Learn how to spot high-quality tequila by checking for 'NOM' certification, '100% Blue Weber agave,' and Jalisco origin on labels. This guide also explains Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo types, and recommends 10 top craft tequilas for every taste and occasion, from affordable blancos to aged sipping spirits.
There’s a trick to spotting high-quality tequila. On the label of any bottle, look for these letters: NOM, which stand for Norma Oficial Mexicana. It means the tequila was produced at a government-registered distillery in Mexico (a stamp of approval that what’s in the bottle meets official standards). If you also see “100% Blue Weber agave”, which indicates the bottle does not contain a mix of sugars, and a listed origin of the tequila heartland of Jalisco, you’re well on your way to choosing something good. As a drinks writer and editor, I started with that baseline for this list. Every bottle below is made from 100% agave and carries a NOM designation, with most produced in Jalisco. From there, the differences come down to style and how you want to drink it. A quick cheat sheet on types of tequilas: Blanco tequila is unaged, so it’s bright and great for margaritas. An aged tequila, reposado (“rested”) spends several months in oak barrels, picking up a softer, rounder character that works well in cocktails or on its own. Añejo is aged longer (typically between one and three years), resulting in deeper, richer flavors best suited for slow sipping to fully appreciate it. But whether you’re mixing margaritas for a crowd or pouring a nightcap to sip on the rocks, the best tequila starts with those few small clues on the label that indicate a bottle made with care. With that said, here are the 10 most exciting craft tequilas you should try. The best tequilas at a glance The bartenders’ favorite: Fortaleza Blanco $62.99 at Total Wine The most affordable: Espolon Blanco $22.99 at Total Wine For whiskey lovers: Casa Dragones Reposado $144.99 at Total Wine For martini lovers: Mijenta Cristalino $79.99 at Total Wine A celebrity-founded tequila that won’t disappoint: Casamigos Reposado $48.09 at Total Wine The best blancos The bartenders’ favorite: Fortaleza Blanco Fortaleza Blanco Tequila $62.99 $62.99 at Total Wine Photograph: Courtesy of Total Wine $62.99 at Total Wine Bartenders famously love Fortaleza for its traditional craftsmanship. Ordering the Blanco is a great way to seem like you know your way around the category, and you’ll get an outstanding expression of pure agave in return. It’s rarer than many other options on this list, but the herbaceous flavor profile and spicy, vegetal finish make it well worth the hunt. The most affordable: Espolon Blanco Espolon Blanco from $22.99 $22.99 at Total Wine $25 at Espolon Photograph: Courtesy of Espolon $22.99 at Total Wine $25 at Espolon Building a basic lineup of spirits (your “well”) for your home bar doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Espolon Blanco is typically under $30, and the smooth, crisp flavor profile makes it a versatile pick for use in classic tequila cocktails including margaritas and palomas. Widely popular, it’s especially accessible for hosting or making a batch of a mixed drink. For spicy cocktail lovers: Don Fulano Fuerte Don Fulano Fuerte $65.99 $65.99 at Total Wine Photograph: Courtesy of Total Wine $65.99 at Total Wine Fuertes are potent, high-ABV blancos that taste as if someone bottled an entire agave field. Don Fulano’s 50% ABV Fuerte expression is packed with bracing notes of cinnamon, freshly ground black pepper and mint, making it ideal for use in spicy margaritas or spicy palomas. With the unexpected intensity of flavors, it’s sure to intrigue experienced tequila drinkers who crave something a little out of the box. Some enthusiasts recommend letting it sit for a few minutes so it can unfurl even more aromas. For mezcal lovers: Dobel Humito Maestro Dobel Dobel Humito $60.99 $60.99 at Maestro Dobel Photograph: Courtesy of Maestro Dobel $60.99 at Maestro Dobel Mezcal fans and barbecue fiends alike will love Dobel’s mesquite wood-smoked blanco tequila, Humito, which translates to “little smoke”. Delicately smoky (subtler than mezcal) with strong peppery and caramel notes, it’s delightful to sip on the rocks or neat; if you don’t like your cocktails too sweet, it also nicely balances ingredients such as fruit juices and liqueurs. For park or backyard gatherings: Madre Blanco Tequila Madre Mezcal Tequila $49.99 $49.99 at Madre Mezcal Photograph: Courtesy of Madre Mezcal $49.99 at Madre Mezcal I always appreciate a tequila that’s easy to splash into a cup of lemonade or orange juice at a back yard barbecue or picnic, and Madre Mezcal’s cheerful, travel-friendly flask of Blanco tequila checks that box. It’s got a simple, sweet, agave-forward flavor profile. Don’t be fooled by the petite size: at 48% ABV (most tequilas are about 40% ABV), Madre packs a real punch. An exciting new bottle: Dobel Tahona Tequila Blanco Dobel Tahona Tequila Blanco $55.99 $55.99 at Dobel Photograph: Courtesy of Dobel $55.99 at Dobel Released late last year and already topping best-of lists, Dobel’s Tahona Blanco revives one of the oldest, most traditional methods of making the spirit: a large volcanic stone wheel (the tahona) slowly crushes the oven-cooked agave to extract the liquid, which then undergoes a slow fermentation process that preserves the agave’s natural sweetness and flavors that evoke a wild garden. It’s a surprisingly earthy blanco that I recommend sipping on the rocks, and the green apple and lime-forward finish lingers for much longer than you’d expect. The best aged tequilas For whiskey fans: Casa Dragones Reposado Casa Dragones Reposado from $144.99 $144.99 at Total Wine $193.90 at Casa Dragones Photograph: Courtesy of Casa Dragones $144.99 at Total Wine $193.90 at Casa Dragones Aged in barrels made from rare Mizunara oak that are traditionally reserved for Japanese whisky, Casa Dragones’s reposado tequila is the perfect bridge bottle to get the whisky lover in your life into the world of high-end tequila. The orange blossom and vanilla notes give way to coffee bean and star anise flavors with a luxurious, long finish. The best celebrity-founded tequila: Casamigos Reposado Casamigos Reposado $48.09 $48.09 at Total Wine Photograph: Courtesy of Total Wine $48.09 at Total Wine It’s impossible to ignore the onslaught of celebrity-backed spirit brands, and tequila is arguably the most crowded category of them all. Founded in 2013 by George Clooney, Casamigos is largely credited with kicking off the trend, and the Reposado is, in my view, the most versatile and enjoyable of all its celeb peers. Should you buy it simply because it’s celebrity-founded? No, especially because Clooney and his partners sold the brand to drinks conglomerate Diageo in 2017. But will it make a surprisingly complex paloma, because aged tequila and grapefruit juice are a match made in heaven? Absolutely. For a twist on a martini: Mijenta Cristalino Mijenta Cristalino from $79.99 $79.99 at Total Wine $119.99 at Mijenta Photograph: Courtesy of Mijenta $79.99 at Total Wine $119.99 at Mijenta A cristalino starts as an aged tequila. It’s then filtered using charcoal to remove the color while keeping the character developed during ageing, so you get the roundness of a reposado with the clear appearance and very polished finish of a blanco. The first B Corp-certified tequila producer, Mijenta makes its cristalino from reposado aged about eight months in American oak. I find it plays especially well with vermouth and bitters for an agave-based martini. For slow sipping: Laelia Añejo Laelia Añejo Añejo $79.99 $79.99 at Laelia Añejo Photograph: Courtesy of Laelia Tequila $79.99 at Laelia Añejo Twelve to 14 months of ageing in French oak barrels gives this tequila a rich, caramelized vanilla and cooked fruit (think: prunes, apples and plums) flavor that feels like fall in a glass. I like to use Laelia’s Añejo in an old-fashioned in place of bourbon, and find that it makes for a super-smooth, complex twist on the classic cold-weather cocktail. Laelia suggests pairing it with barbacoa, carne asada or dark chocolate. Oset Babür-Winter is a food, drinks and lifestyle writer. She was formerly Food & Wine’s senior drinks editor and has completed the Wine and Spirits Education Trust’s (WSET) level 3 award in wines. 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