Best Tequilas To Mix In Your Favorite Classic Cocktails
To make these 9 cocktails, match the ingredients with the right tequila
courtesy Santera
With so many great brands available on the market right now, there’s no better time to be sipping tequila. Good tequila can easily be sipped neat, but because flavor profiles vary, some match best with particular cocktail styles. Whether you love drinking classic agave libations like the Margarita or use aged tequila in place of whiskey in drinks like the Old Fashioned, there’s a perfect tequila for your drink.
Margarita: Santera Tequila Blanco (40% ABV, $41)
To make Santera Tequila, agave is harvested from the rich, red volcanic soil of the dormant Volcán de Tequila in Jalisco’s northern highlands. After picking the perfectly ripe agave and slow-roasting the piñas for up to 54 hours, they’re crushed and pressed. The agave juice is slowly fermented with fruit yeast to create a smooth, full-bodied tequila, which then undergoes a proprietary filtration process to further round out the flavor. Santera Blanco has a mineral-rich nose that gives way to notes of punchy citrus and light spice, which is why it works so beautifully in a tangy-sweet, classic Margarita—especially when the glass is rimmed with a spicy jalapeño salt.
courtesy Beam Suntory
Tequila Negroni: Penta Tequila Reposado (40% ABV, $125)
This terroir-driven tequila is the brainchild of five guys working in the Napa Valley wine business, along with guidance from Master Distiller Ana Maria Romero, who helped source organic agave that’s grown without the use of pesticides or foreign fertilizers. After harvest, the agave piñas are slow roasted and shredded (instead of crushed) and mixed with highland well water. Fermentation takes place in closed containers with a mix of champagne and tequila yeasts before it’s distilled in stainless steel with copper cooling columns. Penta Tequila Reposado is aged for nine months in a combination of barrels (the distillery uses both new and used Hungarian, American and French casks) to give it a smooth, velvety flavor that’s rich with notes of vanilla, caramel and brown sugar. It’s a no-brainer match for a bitter, stirred and boozy Negroni made with tequila (1 oz tequila, 1 oz bitter aperitivo, 1 oz sweet vermouth) with an orange peel garnish.
El Diablo: El Tesoro Blanco (40% ABV, $46)
El Tesoro is produced at the La Alteña distillery, which was founded by Don Felipe Camarena more than 80 years ago. It starts with agave grown at the nearby Camarena estate, which thrives in the mineral-rich red soil for which the Jalisco highlands are famous. The harvested piñas are trimmed of their bitter stems, slowly steamed for 48 hours and allowed to cool for a day before they’re crushed with a tahona. The extracted juice and pulp are both used during fermentation and the first distillation to give the tequila a bright, bold agave flavor. El Tesoro’s Blanco expression has sweet, earthy notes mixed with the piquant bite of white pepper. It’s ideal in an El Diablo (recipe here), where it mingles perfectly with the bold sweetness of creme de cassis and the snappy bite of ginger beer.
courtesy Cazadores
Tequila Sour: Tequila Fortaleza Blanco (40% ABV, $51)
Tequila Fortaleza is a modern brand that is connected to a long tequila-making history, which started in 1873 with the Sauza family. Compared to the Sauza operation as it is today, Tequila Fortaleza operates as a separate entity in a tiny distillery that has once been in the family, using traditional methods, like cooking the agave in brick ovens, using a tahona to squeeze out the juices, and fermenting in open-air wooden tanks. The tequila is double-distilled in a small copper pot still and bottled in hand-blown Mexican glass bottles that are topped with beautiful agave-shaped stoppers. Tequila Fortaleza Blanco has a smooth, buttery nose and flavors of cooked agave, basil, olives and zesty lime. This elegant mix of sweet, savory and tart works perfectly in a frothy Tequila Sour. (See sour recipes here.)
Siesta: Milagro Silver (40% ABV, $24)
Milagro is more than just a great tequila. When founders Moy Guindi and Danny Schneeweiss founded the brand, they decided to bridge the gap between traditional tequila making and the vibrant creative art scene of modern Mexico City. The tequila is made in a two-fold process by Master Distiller Pedro Juarez, who first distills the crushed agave in a pot still to accentuate its inherent sweetness, and then in a column still for an extra smooth finish. The silver expression is known for its crisp, citrusy flavor that mingles with a smooth agave sweetness and a touch of black pepper. It mixes perfectly into the modern classic Siesta cocktail, a riff on the Hemingway Daiquiri that includes tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juices, Campari and simple syrup.
Paloma: Cazadores Tequila Reposado (40% ABV, $23)
The recipe for Tequila Cazadores dates back to 1922 when Don Jose Maria Bañuelos spotted a stag standing in his agave field. He saw it as the perfect symbol for his tequila, and named it Cazadores, or “the hunters.” It was his grandson, Don Felix, who decided to share Cazadores with the world, so he built the commercial distillery in 1973. Cazadores Reposado is double distilled, double fermented and rested for up to a year in new American oak barrels. The result is a smooth and bright tequila that’s rich with flavors of citrus, tropical fruits and a smooth, vanilla-laden finish. It works beautifully in a punchy, refreshing Paloma (tequila with grapefruit soda).
Bloody Maria: Código 1530 Tequila Blanco (40% ABV, $50)
Código 1530 Tequila launched in the United States four years ago to great acclaim. They start with agave that’s at least seven years old at harvest, and source their Amatitán water from freshwater pools and rainwater that’s filtered through the volcanic soil of Los Bajos. To ensure a slow, gentle fermentation, they use organic yeast from a small family bakery in Amatitán. Código 1530 is double distilled in pot stills for a soft, balanced flavor. The Blanco expression is a chameleon that works well in just about anything, but its earthy, mineral flavor and citrus-forward notes play especially nicely in a savory, spicy Bloody Maria.
courtesy Patron
Tequila Old Fashioned: Roca Patron Añejo (44% ABV, $87)
Patrón may be a global spirits powerhouse, but if you ever get the chance to visit their Jalisco, Mexico distillery, you’ll see that pretty much everything is still done by hand. This process is most prominent in their Roca Patron line. To make the collection of spirits, Blue Weber agave is cooked in small brick ovens for 79 hours and pressed by a two ton tahona wheel. The añejo expression rests for 14 months in American bourbon barrels to give it smooth vanilla notes that mingle with flavors of citrus and the light spice of ginger and black pepper. When mixed with simple syrup and bitters, it makes a velvety Tequila Old Fashioned that’s perfect for sipping year round.
Baja Gold: ElVelo Tequila Reposado (44.5% ABV, $38)
ElVelo Tequila was created in collaboration with second-generation Master Distiller Carlos Hernandez Ramos, and the goal was to produce a tequila that works well in all types of agave-based cocktails. The piñas are cooked in steam ovens for 32 hours then rested inside with the doors closed for an additional 16 to help develop the caramelized sugars. Wild yeast is collected from the “aguas amargas” (bitter waters) that are removed during the cooking process and then used to ferment the tequila for 32 hours. ElVelo is double-distilled in copper-lined, stainless steel pot stills, and the reposado expression is aged for five months in ex-Jack Daniels barrels. ElVelo Reposado is rich and spiced with notes of caramel, cinnamon, cooked agave, and cherries and works beautifully with the tangy-sweet pineapple juice in a Baja Gold (essentially a Margarita made with pineapple juice instead of lime juice).