Best Tequila Brands 2021
Here are the best tequila brands this year, true drinkable works of art that will elevate your Margarita mixing skills. Authentic tequila not to miss.
Photo By CanvaThere are dozens of tequila brands out there, and the overall quality is great! Still, some are simply better than others and have taken the category to new heights. Here are the best tequila brands you’ll find this year — authentic masterpieces to sip or mix. Have you tried them all?
10+ Tequila Brands to Try this Year
What Are the Best Tequila? Tequila is hitting the mainstream once again. this time with sipping tequila as complex and sophisticated as the finest whiskey and cognac.
Tequila producers have truly taken the agave spirit to new heights with premium and ultra-premium tequilas that are now coveted by collectors worldwide. There’s more to tequila than margaritas and fiery shots. The spirit is now seen as a pure drink to appreciate slowly.
Although you’ll still find plenty of regular tequila to make unique cocktails, here are the best tequila brands for true connoisseurs. There’s something magical in every bottle of agave spirit!
1. Centenario Leyenda
Following a 150-year-old recipe going back to the distillery’s earliest years, Centenario Leyenda is truly legendary. Legend says Don Lázaro Gallardo, the distillery’s founder, created this concoction to greet his most distinguished guests.
Leyenda is made with hand-picked blue agave, and it’s double-distilled in copper stills before spending some time in American oak barrels. Rich and aromatic, Centenario Leyenda delivers honey, charred oak, and brown spices in every sip over a mellow palate with a sweet aftertaste.
Incredibly elegant and bold, this dark spirit is fine tequila taken to the extremes of refinement. Don’t expect a shy spirit, though.
2. Clase Azul Reposado
One of the most traditional tequilas on the market is also amongst the most exclusive. Even Clase Azul’s hand-painted clay bottle is collectible, and there’s never enough production to go around.
Clase Azul is in a class of its own, and its greatest expression is the Reposado Tequila. The agaves are slow-cooked for this one to achieve a rich and honeyed spirit with candied orange scents, cinnamon hints and agave syrup notes on the palate.
This handcrafted spirit is amongst the finest in the category, but the distillery has even more exclusive tequilas, and they’re as rare as they’re pricy.
3. Hotel California Reposado
For the name alone, you might think this isn’t a serious proposition, but it is. This tequila is aged 28 months in Bourbon barrels, and it’s a blend of two- and three-year-old reposado tequila.
Bold and assertive, this spicy and smoky agave spirit is fantastic on its own, but it still is part of creative cocktails.
For the price, this is one of the best alternatives on the market, and Hotel California has proven its worth in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, earning a gold medal. Vanilla, warm spices and caramel scents make this tequila crowd-pleasing.
4. Reserva de la Familia Reposado
Smooth as silk and with deep flavors extending long into the aftertaste, Reserva de la Familia Reposado is amongst the most respected in the category. Although the extra añejo version is pricier and more sophisticated, it might be too oaky to appreciate the agave scents in the background entirely — the reposado is just right.
With a masterful combination of large and small barrels, this tequila offers flowers, spices and charred oak aromas with hints of toffee and roasted cacao beans. Extraordinarily very well priced for what you get, the Reserva de la Familia deserves a spot on this year’s list.
5. Tequila Patrón Silver
Patron has been amongst the most respected tequila producers for years, and although their more expensive offerings are undoubtedly appealing, their greatest hit is the white ‘Silver’ Tequila.
Citrusy and pleasantly fruity, this mild, almost sweet tequila has the faintest spice notes to complement the clean profile that makes it ideal for drinking on the rocks.
Even the bottle is artisanal, making Patron one of the nicest-looking bottles in any tequila collection. The quality is not far behind; this is a pure masterpiece and proof that white tequila is coming back with full force.
6. Maestro Dobel 50 Cristalino
This modern tequila is reinventing the category with innovation despite being around for eleven generations. Maestro Dobel uses the finest Blue Wever agave from a single estate before aging this beauty in American and Eastern European oak barrels for three years.
This crystal-clear tequila is more complex than you think, with fruit, citrus aromatics and spices brimming from the glass. Although the tequila’s natural amber color has been stripped through filtration, this one still tastes like a well-aged añejo.
This one might be on the expensive side, but it’s truly worth every penny. This is the tequila of the 21st century.
7. Tequila 1800 Milenio
This high-end tequila and the crown jewel in the 1800s repertoire deserves a spot up there with the grates brown spirits in the world. Handcrafted and extra-aged in French cognac barrels, this agave spirit has an old-world feel and the most balanced bouquet of cinnamon, vanilla, roasted nuts and honeyed agave.
The crystal decanter holding this impressive spirit is a beauty as well, making 1800 Milenio an excellent gift for any brown spirit lover.
8. Atelier del Maestro
This one is a craft spirit and is not as easy to find as other tequilas on the list. Still, it’s well worth looking for.
The Atelier del Maestro Extra Añejo spends 40 months in oak barrels that previously held Scotch and Bourbon. The process rewards the agave spirit with the most decadent spicy notes and a rich, textural mouthfeel that just makes this one taste incredibly high-end and polished.
If you enjoy caramel and vanilla flavors, this handcrafted tequila will swoon you off your feet.
9. Don Julio 1942
No fine tequila list is complete without the fragrant, floral and smooth as silk Don Julio 1952. Consistently good, the recipe for this exclusive piece still has no equal in the very competitive market. Although Don Julio falls in the commercial end of the spectrum, 1942 is on another level.
This golden tequila spends two-and-a-half years in barrels, and it brings forward warm oak and roasted agave scents along with the most impressive floral aromatics.
10. Gran Patrón Piedra Extra Añejo
The extra añejo tequila category is still strong, and one of the finest examples comes from Patrón. The Gran Patrón Piedra Extra Añejo is truly something. The agave is crushed artisanally in a stone mill, and the spirit ages for over three years in fine oak.
American and French oak bless the spirit with a nuanced bouquet of roasted agave and spice box aromas over a robust and incredibly long palate. This one is a must in any tequila collection.
11. Reserva de la Familia Platino
Another member of the Cuevo family. The Reserva de la Familia Platino, is an unaged tequila with an unbeatable smoothness and the most pleasing herbal notes from the fine blue agaves used in the blend. Tropical fruit aromas and honeyed scents merge for an astounding slow sipper.
White tequila is experiencing a comeback, and we’ll surely see more of it in next year’s list. When the tequila is as good as this, you need not age it for extended periods in oak. The result? The purest agave flavors — the authentic taste of Mexico.
Here are our some Tequila Recipes:
Green Margarita
Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake.Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
