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You can buy a fantastic bottle of tequila for just 20 bucks or a terrible bottle of Clase Azul for well over a thousand. In the agave spirits world, price is almost never a signifier of quality. Nor is time spent in the barrel, unlike what many would have you think about decades-old high-end whiskeys.
Today, we're going to go through the seven levels of tequila, talking about the brands, production methods, and flavors that you can expect to find at the liquor store. I'm a full-time tequila writer and reviewer, and I'd like to think I know a thing or two about this topic.
Now, there's a few things that all these spirits are going to have in common. For a tequila to be called tequila, it must be distilled from blue Weber agave in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, or Tamaulipas. Though, Jalisco is by far the most popular and produces well over 90% of the world's tequila supply. Once you get through those basic details, however, tequila can splinter in a whole bunch of different directions. And unfortunately, more often than not, for the worse. Let's get into the details.
Level one are mixtos. If the label on your bottle says tequila and not 100% blue Weber agave tequila, then you're most likely drinking what's called a mixto. These are cheap, widely available, and usually far from the best juice. Mixto tequila is a category of spirit that contains at least 51% blue Weber agave distillate and 49% something else. Usually, that something else is cane sugar, corn syrup, or piloncillo, which is an unrefined raw brown sugar traditionally made in Mexico.
Interestingly enough, mixtos are a relatively new type of spirit. Prior to 1949, all tequila had to contain 100% blue Weber agave inside the bottle. Those rules changed as tequila's popularity started to creating agave shortages, and the current rule for 51% agave mixto tequilas was implemented in the 1970s. The best-known brands at this level are the ones that you probably drank in college, Jose Cuervo Especial by far being the most famous name. There's also Sauza, Montezuma, Pepe Lopez, and those bottles that have the little sombrero on top. Sierra Tequila, which I recommend that no one should ever drink. To put it bluntly, these are tequilas that are going to taste a little off and will definitely leave you with a hangover the morning after.
The other word you should get familiar with at this level is the diffuser. The diffuser is a massive industrial-grade machine that produces tequila quicker than anything else. It shreds and washes raw agaves with hot water or chemicals, and extracts up to 99% of agave sugars from the plants, compared to around 70% for more traditional methods. Though this process is very efficient, the tequila it yields has a lot less agave flavor, leading many in the know to call these products agave vodka. There are higher-end 100% agave tequilas like Casa Dragones that use diffusers, but for the most part, mixtos are the category where you'll find them the most often.
Now, there are no diffuser-made tequilas that I would wholeheartedly recommend, but there are a few mixtos. El Tequileño Blanco does the best job at delivering recognizable agave flavor, and I would also check out Los Valores' recently released on-premise blanco if you're interested in exploring the possibilities of this otherwise mostly bad category.
Level two, additives galore. This is the most popular level of tequila and, in my opinion, the most blasphemous. The Mexican government allows for tequilas labeled as 100% blue Weber agave to contain up to 1% of additives by total weight. The four legally permitted additives are sugar-based syrups for sweetening spirits, glycerin for creating a silkier or smoother mouthfeel, oak extract for creating aromas and flavors of barrel aging, and caramel coloring, which can give spirits a darker hue.
Now, 1% may not sound like a lot, but just a few drops of some of these additives, particularly those sugar-based syrups, can radically alter the flavor profile of a tequila. And here's where things get tricky. Mexican regulators do not allow brands to advertise themselves as additive-free, and they don't allow third parties to independently test the quantity of additives in each bottle. When people refer to a tequila as additive-free, they're most likely referring to a defunct additive testing program that used to be run by Tequila Matchmaker. But, unfortunately, that program was effectively banned in 2024. Which, of course, begs the question, which tequilas contain the most additives? I'm sorry to say, but at this level, we're going to find stuff like Don Julio, alongside a whole bunch of celebrity-owned brands like Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila, Kevin Hart's Gran Coramino, Michael Jordan's Cinco Toro, and George Clooney's Casamigos. We're also going to toss in Clase Azul, which is the most unnaturally sweet tequila I have ever tasted. Unlike mixto tequilas, the price points in this category are just all over the place, ranging from 30 bucks on the low end all the way up to tens of thousands of dollars. There's no problem if you enjoy any of these tequilas. Just know that they don't really taste like agave.
Level three is 100% agave improved. At this level, you're going to taste a lot less additives, and you may even start to encounter brands that claim to be additive-free. We're thinking of brands like Espolon, Teremana, Milagro, and Camarena. Though few of these brands advertise themselves as solo sippers, many of them are often used by bartenders in mixed drinks, and to that end, they do perfectly well. You'll taste roasted agave, some pepperiness, citrus, and faint minerality based on the distiller. Many of these brands cook their agaves using an autoclave, which is a large-format pressurized steam oven that kind of looks like a massive beer can turned on its side. After that, they'll typically use a roller mill, a machine that crushes and squeezes cooked agaves with a series of blades. Prices for these tequilas typically hover around 40 to 50 bucks.
Level four is the additive-free gateways. After much talk about additives, we finally arrived at the brands that are widely agreed to be additive free. And thus, this is the first level of tequila that I would wholeheartedly recommend. At this tier, we're going to find widely available bartender favorites like Olmeca Altos, Siete Leguas, Dulce Vida, and Patron. Agave is going to be the dominant flavor in these bottles, followed by subtler hints of florality, pepper, citrus, and minerality based on where and how it was distilled.
Now, what makes these tequilas different from the bottles we're going to be talking about later in the video? Usually, it's an intentional choice. Patron, for instance, trims its agaves much closer to the heart than other distillers, leaving out the agave leaves that can create a waxier, funkier flavor in the final product. As a result, Patron has a very clean, straightforward flavor profile. But, some tequila nerds do prefer something a little more complex. If you're building a back bar and are looking for dependable margarita mixers that pack a punch, this is the level that I would recommend. My personal favorite in this tier is Siete Leguas, which is a little harder to come by here in the United States, but has this really nice vegetal note that shines through in cocktails.
Level five is the good stuff. From this point on, we're mostly going to be talking about matters of personal preference. These are all going to be 100% blue Weber agave additive free brands, many of which epitomize the new generation of premium tequilas that have emerged over the past few years. Level five is where they begin to get a little more expensive. Brands like Mehentha, La Gritona, Suerte, and Lalo, which was recently acquired by Tito's Vodka. So, you're probably going to be seeing them a whole lot more down the road.
Many of these brands use traditional brick ovens to cook their agaves, which is the slowest method, sometimes taking days per batch, but it yields a deeper, roastier flavor. We're also going to begin seeing a little more experimentation. Lalo, for instance, uses champagne yeast in the fermentation process, which has a bit more of a fruity, tropical edge. Suerte, meanwhile, is very well known for its use of a tahona. If you're looking for a single word that embodies truly high-end tequila, the tahona is it. This is a two-ton volcanic stone wheel that slowly but surely crushes roasted agaves into a muddled orangish pulp. It is the most old-school of tequila production techniques and many would say it's the best. These tequilas have a thicker, oilier mouthfeel alongside a lot more earth and mineral notes. In case it isn't already obvious, I am very fond of Siete tequila, but I would also recommend El Tequileño's higher-end stuff, Zumbador, and all those other brands I mentioned just a moment ago. Prices for these tequilas typically hover around 50 to 70 bucks, though you can find some really killer stuff around 40 as well.
Level six is agave royalty. This is where additive-free tequila is elevated to the next level in one of many different possible ways. Brands like Tequila Ocho, El Tesoro, Tapatio, Siete Leguas, and Cascahuín. Some of these brands use tahonas, some of them don't, but they all find distinct ways to stand out from the crowd. Tequila Ocho, for instance, is known to spotlight regionality. Agaves grown in the lowlands of Mexico usually have an earthier, peppery flavor, while agaves grown in the highlands are sweeter and fruitier. Tequila Ocho curates specific fields of agave and always lets you know exactly what's inside the bottle. Siete Leguas, meanwhile, is the only tequila brand that uses a mule-drawn tahona. Animals come out two times a day to pull that big volcanic stone wheel in circles and that probably doesn't have an impact on the final flavor, it's a testament to a brand that still does things the very old-fashioned way.
At this level, we're also going to begin seeing a lot more high-proof bottlings. The vast majority of tequila sold in the United States is bottled at the legal minimum of 40% ABV, but the legal maximum is 55%, an upper limit that brands like Tapatio and Cascahuín regularly push into. Though these spirits can run a little hot for the average drinker. Tequila fans love this stuff. And the high proof blanco category in particular has taken off like wildfire over the past few years. This is the level of tequila that I drink the most often, and prices can range anywhere from around 50 to around 100 bucks. This is tequila at its best, and for me is the gold standard for what we should expect from agave spirits.
Level seven are the unicorns. This is where hype enters the equation. Not to say that level five or level six tequilas don't get hype online, but this is the echelon of tequilas where word of mouth amongst influencers and spirits writers can turn a once unassuming favorite into a ludicrously expensive unobtainable. I am, of course, talking about Fortaleza, what many would consider the greatest tequila of all time. Originally sold at around 60 bucks per bottle, regular Fortaleza blanco has since skyrocketed to around 150, and where I live in New York City, sometimes 200 bucks or more. The brand uses traditional brick ovens, tahonas, and copper pot stills to make an excellent, exceptionally agave forward tequila. Even if you're not willing to shell out the cash, Fortaleza is a tequila that everyone should try at least once in their life.
I'm also going to include G4, Fuenteseca, and Cascahuin at this level. Though all of these brands are much easier to find than Fortaleza these days, word of mouth surrounding these brands has turned some of their limited edition releases into unicorn hunts as soon as they're announced. These are all really, really good tequilas, but in my opinion, unless you're a collector, it's never worth paying over 150 bucks for a single bottle of tequila. Unlike the whiskey world, where a decades old spirit justifies its price tag with time in the barrel, the oldest tequilas are usually only aged between three and five years, and even then, it's still the unaged blancos that are the most sought after among die hard fans. I think that the hype cycle surrounding particular brands has gotten a little out of hand over the past few years, and I would love to see bottles like Fortaleza return to their original suggested retail price. Though I doubt that will happen anytime soon.
Now, if you have any disagreements with these seven levels of tequila, I hear you and you're probably right. It's impossible to draw a hard line between different tequila brands, especially when a distiller like Patron releases limited edition high-end bottlings and a distiller like Casamigos is arguably also really well known for their budget-friendly though totally dependable $40 blanco. I've tried my best to separate brands according to quality and reputation. Though, of course, reputation is going to vary a whole lot from drinker to drinker. And of course, let me know if there are any other brands that you think deserve a shout-out on this list. My name is Pedro Wolf and I write about Mexican spirits for a living and also shoot some videos here on YouTube. I do distillery tours, reviews, rankings, just the whole meat and potatoes for tequila and agave spirits. And I have plenty more in store down the road. If you're interested in this kind of content, be sure to like and subscribe. I'll see you next time.