Like many spirits, the tequila marketplace is dominated by big names. We’re talking the likes of Don Julio, Jose Cuervo, and Patrón. Those tequila brands (and some other big hitters) are popular for many reasons. They produce high-quality tequilas, they brand well, and they’re available almost anywhere. But while we’ll throw back a Patrón shooter or enjoy a glass of Don Julio any day of the week, we also like to broaden our horizons whenever possible.
That’s why we decided it was time to seek out some lesser-known, underrated tequilas. Luckily, with the popularity of the spirit in recent years, there are a lot of brands and expressions just waiting to be discovered. To find some of these hidden gems, we turned to the professionals for help — asking a handful of well-known distillers and spirits experts to tell us their picks for the most underrated tequilas to drink right now.
Keep scrolling to see all of their sweet agave picks!
La Gritona Reposado
Melissa Katrincic, founder of Conniption Gin in Durham, North Carolina
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $45
Why This Beer?
I am going to highlight La Gritona Reposado Tequila based on word of mouth and my admiration of a fellow woman owner and distiller, Melly Barajas. Like my team here at Durham Distillery being majority women, Melly built and runs her distillery with a team of only women in Jalisco. Their meticulous processes ensure their tequila’s reputation for quality and authenticity. She also supports her local community by donating the agave remnants to local farmers for cattle feed, and she uses hand-blown recycled Mexican glass for her bottles.
I admire Melly and hope to meet her someday.
Espolòn Blanco
Josh Miller, co-founder of Owen’s Craft Mixers in New York City
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $25
Why This Tequila?
Espolòn makes the best value tequila, and I’m a big fan of value especially when it comes to tequila. The tequila is very mixable, but I don’t necessarily recommend drinking it straight. It’s really at the right price point if you’re going to make or order a mixed cocktail. Especially, the always reasonably priced Espolòn Blanco is made with 100% Blue agave to give it a vegetal sweet, clean flavor profile that mixes well.
Lalo Blanco
Rob Masters, head distiller at The Family Jones Spirit House in Denver
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $42
Why This Tequila?
Lalo Blanco. There is such a great lineage of distillers behind Lalo, starting with Don Julio. I’ll take that over a celebrity endorsement any day. No additives, no barrels, no BS, just plain world-class, excellent tequila. It’s highlighted by simple, clean flavors like cooked agave, vanilla, and light spices.
Ayate Añejo
Wael Deek, beverage director partner at Alice and Osteria 57 in New York City
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $89
Why This Tequila?
Ayate Añejo is my pick because it’s a really smooth sipping tequila. It also has a great-looking bottle and design for your shelf. It’s underrated because they don’t have different profiles or expressions, so they’re focused on just the aged tequila. In addition, the founders were winemakers originally, so the product is produced in Mexico and then aged in chardonnay barrels on the West Coast which produces a sweet and oaky flavor.
Even though they’re not heavily represented in the market, I like it and we serve it at the restaurant.
Santo Tequila Mezquila
Jackie Zykan co-owner and whiskey blender at Hidden Barn Whiskey in Sparta, Kentucky
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $45.99
Why This Tequila?
Santo tequila. Don’t let the frosted tips celebrity endorsement fool you. Every expression is balanced and well structured, capturing the quintessential profile of clean, quality-made agave spirits. A personal favorite of mine is their Mezquila. Try it in a Paloma, thank me later. This blend of mezcal and tequila is sweet, smoky, and surprisingly complex.
Hiatus Reposado
Clayton Harper, beverage director and manager at JaJaJa Plantas Mexicana in New York City
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $49.99
Why This Tequila?
I’m a big fan of tequilas that have a robust flavor that is true to its origins. You can taste the flavors and aromas in Hiatus Tequila without the bite that’s associated with tequila, therefore it’s smooth in a cocktail but also great on its own. Since the owner lived in Mexico for several years, the brand is developed the way that tequila should be made, slowly so that the agave is ripe before going through the process of creating the tequila. My favorite expression is the reposado which is the perfect balance of sweetness and smokiness from the aging process.
I love sipping this tequila on its own but at the restaurant, we sometimes use it in cocktails that would normally require a brown spirit. The reposado happens to be awarded a few times, so I know that I have great taste.
IXA Reposado
Dr. Nicola Nice, founder and CEO of Pomp & Whimsy in Los Angeles
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $42.99
Why This Tequila?
My favorite organic tequila is IXA, which is a highland 100% organic blue agave tequila produced by Greenbar Distillery in Jalisco. The Silver has an incredibly rich, herbal, almost vegetal flavor profile with a mineral quality similar to wine, which is due to the white wine yeasts that are used in its fermentation and the oxygen-rich steel tanks that the tequila rests in for two weeks before bottling.
The reposado and añejo are aged in toasted American oak, which gives them an almost cognac-like quality.
Writer’s Picks:
Casa Noble Añejo
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $52.99
Why This Tequila?
Casa Noble has made a name for itself in the tequila world in the last few years. But it still deserves more acclaim and notoriety than it gets. It starts with its Añejo. It’s matured for at least two years in new, French oak casks. The result is a complex, rich tequila with notes of dried fruits, vanilla beans, toffee, vegetal agave, and rich oak.
Mijenta Reposado
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $65.99
Why This Tequila?
For a younger tequila, Mijenta Reposado is surprisingly well-balanced and complex. It’s only aged for around six months in a mixture of American oak, French oak, and French acacia barrels. But this is long enough to impart flavors like sweet honey, vegetal, cooked agave, butterscotch, and bold oak.
Jose Cuervo Reserva De La Familia Reposado (Dane Rivera)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $82
Why This Tequila?
Despite being the oldest and best selling tequila brand in the entire industry, Jose Cuervo sort of has a bad reputation amongst tequila snobs. That’s for good reason, Jose Cuervo Especial is probably one of the worst bottles of tequila you can buy, but the top shelf Reserva De La Familia line is on a whole other level and stands as one of the finest tequila bottles in this price range.
Aged for three years in American and French oak barrels, the reposado offers a sumptuous blend of flavors that pull together chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla for a luxurious sip that ends with a toasted agave and pineapple fruit finish.
