In fact, the grandson of founder Don Felipe Camarena oversees production today. Jose Cuervo, Patrn, Don Julio, Casamigos and Hornitos are the top five tequilas, per The Spirits Business. Sauza, $20+, Cenote is an ultra-premium tequila inspired by the beauty of the Yucatan Peninsula. If that's all they ever did, I guess it's livable, although I'd prefer an 'off color' myself, and being completely additive free. The Tequila: I lean toward clean, unaged agave spirits for most of the year, however, spring is a nice time for reposado and aejo. Reposado tequila is also aged but the aging process can be anywhere from two months to 11 months. All we can do is taste ourselves, to the best of our ability, and to believe these brands. Vanilla and Cocoa powder (chocolate) are also considered a type of oak extract, and although vanilla is not part of the 1% group, vanilla is something that can occur naturally in a barrel, but it is naturally 'subtle'. Tequila Kateri Nom 1439, First step: Getting the product listed in the app. Send to: tequilamatchmaker@gmail.com. Jose Cuervo . Related I so much appreciate the app and have let it assist in guiding my agave journey! The tequila is made from 100 percent all-natural, fully matured Blue Weber agave artisanally produced without additives or diffusers. The tech side is easy, the admin side is not! A nice touch: the hand-blown glass bottle, which is topped with a hand-painted agave pia and vintage-inspired label. Good for them.and Good for us. The ultra-premium highlands tequila uses all the beverage buzz words, like small batch production, and distilled in handmade copper pot stills. But beyond the hype, its a smooth, easy to drink option; naturally sweetened with the rich aroma of mature agave plants, with a clean finish. Aging Process: Just like a fine wine, tequila also goes through an aging process. My favorite expression in our portfolio is, of course, our new limited edition bottle that we just released to honor the 100-year anniversary of our original reposado recipe from 1922, says Martinez. Its a very special blend elaborated with agave that is grown on our property and was aged in a combination of our best hand-selected American oak and new French oak barrels. Chock full of artificial sweeteners by my pallet. Casa Dragones, $70+, Most tequilas are aged in American oak, but Casa Noble is different. Required fields are marked *. Frank Mendez of 'Gran Dovejo' said "we are 100% transparent which include being 100% additive free and the idea of creating GD actually came about due to the use of additives and misleading marketing practices found in the industry." Its fresh and flavorful, with just the right amount of spice and a hint of earthiness. There are 4 types of additives allowed by law for use in all** 100% agave tequilas: 1. Enjoying catching up on your videos and love the passion you two have to this wonderful juice! Teremana Tequila, $35+, El Cristiano Tequila handcrafts sustainable, additive-free and gluten-free tequilas with only the finest aged Weber blue agave from the Jalisco Highlands. The tequila has a really smooth, sweet taste with notes of citrus, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and more to give it a unique tasting experience that I really enjoy. Tequila Cazadores,$23+, Tequila Ocho is my personal favorite brand, says Lavenue. El Jimador Tequila Silver Price: $16-$30. Mijenta Tequila | Marketplace Fortaleza Blanco. Thank you for creating it. Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila Brand Is Problematic - InStyle This is a fantastic resource and will be a great help in my future purchases and recommendations. I'd rather have the 'natural color' after aging, and blend it that way with the other batches, without ANY colorings. It quickly became a staple then and is a mainstay still today. Some brands I have mentioned or will mention, say they are 100% additive free, and although I do like and drink their products, I will not add them to my 'personal' list below, because I am not 100% sure. Do you have any plans to verify if Don Julio is additive-free? What does YOUR nose and taste tell YOU? Region: Jalisco | ABV: 40% | Tasting Notes: White pepper, citrus zest, vanilla, herbs. Not with the usual agave spirit you know and lovethe NA spirits brand has launched an alcohol-free tequila, the first of its kind. I hope more brands/distilleries jump on this protocol. . " This is confusing because earlier in the guidelines, it says that tequilas can have 75 g/L of sugars, which, if you do the math, is WAY more than 1%. 15 Best Blanco Tequila Brands To Drink in 2023 - Liquor Laboratory I love your reviews? The Hands-Down Best Tequila to Drink Now - Yahoo! News Youll get a lot of flavors that also are found in whiskeys, like creme brle, toast and rich vanilla. Aejo tequilas are sometimes finished for several months in sherry or port wine casks to add nutty or fruity notes, adds Roy. Have you heard anything from their distillery? 1800 Cristalino 1800 Cristalino. Now confused. Trying to get my wife to become a tequila drinker but she leans towards sweeter spirits. Tequila Gran Diamante is an award-winning, ultra-premium tequila that's stirring up excitement on the spirits scene. But they were removed when they were not able to complete the annual re-confirmation process. Jose Cuervo has been in the tequila game for more than 250 years and was actually the first tequila brand to bottle the spirit individually. ArteNOM 1579 - NOM's 1079, 1580, 1549, 1146, 1414, 1579, 1123. Each year, the agave is harvested from a different farm/estate, then expertly distilled by Carlos Camarenaso each single estate bottling showcases its own distinct characteristics which truly highlights the terroir (or terruo in Spanish) of the Los Altos region of Jalisco. Tequila Ocho, $49+, LALO only makes one tequilaan additive-free blanco. Patrn, one of most well-known tequila brands in the world, actually offers a diverse portfolio of authentic tequilas that you wont find in nightclubs or seedy bars. At the time, that was enough for us. Danos also won the Gold Medal in the 2019 Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) Tasting Competition, and the Double Gold and Gold in the 2018 SIP Awards. All Rights reserved. Its a liquor made using 100% Weber Blue agave and a distillation process that combines techniques from both tequila and mezcal-making processes most importantly, smoking and steaming the agave. The ones that have indicated to me that they 'only' use some caramel coloring (even with no flavoring) to avoid differences in color, will not be mentioned below, as that doesn't cut it here. I mean Jimador is a diffuser product, so this is quite interesting and hard to believe for sure. When I drink tequila, I want to be drinking tequila and nothing else. The best tequila brands use only the heart of the pia (the heart of the agave) and a slow pressing method using a tahona, which is a large stone disc used to crush the juice from the pias after they have been roasted and/or steamed, she says. Zarpado Tequila Blanco. The Reposado expression is also aged in stripped and recharred American Oak bourbon barrels, which gives it a deliciously herbaceous toasted flavor. We like the Maestro Dobel 50, a smooth and complex Extra Aejo Cristalino thats aged in American and Eastern European oak barrels, then twice-distilled in copper pot sills. The result is a collection of blanco, reposado and aejo spirits that are made from 100% blue agave and perfectly capture summer in a bottle. As I asked for their word on 100% additive free (including the legal 1%), let it be understood that misleading consumers is as far as I'm concerned, a reflection on these brands, and THEY are the ones that should look bad. Dano's Dangerous Tequila Pineapple & Jalapeo Fresh Fruit Infusion. The brand offers a blanco, reposado, aejo, aejo cristalino and extra aejo in its lineupand they recently released a limited edition reposado to celebrate their 100th birthday. I have been told that unless you get to see the CRT production logs, you'll never know if they have additives, and brands don't even have access to that information, it's something that only the distillery has. Thanks so much for this list and all your efforts to be able to share your research with us all. They, and 14 other brands from that distillery, have requested our process. 40% alcohol by volume in tequila is typical. Espolon Blanco Tequila. The story you mention is from 2017: This tequila pulls soft notes from the barrels like caramel and vanilla, as well as sweet, tropical fruity flavors like pineapple, and works well with the herbaceous flavors of the tequila, adds Sylvi Roy, bar manager at Twelve in Portland, Maine. Looking to Start Boxing After Watching 'Creed III'? 18 Best Sipping Tequilas You Can Buy Right Now - Delish Looking forward to having this list on the app to access when shopping! The top five best-selling tequila brands run the gamut from budget picks to higher-end options. Remember they are saving time and money using them. We go into detail about that here: https://tastetequila.com/2017/the-lowdown-on-tequila-additives/. Pasote and El Tesoro de Don Felipe are both listed as an additive-free distilleries, but their respective XAs are not marked as Additive-free. Your email address will not be published. Will you add a quick link to this list on your app so it is readily viewed there? Youve also probably seen flavored tequila, which is tequila infused with things like coconut, lime, strawberry or jalapeno. All of Casa Dragones tequilas are made in small batches using a sustainable production method. Tequila Brands to Avoid and Why - outsider.com The List: Best Tequila, According To Experts. Thank you for your rapid response, I love it. For a similar experience at a more casual price point, we like the Roca Patrn Reposado, which is a lighter, more buttery take on the bold and robust Burdeos. These young tequilas are less expensive and typically used in bars and restaurants for making mixed drinks. We cant release that type of information without the risk of a lawsuit. First sip I was like wow this stuff is sweet. El Pandillo (G4, Terralta, etc.) Another tactic often used to fool the public into thinking that a particular tequila was aged longer or is richer, is to tint the bottle glass to a darkish or amber appearance. Comparing production samples at La Altea (NOM 1139). Our suggestion: pick up a few different bottles with different aging processes to see which one you like best. Don Julio. To compensate for a light hue, it seems a large number of suppliers are placing caramel color into their aged reposado tequila or anejo tequila, although I know a good amount of quality brands, that although impossible to prove, appear not to use any additives, including colorings. Its like a fine wine thats been aged to perfection. Essences or flavorings are still additives, and these can include vanilla or herbs used to alter or create a flavor. What do you think about that do you agree? Instead, youll pick up a slightly drying, more astringent palette of black pepper, dried herbs, olives and citrus. The Aejo variety is aged in American oak bourbon barrels for up to three years, which results in a nice blend of warm agave and oak flavors. 1. Syrup, or "jarabe", is a mixture of different ingredients, primarily for the purposes of creating a sweeter product. According to 'THEM', these brands are 100% ADDITIVE FREE. It has notes of vanilla, ripe fruit and butter and can be enjoyed neat, with salt and lime, chilled, or however else you like to drink your tequila. The brand founders wanted to recreate the sense of wanderlust experienced by the surfers in the movie. Best Non Alcoholic Tequila with Photos and Mocktails Tested Tequila Bribn, $26+, If youre looking for a budget-friendly tequila that tastes like it costs way more, then look no further than El Jimador. The 12 Best Sipping Tequilas to Drink of 2023 - Liquor.com Others who are more true to agave spirits, may not like that profile and would prefer a more agave forward presence. We are founders of the Tequila Matchmaker app and website. Produced using the tequila-making traditions of the Los Bajos region and its tequilieras, the tequila is meticulously aged inFrench White Oakred wine (Cabernet) barrels from Napa Valley. David Lindley, Multi-Instrumentalist Who Shaped the Sound of Soft Rock, Dead at 78 Rodriguezs favorite in the collection is the classic Patrn Silver. Gran Coraminos tequilas are roasted in traditional stone ovens and barrel-aged. Break this one out for the most special of occasions. 3. Region: Jalisco, Mexico | ABV: 40% | Tasting Notes: White pepper, Agave, Mint. What Are Tequila Additives? - foodandwine.com Spirit of the Earth, he says. Now, fans of Dwayne Johnson and tequila alike can purchase Teremana online and get it delivered to their door. We live in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco. We love the Grand Patrn Burdeos (find it here), which is twice-distilled and aged in used American and new French Oak barrels, before being finished in vintage Bordeaux barrels (Burdeos means Bordeaux in Spanish). STILL: Copper Pot. An undertone of sweet cooked agave recalls this tequilas fresh Blanco roots. Thats what you get from Casa Nobles new aejo, a skillful and impressive blend of 12 extra aejos and nine aejos, aged in new French oak for one to five full years (most aejos are aged for a year max) with notes of ripe fruit, vanilla, white chocolate, roasted nuts, and spice. So keep in mind the above mentioned brands that 'claim' to be 100% additive free may be just that, and most are high quality and fine tasting brands that I enjoy myself. Whether you decide to sip Dulce Vidas blanco, reposado or aejo neat or include them in your favorite cocktails, youll be sure to enjoy their pure taste. Adding additives and or color usually occurs towards the end of production before bottling, in the 'rectification'. One way is to get familiar with the products that are on the list, and then the additive-filled stuff becomes much easier to detect. A typical tequila is composed of 60% Agave oil, with no flavor. The Mezquila is more flavorful than your typical tequila, but not in-your-face smokey like most mezcals. Made from 100% pure Weber Blue Agave harvested after 7 to 10 years of growing, this tequila is clean and crisp, and perfect for making margaritas and other mixed drinks. Tequila Matchmaker There's a tequila for everyone. SHOP NOW. The Reposado features notes of sweet vanilla, oak, mushrooms, ginger, caramel and citrus, which gives it that perfect balance of earthiness, sweetness and spiciness with an easy finish and no lingering aftertaste. Like all of Casa Nobles offerings, this one is certified organic, and has a limited number of bottles in select cities around the country. Thank you so much for this list! This is for Mixto junk as well as 100% agave. do you agree with these brands? $46 at Reserve Bar. From now on, I may honestly just shop for tequilas that are on your list. Siempres blanco tequila is deceptively simple clean and crisp to start, with a floral and complex finish. The crystal-clear Bribon is unaged with vegetal earthy notes that work well in a margarita, paloma, or old-fashioned, though Jessica Fallon, general Manager of Ladybirds in Houston, Texas, says she prefers drinking it on the rocks. dried fruit, and vanilla. Now thats a game changer APP that would get you many more subscribers. We mention products that contain additives in our content, but were not going out of our way to promote them. The Best Tequila Under $50 To Try in 2022 - Next Luxury Photo credit: Courtesy. However, we need someone willing to be the curator of each spirit. 2. 1. 74.95. Herradura got back to me saying that they're 100% additive free including their El Jimador line of products. 13. The aging process will also change the color of a tequila. This amazing additive-free liquid is produced using only the Theyre one of the most affordable tequila brands and offer silver, gold and aejo varieties to suit any taste. So who knows what a distillery may do to 'enhance' a contract brands juice, for their own convenience. I love that some of my favorites are already here and some that I need try. Use this form to receive email alerts of any changes to this list. In 2020 we launched our Tequila Matchmaker Additive-Free program for brands and distilleries that want to be super transparent about their production processes and their non-use of additives. Ive been out of the tequila world for many years, but loved the NOM look up to be able to see other tequilas that may have a similar profile. Theyre made from 100% blue agave and are meant for sipping. Buy Maestro Dobel 50 Cristalino Extra Anejo $159.99. (They even make their own compost!) 2. Made from 100% blue agave, Tequila Cazadores undergoes a seven-step sustainable, zero-waste production process that includes double distillation, double fermentation and careful maturation. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Smooth. So excited to confidently try some expressions that are verified free of additives. Adolfo Murillo of 'Alquimia' said "I have always worked hard to stay true to the tradition of tequila and the way it was meant to be made, so if my bottles say 100% agave, it does not mean "99%, because the CRT says it's ok".