El Tesoro

That's a pretty loaded question, and is going to depend on your personal tastes.

Otherwise, it's G4.

Fortaleza, G4 / Terralta / Pasote, El Tesoro / Tapatio / Ocho, Tequila Siete Leguas.

Those four distilleries produce pretty much just those products and nothing else. They are widely considered to be the best in the business.

There are certainly other products and distilleries that are fantastic (t1, for example), but those four stand out (internationally, anyway-- there are a handful of Mexico distribution only distilleries that are apparently quite amazing that I really want to try).

I’m a Siete Leguas guy, but I think it depends greatly on where your palate is.

Casa Noble, Siete Leguas and Fortaleza.

El Tesoro 85th anniversary, Fuenteseca cosecha 2013

Tapatio excelencia

Tear of llorona XA, Tapatio Excelencia, Cascahuin 7x10, Cascahuin XA, G4 7 year XA. Just a few that come to mind since your buddy has deep pockets lol

One of the best blanco I’ve tasted heavily slept on

It’s easy to get but expensive in SoCal

People forget that the expressions i.e. Blanco, reposado etc are everything when it comes to assessing tequila. Some people would never consider anything but a Blanco and it’s original form as the best possible tequila. Others will immediately go for an extra Anejo simply because of its super premium positioning and pricing. So to ask for the absolute best tequila at any price is even more subjective than it would be for most spirits.

Personally, I don’t think aging tequila improves it per se. It just changes it. Therefore, if I had to choose what I considered to be the best tequila it would probably be a Blanco. Availability is a huge issue and my very favourite Blancos are no longer available at retail. Right now, I would probably choose Wild Common or Fortaleza still strength. If you could find a bottle the best tequila of all time in my opinion is Calle 23 Criollo.

It isn't just if cost is not an issue, availability is a huge issue. I understand that by people giving their tops it could be making the next set of problems, but a lot of bottles I hesitate to finish (and sip rarely) are limited and hard to get. Makes sense, right? I left off Fortaleza since that's just lazy to include. These are in no order, and will likely change tomorrow.

​

1. Puntas
2. Brix
3. ReySol
4. Villa Lobos Distiller's Cut
5. Pasote 1579 XA

1. Cuervo Gold

2. Herradura

3. 1800 Coconut Flavor

4. The one with a bottle shaped like a guitar

5. Patron Silver

Cascahuin Cerro de Luz

Patron X Guillermo del Toro

Primo

Gran Patrón Piedra

Fortaleza Still Strength

Fortaleza lote 100

Calle 23 Criollo

123 Tequila 2

123 Tequila 1

Lalo blanco

1. 11 Brix
2. Volans EA
3. Fortaleza Anejo
4. Wild Common Repo
5. Cascahuin Tahona Blanco
6. Wild Common SS

As you can see I firmly believe Chava at 1123 is the master of Tequila right now.

If I only had 1123, 1579, and 1493 to choose from for the rest of my life I’d be one happy MFer

Tres Agaves has been solid and it’s around $30 it’s organic/ additive free. BevMo carries it and if you sign up for their rewards you get $10 off $50+ I got 2 bottles with the promo for $50.

In my opinion I think that cimmaron is the best for the money. All additive free and comes in a one liter for 30 dollars for the blanco and 36-37 for the reposado. It is my go to well tequila at home.

Lalo

I got a connect box of 6 bottles for 120$

Arette for me

Tapatío, full stop.

For mixing, go for good taste at good value:

• Espolon blanco
• Hornitos resposado
• Tres Generaciones añejo

Lunazul, Espolon, Cimarron, and Tapatio are common choices for mixing. Tequila purists will decry some of those for their production methods, but they do the trick.

Uno, Dos, Tres is a nice choice if you don’t mind spending the coin. Same for Casa Noble (I really like their joven).

Typically, you want to mix with blanco or reposado in traditional tequila cocktails. Anejo would be a good choice if you are substituting tequila into cocktails that traditionally use brown spirits (e.g. tequila old fashioned).

Thanks everyone, I went for an Ocho blanco! (since it's one of the two avaible anyone recommended HUM)

I would go with Espolon, Lunazul, Exotico, or Milagro.

Olmeca Altos, Coa, Espolon, El Jimador, Lunazul for less pricey.

El Tesoro, Siete Leguas, Ocho for more expensive.

Whatever you buy, just make sure it says “100% de agave” on the label.

Avoid Cuervo unless it says traditional on it at least.

I’m always curious about “smooth” means to people. Can you let me know what smooth means to you?

Anyway, you will see a lot of the same brands over and over here. Fortaleza is awesome and really popular right now. I personally like Espolón, I would give milagro a try if I were you.

Sorry about the pointless comments you may get. But start with Arrete, Lalo, G4, or a clean higher end like Cabal for an easy sip, always start with blancos and develop your palate. Cheers happy sipping

Just download the Tequila Matchmaker app look at the additive free list and start shopping. And, use the Cuervo for a Molotov cocktail.

Espolón is good. My go to for palomas 🕊

Jajajaja everyone went crazy on this photo I bet. Like Dracula seeing a cross!! Lol

These are better than good brands of tequila ...that are best ones made on Earth!! This is my list of years of work and updating. Pick ANY in the top 30 or 40... and you won't regret it.- https://longislandloutequila.com/what-brands-to-buy/

I will say it since no one has yet and you asked the question. No, Jose Cuervo is not good tequila. This sub has its list of favorites and tends to lean mostly toward traditionally made well crafted tequila. I like Don Julio, but if I’m buying it for home consumption I’m buying G4, Pasote, El Tesoro, Arrette, Olmeca Altos, Cascahuin, Ocho, Siete Leguas. If they sold Forteleza in my area I’d buy that.

Tequila Herradura, Centenario, a few others. Depends how much you want to spend.

Jose Cuervo “gold” is barely tequila. In this case “gold” is not better than the silvers on the market. Several people have already dogged on Jose Cuervo so I’ll stop, but I’ll add something: look for the words “100% Blue Agave” on any bottle you buy. You won’t find those words on Jose Cuervo, which contains processed sugar.

Blanco’s or Silvers are bottled right after distillation.

Reposado’s are “rested” 2-6 months maybe longer in a usually oak casks before bottling

Añejo’s are “aged” 1-3 years in oak casks before bottling.

Extra Añejos are aged over 3 years.

“Gold” tequila might be a blend, but in the case of Jose Cuervo it means “artificial Carmel coloring”.

Jose cuervo is the worst of the worst. They ruin the industry.

“Don Julio Blanco is one of the best-handcrafted tequilas on the market. The aromatic flavor comes from deep well water, which is possibly agave entirely. The unique style and taste leave a slightly sweet savor with cracking agave”

What?

Siete Leguas Blanco has been the star of my Tommy's Margaritas for a hot second now.

Best handcrafted is Don Julio Blanco? You’ve got to be trolling.

The way I look at it is you will spend 5-10 for an OK house margarita at most Mexican restaurants and 10-17 for a premium. At home I can make a super premium margarita for under $3.50. Fortaleza Blanco, Cointreau, lime and sometimes simple syrup. A Tommy's margarita would be even cheaper. I've used Espolon for margaritas and they were very good but not quite the same.

Frankly, you aren't going to get much love with that list here. Most of those brands are passable at best, and problematic at worst (looking at your casa amigos). I get that your page is more geared toward cocktails, but I think you could definitely add some entry level, easily accessible but faithful tequila brands: Olmeca Altos, G4, Siete Leguas, Cascahuin, Tapatio, and who here could forget Fortaleza (harder to come by, so less mass market appeal for margaritas). (edit for spelling)

IMO Im taking 7 leguas blanco over Lalo any day. I’d also do g4 repo over ocho repo. Thanks for sharing nice list.

Why is Casamigos even on this list? 🤮

Some real blasphemy on this list

I was frowning on this list... until I saw Adictivo... then I tuned out completely!

Lalo ranked that high? I thought it was okay. Preferred Ochos blanco. I keep seeing Arette rank high on blind taste tests and reviews here. Might have to give it a try!