The 17 best tequilas in the world that you have to try

If tequila is your thing and you want to know which are the best, in this list you will find the 17 best tequila brands in the world.

1. Qui Platinum Extra Aged

Made in small batches in the highlands of Jalisco, Qui is aged for three and a half years in carefully selected French and American oak barrels.

The tequila is then re-boiled and filtered nine more times to form the first platinum extra-aged tequila on the planet.

This painstaking process preserves the intensity provided by the oak and accentuates the tequila’s smoothness. In the end you get a tequila with qualities of caramel, vanilla and honey and an alcohol content of 35%.

In the manufacture of tequila, the heads and tails of each distillation are discarded, using only the heart of the harvest. This is where the inspiration for the name Qui comes from, from the penultimate syllable of te-“qui”-la.

Qui has been awarded the gold medal in the Spirit of the Americas competition as the best añejo, as well as being named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the five best tequilas in the world.

2. Astral

The agave hearts used to prepare Astral tequila are roasted in traditional stone ovens. In addition to only using wild yeasts, their production process stands out for two key differences.

The first is that its agaves are cultivated on mountain slopes; in this way the agave has to resist more stress when growing and, therefore, obtains a more powerful flavor.

The second difference is that after crushing the agave piñas, the juice is fermented together with the begazo or residual pulp, which gives it a characteristic spicy flavor and aroma.

Astral contains an alcoholic strength of 46%.

3. Seven Leagues

With a rustic, clean flavor and 38 degrees of alcohol, Siete Leguas is produced through a complex traditional process.

This process includes crushing some of the agave hearts with old tahonas or mills with stone wheels pulled by donkeys.

Like the wine, the secret lies in its unique blend of agave piñas, which varies from batch to batch depending on a wide variety of factors.

The result is a really complex tequila, full of aromas and flavors such as cinnamon, mint, earth and pine, but always maintaining a balanced and smooth flavor.

4. Noble House

The Casa Noble brand encompasses a wide variety of artisan tequilas that are certified organic.

All of their tequilas are excellent, but without a doubt their limited production Casa Noble Joven tequila, at 40 proof, is the best.

Its full flavor is oak aged for only six weeks, which would actually make it a white tequila, but it is different from Casa Noble’s non-oak white tequila called Crystal.

As a result, you get a roundness and richness that suggest the taste of dark chocolate, without the characteristic buttery and vanilla flavors of oak, as in Crystal tequila.

5. Young Dragon House

The company is run by Bertha Gonzáles Nieves, the first woman to receive the status of Maestra Tequilera by the Mexican government.

Unlike most other tequila brands, which still use traditional production processes with all their primitive charm, the Casa Dragones company uses a modern multiple distillation process that removes harsh flavors and impurities.

In addition to its modern process, Casa Dragones Joven tequila features some extra aged tequila to add to its complexity.

It is then stored in hand-blown bottles with hand-signed and numbered labels.

At a high price, it has an exquisite flavor with a wide range of flavors and aromas that reflects all the smoothness of its production process.

6. Eight

Ocho was created by the famous tequila maker Carlos Camarena (producer of Tequila Tapatío, included in this list) in association with Tomas Estes, named ambassador of tequila in Europe by the Jalisco government.

This tequila takes advantage of the characteristics of the different soils in the region. This means that, like wine, Ocho tequila uses vintages from different ranches to take advantage of the unique flavor profiles of each area.

In this way, each batch or harvest presents agaves obtained from different ranches, full of unique flavors and aromas, with the year and the precise location marked on each bottle.

Añejo and reposado tequilas are stored in barrels that have already been used for other batches of tequila, in order to eliminate the effects of oak on its flavor. Eight has an alcoholic strength of 40%.

7. Raven Family Reserve

Another family of tequilas that has been on the market for more than a hundred years, since 1795. In fact, to celebrate its bicentennial, the company created a limited family reserve called Cuervo Reserva de la Familia, with 40 degrees of alcohol.

For this special tequila, the best quality agaves were selected, distilled and stored for at least three months in the family’s private cellar.

After being numbered and dated one by one, each batch was tasted by a member of the Cuervo family before being bottled.

Each new vintage of this great tequila brings a different high-quality flavor and aroma, but always with deep flavors and a velvety texture.

8.Kah

Kah is distinctive for its distinctive hand-painted skull bottles representing the Day of the Dead.

It is a rested tequila that is distilled with an alcohol content of 55%, the maximum allowed in the United States. However, this is hardly noticeable due to its soft shade reminiscent of coffee.

Kah also features a 40% alcohol blanco tequila, which has a sweetness produced by a long process of roasting mature agaves, followed by notes of sweet winter spices. With this tequila you do not need sweeteners for your margaritas.

9. Blue Sowing

Siembra Azul’s founder, David Suro-Piñera, is committed to honesty in the production of his tequila.

For this reason, all the labels on their bottles highlight each part of the production process, which starts from the iron-rich soil of the Jalisco highlands.

In addition, their way of making tequila has very interesting distinctions. First, it is only prepared in winter, when tequila fermentation is much slower, thus producing unique and complex flavors.

Another important detail is that during the fermentation, the music of Vivaldi and Mozart does not stop playing. This is to, in the words of Suro-Piñera, reduce environmental stress while the yeasts act in the open vats.

Though it sounds far-fetched, the process works, resulting in a sweet, floral 40-proof tequila with a silky smoothness and almost aged quality.

10. Tequila Tapatio

Carlos Camarena, owner of the brand, comes from a family dedicated to the tequila trade since the 19th century.

It has many brands of very good quality tequilas, but without a doubt its Tapatío Añejo tequila, with more than 75 years in the Mexican market and 38 degrees of alcohol, is the favorite of many.

To prepare this tequila, the pineapples are left to ferment slowly along with the residual pulp or bagasse, and then the resulting white is left to rest in steel tanks for half a year.

This results in a unique tequila with a great body and spicy flavor.

On the other hand, Tapatío Blanco 110 Tequila (55% ABV) also boasts citrus and fruity aromas, as well as herbal flavors like mint that go perfectly with classic cocktails like margaritas.

11. Don Julio 1942

Don Julio is a famous tequila brand with a wide variety of products including aged, white, or reposado. Of all these, the one that stands out is its tequila aged for almost two and a half years and with an alcoholic strength of 38% named Don Julio 1942.

Don Julio 1942 is more like a fine cognac, with notes of salted caramel and creamy tropical fruit perfectly blended with hot spices. A combination that will confuse your senses.

In addition, it has a stylized bottle with a unique design that stands out among the other drinks in a bar.

12. Great Platinum Pattern

Triple distilled tequila with a short oak barrel aging, which instead of having a flavor reminiscent of vanilla, has a very fine freshness with a touch of spice at the end.

The price may be high, but it is one of the easiest tequilas to swallow. Imagine it as that touch of unforgettable perfume that a woman leaves when she leaves a room.

13. Miracle Silver Select Barrel Reserve

This company makes very smooth triple distilled tequilas that, although bottled in modern and elegant designs, follow traditional production methods. Its white tequila, with an alcohol content of 38%, greatly enhances the flavor of margaritas.

In addition, its price is relatively cheap compared to other tequilas in its category. Thanks to the fact that it rests for a month in French oak barrels, it has more spicy flavors than those characteristic of American oak.

14. 1-2-3 Organic Tequila

Made with 100% blue agave grown using sustainable Aztec farming methods, these three tequilas were among the first to be certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The agave is roasted in stone ovens and then distilled in clay pots. Thanks to the extreme care in the methods used, these are some of the cleanest and purest tequilas you can taste.

They also do not use commercial yeasts in their fermentation process and their packaging is made from recycled materials.

Blanco 1 tequila is the cleanest and purest, with intense aromas of fresh agave. They have an alcohol content of 40% and flavors of minerals, black pepper and lemon peel.

15. Old Town

Pueblo Viejo, as its name suggests, is one of the longest-running tequila brands on the market.

Having been around since 1886, Pueblo Viejo isn’t concerned with just hiring graphic designers or fancy glass blowers for its bottles. Its products are classic tequilas, made with artisan techniques from the highlands, with a fruity, citrus, clean and floral touch.

Its extra añejo San Matías Gran Reserve is aged for three years in French oak barrels, contains an alcoholic strength of 38% and is at a very affordable price.

16. Horseshoe

Herradura tequila has been on the market since 1870, and the company’s more than 25 million agaves were propagated with plants from that time.

With fermentation tanks of almost four million liters, Herradura has managed to maintain its original quality despite being a large-scale producer.

Plus, it doesn’t rely on commercial yeasts to speed up the fermentation of its tequila, instead using yeasts naturally found in the air.

The brand is famous for its reposado category tequila, which it introduced in 1874 and remains one of the best examples of reposado tequila.

It has caramel and vanilla flavors that are produced by a long rest of 11 months in American oak barrels. It also has an alcoholic strength of 40%.

The Herradura Plata spends only 45 days in oak barrels, so it has a subdued color and smoothness, without standing out too much above the base flavor of the agave.

17. Casamigos White

Although it is aged for two months, Casamigos is still a white tequila in which, although it is transparent, the pronounced flavors and aromas of cocoa and vanilla characteristic of the oak can be perceived.

If you love smooth tequilas, with a rich, clean flavor and a creamy texture, then you will love Casamigos Blanco.

All of these properties may be the result of cooking the agave piñas for three days, instead of the typical 36 hours of the procedure. It has an alcoholic strength of 40%.

Now you know which are the best tequilas in the world. Which one will you try first? Don’t forget to share this article with your friends.