We break down what tequila you should buy for the perfect cocktails.
Tequila: It isnt just an ingredient formargaritas, nor is it just for shots during happy hour.
Ready To Become a Tequila Expert?
Garrett McCord
Leela Cyd Ross
What Is Tequila?
These laws are recognized by more than 40 countries through various trade agreements.
Mexican guidelines state that tequila must meet the following guidelines:
Fun fact!
Leela Cyd Ross
How Is Tequila Made?
They take about 10 years to grow before theyre ready to be harvested for tequila.
The labor-intensive harvesting is done by hand by agave farmers known asjimadores.
Classic Margarita made with blanco tequila.Elise Bauer
The result is a tequila thats very sweet in both smell and taste.
However, the flavor usually stops there.
Golden-colored mixtos are calledjoven(young) ororo(gold) tequilas and have oak flavoring and coloring added.
Pineapple Jalapeño Margaritas made with reposado or Añejo tequila.Leela Cyd Ross
Mixtos arent ideal and I generally dont recommend buying them.
Each variety has a different punch in of flavor, aroma, and price point.
These are blanco, reposado, anejo, and extra anejo.
Garrett McCord
Keep in mind that anejo doesnt mean best,it just means oldest.
If you prefer the flavor of blanco, then buy blanco.
Extra anejos are often the most expensive tequilas.
Its affordable price point and general smoothness make it a good workhorse tequila.
The name 1800 comes from the year tequila was first successfully aged in oak casks.
The tequila sees zero wood aging and goes straight to the bottle.
The hay-colored reposado spends six months aging in American oak whiskey barrels.
Leyenda also produces an excellent silver tequila worth trying, as well as a wonderful and affordable anejo.
The reposado is aged for seven months in whiskey barrels.
However, its so smooth youd never know it.
The agave is slow roasted in brick ovens andtahona-crushed before a double-distillation in copper stills.
The tequila is aged for 18 months in bourbon oak barrels.
