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Unfortunately, as I’ve realized after researching this topic for a few years, there’s nearly no settlement from article to article, from competitors to competitors, on that are the most effective manufacturers of tequila. Plus Google’s search outcomes have gone down in high quality a lot over the previous 12 months and a half that it’s onerous to seek out articles from actual specialists 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. Each has three or 4 basic classes inside every model, then you might have offshoots of these like bleached-out aged tequila that’s a brand new fad.
You typically see many various manufacturers on a Mexican shelf than you do within the United States, which makes it extra sophisticated. Plus the U.S. liquor distribution system is sort of as wacky and illogical as its electoral school system we use to resolve on a president. There are manufacturers from the large Jose Cuervo firm (owned by a fair bigger conglomerate) that you could find anyplace, however then a variety of the smaller producers profitable awards are solely accessible in a couple of locations.
Plus you might have the motivation points behind the scenes. Liquor distributor awards are about what sells, magazines appear to all the time 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.
Among particular person reviewers (together with me), you possibly can by no means eradicate 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 finest reposado tequila out of all these accessible on the shelf?
So if I would like goal solutions, I flip to the blind tasting competitions for spirits. The most revered annual contest on the market within the liquor world is the World Spirits Competition happening annually in San Francisco. It will get essentially the most entries, has essentially the most revered and skilled judges, and conducts blind tastings that eradicate any previous assumptions from the combo. If a spirit will get marked as gold by each judge, which isn’t frequent, then it will get the designation as Double Gold.
This article on the most effective tequila from Mexico was up to date in November, 2024, based mostly on the newest outcomes from the San Francisco World Spirits competitors, largely highlighting these Double Gold winners.
Recent Best Tequila Brand 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 12 months after 12 months, whereas different ones have a pleasant exhibiting as soon as after which disappear.
The San Francisco World Spirits competitors has modified the way it proclaims winners a number of instances and their web site will get extra sophisticated annually. It’s fairly onerous to trace down the winners now until you go to their procuring part they’ve added in a latest company merger otherwise you hand over your e-mail deal with to see the outcomes.
They’ve gone forwards and backwards in selecting a “finest in present” winner and that appears to be again, so let’s begin there Drumroll please, the winner is…
Don Fulano Fuerte Blanco
Never heard of Don Fulano? Neither had I and it’s a wierd alternative. First of all, a blanco tequila (typically known as silver) is unaged tequila, the least widespread kind, the yet one more more likely to go in cocktails as an alternative of sipped neat. And this one is 100 proof on high: 50% alcohol. But hey, the judges gave this one the very 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 an entire part explaining their complete course of, with every tequila kind itemizing specs intimately.
Otherwise, 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 variety of totally different spirits.
Among the tequila winners, who else stood out? Once once more, as has been the case most different instances I’ve up to date this text, it’s the model Cierto. They’ve develop into the undisputed king of premium tequilas. Their title is the Spanish phrase for “sure,” which appears apt on this case. Cierto Tequila got here house with 5 Double Gold awards, for one blanco, two reposado variations, and two additional añejo variations.
Reserve Collection Blanco
Private Collection Reposado
Reserve Collection Extra Añejo
Reserve Collection Reposado
Private Collection Extra Añejo
Their web site says that is “essentially the most awarded tequila in historical past” and I feel that’s most likely true: they’ve racked up a whole bunch of them. These are costly bottles, however in contrast to many on the three-figures degree, these appear to justify the worth. This is a positive 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 have now talked about in our tequila evaluations, 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 evaluation)
Casa Don Ramon (although it was two restricted version variations)
Then there are a variety of manufacturers I’ve by no means heard of earlier than. This is even supposing 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 each one are 40% alcohol. The quantity you’ll pay could be unstable and the worth of tequila is considerably decrease in Mexico if the model is accessible there and the spirit is often bottled at 38% alcohol as an alternative. Sometimes the bottles are 700ml as an alternative of 750 and also you’ll often have a minimum of 50 decisions in a large Mexican grocery store.
If 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 Duty Free, however the costs are nearly all the time greater than you’ll pay in a standard liquor retailer until it’s a particular version you possibly can’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 really well worth the cash and which of them you would possibly wish to experiment with.
Tequila Brands Winning Multiple Double Gold Awards
As talked about above, the large winner once more was Cierto, taking house 5 trophies. 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
Hotel 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
Some of those I’ll attempt to discover and evaluation later, others could also be too obscure to find outdoors of Jalisco and some specialty retailers. If you do see one in all them, or one thing else from that model, it’s most likely a strong alternative the place you possibly can’t go mistaken.
Yes, the Hotel California model is owned by the individuals who personal the resort of that title in Todos Santos. It’s worth too, so decide a bottle or two up in case you’re within the space.
We famous within the final model of this publish that Tequila de la Gente was a crowd-sourced tequila model that was solely accessible in boxed tasting kits of 4 200ml bottles ($109 plus transport). Oddly, it’s nonetheless listed that approach 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 Brands
Some manufacturers that we’ve highlighted as winners up to now bought one Double Gold in the newest competitors, so it’s honest to say they’re constantly placing out product. Here are a couple of that you simply would possibly wish to search out. I wish to purchase the primary two simply due to the enjoyable names.
Ay! Ay! Ay!
JaJa
Lana
Avion
Black Sheep
The following received Gold awards, not Double Gold, however they’ve constantly positioned a number of variations on the winners record up to now and you may be certain they’ve made the tasting judges completely happy.
Cantera Negra
Cutwater
El Sativo Organic
Lobos 1707
Don Julio
Tres Generaciones
Cutwater
Herradura
El Patriarca
Top Extra Añejo Tequila: Be Careful of Hype
If a tequila is aged in barrels for greater than two years, it’s often categorised as Extra Añejo, a classification that has been round lower than 20 years. Sometimes the spirit is aged in French oak barrels, different instances in used bourbon barrels.
Some suppose that’s an excessive amount of of factor and complain that the agave is overwhelmed by the oak, but when carried out proper these top-shelf tequila bottles are a factor of surprise. Most of the best tequilas and the costliest bottles are on this class.
These “big day” bottles often price essentially the most because of the further effort and time, plus since they’re sipping bottles meant to be savored for a very long time, these are usually those with essentially the most elaborate bottles, perfect for gift-giving. The actual high shelf tequila.
Be suggested that there’s a variety of misplaced hype on this class although. One model we’ll depart unnamed costs $1,600 a bottle however has by no means gotten higher than a silver award that we’ve seen and several other others that have been greater than $300 didn’t even place.
If you’re going to spend greater than $100 on a bottle of booze, make it one that’s constantly praised by specialists, just like the Cierto ones, Don Julio 1942, Black Sheep, or Lobos 1707.
Tequila Price and Quality Are Seldom Correlated
There are a couple of classes in all these high-quality tequila blind tasting winners.
1) Price is usually a foul indication of high quality relating to 100% blue agave plant tequila. You would possibly get higher stuff spending $50 than you do spending $250—although there are a couple of winners this 12 months 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 can be superb.
Aged tequila will price greater than clear tequila that hasn’t been by means of an growing older course of, after all, however examine apples to apples and there are apparent outliers. Those common retail costs within the USA among the many winners are fairly affordable, particularly in comparison with the showy bottles you typically see touted as value an enormous premium. (Hint, 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 approach 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 can be simply bandwagon leaping. I like George Clooney films, however you don’t see an extended 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 be capable of say all “Los Altos” tequilas are nice, those from there are likely to have extra complexity and work higher as sipping tequilas, particularly the reposados. Contrary to what some folks 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. Most of the foremost manufacturers which can be 100% agave are a minimum of respectable—many repeatedly win silver or bronze in these competitions—however in case you take an opportunity on one you’ve by no means heard of you would possibly get a really good shock and discover among the best sipping tequilas on the shelf. The tequila business is big and regardless of consolidation, there may be room for lots of gamers, all doing issues a bit in another way within the manufacturing course of.
The reputation of tequila from Mexico retains rising: some stories are exhibiting that it has develop into the #1 spirit within the USA, outselling vodka. So count on extra tequila manufacturers you’ve by no means heard of to hit the market in coming years. Just do not forget that some Mexican distilleries are making a number of manufacturers in a single facility beneath contract, so these tasting competitions are a great way to separate high quality from advertising and marketing hype.
Happy searching!
This article on the most effective tequila from Mexico was up to date in November of 2024.
