How to Pick the Best Tequila
- Toni B
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
How to Pick the Best Tequila
Most tequila on shelves is made to be mixed, not sipped. Here's how I separate the bottles worth your money from the ones worth skipping.
The Checklist
100% agave on the label. Non-negotiable.
A real NOM number you can look up to the distillery.
No celebrity branding or influencer hype on the front.
Price that matches the category. A blanco under $25 is usually mixto.
Traditional production: brick oven, tahona, copper stills.
Independent verification if you can find it.
By Style
Blanco: crisp agave, best neat or in a margarita. Look for G4, Siete Leguas, or El Tesoro. Reposado: a little oak, still agave-forward. Cazcanes and Fortaleza reposado are solid. Añejo: more barrel, more money. Only worth it if you like oak.
What to Avoid
Anything that tastes like vanilla syrup or burns going down. Anything with a famous face on the bottle. Anything that costs $15 and claims to be premium.
Bottom Line
Buy 100% agave, buy from a real distillery, and buy what you can afford to sip. The rest is noise.