most does, however there are a couple of notable manufacturers from different Mexican states, like Guanajuato.
4) Don’t dismiss a model simply since you’ve by no means heard of it. A lot of the main manufacturers which might be 100% agave are at the very least first rate—many commonly win silver or bronze in these competitions—however in case you take an opportunity on one you’ve by no means heard of you may get a really good shock and discover top-of-the-line sipping tequilas on the shelf. The tequila trade is large and regardless of consolidation, there may be room for lots of gamers, all doing issues just a little in a different way within the manufacturing course of.
The recognition of tequila from Mexico retains rising: some stories are exhibiting that it has grow to be the #1 spirit within the USA, outselling vodka. So anticipate extra tequila manufacturers you’ve by no means heard of to hit the market in coming years. Simply keep in mind that some Mexican distilleries are making a number of manufacturers in a single facility below contract, so these tasting competitions are a great way to separate high quality from advertising and marketing hype.
Joyful looking!
This text on the perfect tequila from Mexico was up to date in November of 2024.