Tequila! A distilled liquor so beloved it's been the subject of many songs, but unless you have a shot of the best tequila, you can be put off the drink for the rest of your life – we speak from experience.
The thing about tequila is it makes a fantastic shot, especially when it's followed by salt and a slice of lime. But this agave-based tipple is quickly becoming a long drink of choice for many people. Which is why we've put together this list and selected our top picks of the best tequila you can buy today.
UPDATE:We don't think tequila lovers need a reason to pick up their favourite drink, but on the 24th of July it's World Tequila Day – what better excuse to get some friends round and create the best tequila-based cocktails before moving onto shots.
Did you know that tequila production is actually quite rare? Much like champagne, it can only be produced in specific regions in Mexico: Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, Tamaulipas, and Jalisco.
Fancy another fun tequila fact? All tequila can be classified as mezcal, but not all mezcal can call itself tequila. In order to be classed as mezcal, the drink must come from the agave plant. However, tequila is distilled using only the blue Weber variety of agave. There's one to crack out at your next cocktail party.
Whether you’re after something to down in one, add to a fancy cocktail or would prefer to savour straight, like they do in Mexico, then discover our budget-spanning pick of the best tequila below. If you want to know more about how to drink it, then head to our tequila drinking tips.
- Prefer the taste of gin? Take a look at our best gin list while we’re on the subject.
- How to drink tequila, according to the experts.
Additional tasting: Marc Chacksfield and Hermione Blandford
The best tequila
How to drink tequila: ultimate tequila drinking tips
We recently sat down with Proximo Spirits tequila educator Oli Pergl to get some tequila drinking tips. Here he explains just how to get the most out of your tequila tasting and why you should sip, not shoot...
"These are tips I have stolen from my trips many trips to the Jose Cuervo distillery and will hopefully help people taste tequila better...
Don't use a shot glass
"The first is the glass - use something like a champagne flute and that will really let you taste and examine what you are drinking.
Neutralise your senses before sipping
"You are surrounded by aftershave, food so you want to neutralise both smell and taste. To do this, crack some coffee beans, then cup your hands and take a big smell of the coffee. This is a very intense smell so will neutralise your nose
"To neutralise your sense of taste, then just have some water."
Try putting some tequila on your hands before tasting
"Before you smell the tequila in the glass, you will want to smell the agave first. In the town of tequila there about 24/25 distilleries and they are producing tequila 24 hours a day, six days a week. Sunday is 24-hour siesta and nobody is working. So none of the ovens are cooking, none of the distilleries are producing. But every few minutes during the six days, there is a huge aroma fo the agave cooking. Once you know what it is, you will be able to discover it in tequila.
"Because we aren’t in Tequila, there is another technique: pour three or four drops of the tequila in your hand, wash your hands with the drops. The quality of tequila can be tested by how it feels. 100% agave shouldn’t feel sticky as there is no sugar. If it’s silky and coating the skin then that’s an indicator that it’s 100% agave.
"What also happens is that the body temperature of the skin is warm enough to evaporate the ethanol. All that is left is cooked agave. Smell that on your hands and you get an olive cooked in honey type smell. This is blue agave at its core."
This is how to properly understand the smell of tequila
"When smelling, dip your nose into the bottom of the glass, with the glass at a slight angle as that is where the aroma is strong. At the top it is lighter. And because you have trained your nose, you should be able to smell the agave notes.
"The first thing you get is the buttery sweetness of agave, then floral notes of honeysuckle and at the end there is a grassy, salinity to it. There is a sea water smell in there, so you don’t need an extra bit of salt in there.
"Your sense of smell and taste is as unique as your fingerprint so if you don’t smell those notes, don’t be alarmed but you will be able to smell difference and generic flavours in the tequila."
And these are the steps to properly taste the tequila
- Take a big breath, hold it in through the entire drinking process of the tequila
- Take a sip, but don’t take all of it - don’t swirl it about but make sure it coats your tongue for about three, four seconds.
- Swallow, still not taking a breath
- Breathe out but exhale through your nose
SOMETHING MISSING FROM OUR SHORTLIST?
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