A misconception of blanco tequila is that it’s only for mixing and nothing else. Sure, a lot of it is only tolerable when it’s paired with bold cocktail add-ons, but that’s not always the case. Plenty of blanco tequila is downright sippable. Well-made blanco tequilas can have a variety of aromas and flavors. This includes the vegetal notes of cooked agave as well as cracked black pepper, citrus peels, green peppers, herbs, fruit, honey, and more.
The best part? You can find myriad blanco tequilas priced reasonably. In this case, I mean under $25. That’s not much of a price to pay for a decent mixing (and sometimes even sipping!) tequila. I selected eight bargain blanco tequilas (all under $25). I blindly tasted and ranked each to find which bottles are worth trying and which ones should remain on the shelf, collecting dust.
Today’s Lineup:
- Pueblo Viejo Blanco Tequila
- Lunazul Blanco Tequila
- Familia Camarena Silver Tequila
- Cimarron Blanco Tequila
- Bribón Blanco Tequila
- El Jimador Silver Tequila
- Sauza Silver Tequila
- Jose Cuervo Especial Silver Tequila
Part 1: Bargain Blanco Tequilas Blind Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
Aromas of cracked black pepper, grass, and vegetal agave can be found on the nose. That is if you really try hard to find them. Overall, the nose is fairly muted. The palate is a little more exciting with notes of toffee, vanilla, cooked agave, an herbal flavor, and light spices. This is a surprisingly complex, bargain tequila.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, I found a lot of herbal, grassy, agave aroma as well as some citrus peel and tropical fruit. The palate is gently spicy and sweet with roasted agave, vanilla, orange zest, and cracked black pepper. It’s surprisingly complex for a blanco tequila and one that you may even want to sip neat.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
The nose is lightly spicy, sweet, and floral. All in all, not overly exciting though. The palate has a little more flavor with vanilla bean, vegetal sweetness, and pepper making an appearance. It’s not harsh, but it’s kind of boring overall.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
The smell is fairly harsh right off the bat. It smells of rubbing alcohol. Then there’s a bit of fruity and herbal aroma, but really nothing else discernable. The palate has some vanilla, grass, and pepper, but overall tastes kind of generic and almost like someone was intending to make a bland tequila. It’s weirdly sweet as well.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Orchard fruits, vanilla, agave, and herbal aromas make for an inviting nose. Drinking it reveals notes of ripe fruits, roasted agave, light pepper, butterscotch, and grassy, floral flavors. It’s dry, warming, and surprisingly smooth. It’s okay for a sipper but shines in cocktails.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
A nose of roasted agave, orchard fruits, and light spice greets you before your first sip. The palate is sweet, lightly spicy, and has hints of roasted agave, vanilla, toffee, green apple, and peppery spice. The finish is a nice mix of agave sweetness and spice.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
This is a very fruit tequila, especially on the nose. There are notable aromas of roasted agave, ripe pineapple, grass, and wildflowers. The palate is highlighted by more roasted agave, light vanilla, and a ton of herbal, earthy, lightly spiced flavors. It’s fruity, spicy, and highly mixable.
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this tequila is really floral. There’s also a bit of roasted agave and citrus on the nose. The palate is orange peels, vanilla, wildflowers, and roasted agave. Not a bad plate for a blanco tequila, still not one I’d prefer to drink neat often.
Part 2: The Rankings
8) Jose Cuervo Especial Silver Tequila (Taste 4)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $20
The Tequila:
This is a mixto tequila. For those unaware, this means it’s not made from 100% Blue Weber agave. This blend of blanco tequilas comes from Jose Cuervo’s Destilería La Rojeña. It’s not known as a sipping tequila by any degree, but a decent inexpensive choice for mixing.
Bottom Line:
This is a really cheap tequila and it’s not intended to be enjoyed neat. That would be a big mistake to make. Mix it with a ton of flavors or leave it on the shelf.
7) Lunazul Blanco Tequila (Taste 3)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $22
The Tequila:
This award-winning, 100% Blue Weber Agave-based tequila is surprisingly well-priced at under $25. Even though it’s a blanco tequila, it still carries a ton of aromas and flavors including roasted agave, citrus peels, and peppery spices.
Bottom Line:
For the price, Lunazul is a decent blanco tequila. It works well as a mixer, but I wouldn’t suggest sipping it. It’s a bit underwhelming.
6) Familia Camarena Silver Tequila (Taste 8)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $25
The Tequila:
Another award-winning blanco tequila, Familia Camarena Tequila Silver is a 100% Blue Weber agave tequila. The agave comes from the Los Altos Highlands region in Jalisco, Mexico and the juice is distilled at Casa Camarena. It’s known for its mellow, mixable flavor profile.
Bottom Line:
As blanco tequilas go, this isn’t a bad one. It has a decent nose and palate. It’s all just a little muted for my liking.
5) Sauza Silver Tequila (Taste 7)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $17
The Tequila:
Sauza is a big name in the bargain tequila world. Its silver tequila is surprisingly inexpensive for a well-made, sippable, mixable tequila. Double distilled in copper pot stills, this tequila is bursting with agave, fruits, and citrus.
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for a more herbal, earthy blanco tequila, Sauza is the choice for you. It’s a great base for a margarita or other tequila-based drinks.
4) Bribón Blanco Tequila (Taste 1)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $21
The Tequila:
Bribón means “rogue” in Spanish. This rogue mentality has helped this brand meld contemporary and traditional techniques in the crafting of its tequila. Agave is cooked for eighteen hours before being shredded and the juice is fermented before being double distilled in pot and column stills.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to emergency sipping blanco tequilas and decent mixers, you can do much worse than Bribón Blanco Tequila.
3) El Jimador Silver Tequila (Taste 5)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $23
The Tequila:
This award-winning silver tequila is made with 100% Blue Weber agave. It’s hand-harvested before being distilled twice before resting for only forty days. It’s then bottled and ready for you to sip or mix with. The result is an agave and citrus-forward tequila you’ll want to keep in your liquor cabinet or home bar cart.
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for a value blanco tequila that works well for both sipping neat and mixing into a paloma or margarita, this is a great choice for the price.
2) Pueblo Viejo Blanco Tequila (Taste 6)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $20
The Tequila:
Produced at San Matias, one of the oldest distilleries in Mexico, Pablo Viejo Blanco is made from 100% Blue Weber agave. It’s known for its herbal, fruity, agave-forward flavor profile. It’s sweet, lightly spicy, and well-suited for mixing.
Bottom Line:
It’s difficult to find complex, balanced blanco tequilas. Especially under $25. This one definitely fits that bill well.
1) Cimarron Blanco Tequila (Taste 2)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $25
The Tequila:
This unique blanco tequila is produced in Atotonilco, Jalisco, Mexico. Its agave grows on sprawling hillsides at more than 4,500 feet of elevation. It’s slowly roasted using low pressure to ensure a complex flavor profile. This agave and citrus-centric tequila is surprisingly well-suited for sipping as well as mixing.
Bottom Line:
While this blanco tequila isn’t bursting with a wide range of flavors, what aromas and flavors it does have work in perfect unison.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
It’s not easy to rank un-aged spirits. You’re sipping something neat that was typically built to be mixed with. But the higher-ranked` blanco tequilas were a little more complex and/or balanced than the others. Also, the winners leaned more mellow than harsh.
