School of Wine & Spirits
Tequila
268 reviews
Tequila Don Julio 70 Añejo Claro Cristalino
Don Julio
Don Julio 70 pioneered the cristalino category, and it remains a benchmark — an añejo that has passed through the hinge between barrel richness and blanco clarity. It's an ideal gateway bottle for those who want oak-informed complexity without the weight, and it rewards sipping neat as much as it elevates a refined cocktail.
Esperanto Añejo Tequila
Esperanto
Esperanto Añejo is a study in how bitterness, properly harnessed, becomes sophistication. Two years in barrel give it a tannic backbone and roasted depth that never overwhelms the agave's inherent sweetness. A contemplative sipper that rewards patience and pairs beautifully with the issue's theme of beauty emerging from bitter origins.
Tequila Orendain Ollitas Reposado
Orendain
Orendain is one of tequila's oldest and most significant producers, yet it remains remarkably under-the-radar outside of Mexico—a hidden wellspring in plain sight. This reposado delivers honest, balanced agave character at a price that makes it a daily-driver standout. It rewards attention without demanding a premium, proving that the best sources aren't always the loudest.
Corazón Añejo Tequila
Corazón
Corazón Añejo is an approachable yet layered añejo that punches well above its modest price point. Its interplay of roasted agave sweetness and restrained oak influence makes it an ideal dusk sipper—complex enough to reward attention, smooth enough to ease into evening. A genuine value in the añejo category.
Tres Agaves Añejo Tequila
Tres Agaves
Tres Agaves Añejo is a study in patience rewarded—flavors that feel genuinely excavated rather than applied. Its restrained oak influence lets the cooked agave and earthy minerality shine, making it an honest, satisfying añejo at a remarkably fair price point.
Pueblo Viejo Orgullo Añejo Tequila
Pueblo Viejo
Pueblo Viejo Orgullo Añejo is a quiet overachiever — a tequila that keeps its promise of honest, well-aged agave character without pretension or price inflation. It represents the kind of straightforward craftsmanship that rewards loyal drinkers, making it a benchmark for value-driven añejos that never cut corners.
Arette Blanco Tequila
Arette
Arette Blanco is one of the best-value tequilas on the market. Made at the historic González family distillery in the town of Tequila, it delivers clean agave expression without pretension. At under $25, it's a cocktail workhorse that's equally satisfying sipped neat.
Clase Azul Añejo
Clase Azul
Clase Azul Añejo delivers a tequila experience where the cartography of char is written in every sip — the burned lines of heavily toasted oak barrels charting a living map of agave transformation. It's an opulent añejo that rewards contemplation, balancing oak influence with enough cooked agave character to remind you of its highland origins. A showpiece bottle with substance to match.
Herradura Selección Suprema Extra Añejo
Herradura
Herradura Selección Suprema is a testament to patience and clarity born from time. Over four years in American white oak barrels transform the spirit's youthful intensity into something refined and deeply composed. This is a meditation tequila—one that rewards stillness and attention, perfectly embodying the idea that clarity emerges only after weathering turbulence.
Espolòn Añejo Cristalino Tequila
Espolòn
Espolòn Añejo Cristalino delivers the barrel-kissed warmth of an añejo with the visual clarity of a blanco—a study in degrees of flame rendered invisible. At its approachable price point, it offers genuine complexity and makes a compelling case for the cristalino category. An ideal entry point for exploring how fire transforms agave.
Casa Dragones Añejo Barrel Blend
Casa Dragones
Casa Dragones Añejo Barrel Blend is a tequila built to endure — not just in the barrel but on the palate. Its multi-barrel blending approach creates a flavor architecture that reveals new dimensions over time, making it the kind of pour that lingers in memory long after the glass is empty. A masterclass in how oak and agave can forge something genuinely lasting.
Siembra Valles Ancestral Blanco
Siembra Valles
Ancestral production methods — tahona-crushed, open-air fermented, copper pot distilled — yield a tequila that tastes like the valley it comes from. This is terroir made drinkable, with volcanic soil minerality at its core. One of the most transparent expressions of Amatitán's lowland character available.
Maestro Dobel Diamante Cristalino
Maestro Dobel
Maestro Dobel Diamante pioneered the cristalino category, proving that filtration need not erase character when the fermentation and distillation are handled with care. The yeasty undertone that survives the charcoal filtration is a testament to patient, slow fermentation—a vigil kept in stainless steel tanks before the spirit ever saw wood. An accessible yet thoughtful bottle that rewards attention.
Caballito Cerrero Reposado
Caballito Cerrero
Caballito Cerrero Reposado is a twilight tequila—rustic, brooding, and layered with the kind of complexity that rewards slow sipping. Its artisanal production and restrained oak aging preserve agave character while adding just enough barrel-driven warmth. A bottle that bridges the old world of tequila making with the contemplative mood of dusk.
Olmeca Altos Añejo Tequila
Olmeca Altos
Olmeca Altos Añejo is a quietly radical proposition: a tahona-milled, highland añejo at an everyday price point that tastes like terroir rather than marketing. Master distiller Jesús Hernández crafts a tequila that wears its earth proudly—the volcanic red soil of Los Altos is practically legible in the glass. In an issue devoted to earthbound liquid truths, this bottle reminds us that provenance doesn't require a premium price tag to speak loudly.
Gran Centenario Leyenda Extra Añejo
Gran Centenario
Gran Centenario Leyenda is the olive branch of extra añejos—proof that time and patience can transform the raw, fiery character of agave into something profoundly gracious. At a fraction of the price of many aged tequilas, it offers a masterclass in mercy: every rough edge smoothed, every bitter note forgiven by the slow work of oak. This is a spirit that asks nothing of you but the willingness to sit quietly and receive.
Chinaco Reposado Tequila
Chinaco
Chinaco Reposado occupies a singular place in the tequila world—born in Tamaulipas, far from Jalisco's highlands and lowlands, it carries a terroir-driven character that feels bracingly individual. Its smoky earthiness and herbaceous complexity make it a natural companion for the 'Embers Before Clarity' theme, bridging the fire-forward spirits in this issue with a quieter, contemplative warmth. A tequila that rewards patience and attention.
Suerte Blanco Tequila
Suerte
Suerte Blanco is a tahona-crushed blanco that offers remarkable clarity and depth for its price point. The traditional stone milling lends a textural richness that column-distilled blancos rarely achieve. An excellent sipper that also elevates any cocktail it enters.
Gran Dovejo Añejo
Gran Dovejo
Gran Dovejo Añejo is a masterclass in how heritage-driven production—slow brick-oven cooking, copper pot distillation, and patient aging at the family-run El Ranchito distillery—creates tequila of depth and refinement. The 18-month rest in American oak barrels lets the highland agave speak clearly while adding layers of complexity. In an issue celebrating how roots shape the pour, this bottle demonstrates that when traditional methods are honored across generations, the spirit carries forward a sense of place and purpose that no shortcut can replicate.
Tears of Llorona No. 3 Extra Añejo
Tears of Llorona
Tears of Llorona No. 3 is a meditation in a glass—an extra añejo that honors its five years of aging without abandoning the soul of its agave. Where many long-aged tequilas become oak-forward spirits that could pass for brandy, this bottling maintains a dialogue between barrel and plant, sweetness and spice, richness and restraint. It is the embodiment of twilight cask whispers: a spirit that speaks softly but says everything.
Cazadores Añejo Tequila
Cazadores
Cazadores Añejo is a quietly compelling Highland tequila that reveals genuine terroir-driven minerality beneath its approachable oak aging. The red volcanic soils of Arandas translate directly into the glass, making this an excellent value añejo that rewards thoughtful sipping. A perfect illustration of how mineral grit can anchor and elevate barrel-aged agave spirit.
Mijenta Blanco Tequila
Mijenta
Mijenta Blanco is a thoughtfully crafted tequila that reflects the sustainable ethos of master distiller Ana María Romero Mena. The spirit balances approachability with genuine complexity — cooked agave sweetness never descends into flatness, and the citrus-mineral interplay keeps things lively. Excellent sipped neat or in a refined cocktail.
Villa Lobos Plata
Villa Lobos
A brilliantly focused Highland blanco from a legendary distilling family — quiet in its presentation but razor-sharp on the palate, and a benchmark for what unadorned agave clarity can achieve.
Patrón Silver
Patrón
A benchmark blanco whose polish and approachability have made it a cocktail-bar workhorse; not the most rustic or characterful expression on the market, but a reliably clean canvas that reflects the union of brick-oven heat and tahona stone.