Taster's Club Best Tequilas to Sip or Mix in 2022
If you’re having a gathering of tequila fans but are stuck for ideas, you’ve come to the right place. With so many tasty tequilas out there, it can be pretty tough to know just what to serve your guests. We’ve done the work for you and rounded up some of the best tequilas for entertaining, including a cocktail recipe that suits each one and brings its best out. Check them out below. And, to make it easy, there’s a ton of variety in Taster’s Club’s Bottle Shop. Better yet, a membership to one of our tequila clubs, Tequila or Tequila PRO, eliminates the shopping step, making your life that much easier.
Best Blanco: David Reyes Private Label Reserve Silver Tequila
The crystal clear David Reyes Private Label Reserve Blanco contains only three ingredients - 100% pure agave, agave yeast, and water. Makers of this smooth, multiple award-winning tequila claim there’s no need for aging when the ingredients are mature and pure.
Tasting notes
This bright blanco is a softer, more approachable tequila than others you may have tried. You’ll smell notes of anise and baked agave while on the palate, you’ll taste a slight sweetness followed by strong pepper and a short to medium finish.
Why we recommend it
As one of the most sought-after custom agave growers in Jalisco, Mexico, David Reyes has honed his craft for nearly 30 years with the dedicated, high-quality work habits his father instilled in him. He not only sells his prized blue weber agave to top tequila brands, but he uses it to produce one of the best Private Label Reserve Blanco Tequilas around.
This is a super smooth blanco, even more so than most Anejo tequilas. It’s perfect straight or on the rocks, or with a bit of club soda and cranberry juice. We’ve also got a great Paloma recipe that highlights this light and bright tequila, below.
Blanco cocktail: Paloma
Cut a notch into one grapefruit wedge and run it around the rim of a rocks glass. Gently dip the glass rim’s edge in some flaky sea salt. Then, pour 2 ounces each of Blanco tequila and grapefruit juice, along with a half-ounce each of lime juice and simple or maple syrup into the glass and stir well. Add ice and an ounce of soda water, and enjoy!
Best Reposado: Vuelo del Aviador Gran Reserva Reposado Tequila
Vuelo del Aviador crafts high quality artisanal tequilas in Jalisco, Mexico. Made from fully-matured Blue Webber agave, the 2021 award-winning Vuelo del Aviador Gran Reserva Reposado is aged for nine months in Napa Valley red wine barrels and bottled at 80 proof.
Tasting notes
You’ll get aromas of cherry oak, toasted agave, vanilla and anise, then apple, honey and dry, spicy oak notes on the palate. The tequila delivers a long, warm finish with a hint of aged brandy.
Why we recommend it
Vuelo del Aviador’s craft artisanal tequila is of very high quality, as they use the finest blue weber agaves that are fully matured (growing for 7-9 years). This complex and rich reposado delivers an exquisite, luxurious experience, as the brand aims for with all of their bottles. Try it neat in a tequila flute or in an Old Fashioned cocktail, like the one below.
Reposado cocktail: Old Fashioned
To a mixing glass, add and muddle:
- ¼-ounce of agave nectar,
- a dash of Angostura bitters, and
- a bit of orange peel.
Combine the mixture with 3 ounces of Reposado tequila and fill with ice. Stir until chilled, then strain into an Old Fashioned glass over ice. Add a brandied cherry as garnish.
Best Añejo: Nuda Añejo Tequila
Nuda Añejo Tequila is aged for 26 months, which gives it its deep, rich color, and is produced with a special mastered technique. The charred French oak casks combined with extra aging time offer a silky, spicy flavor complexity while maintaining the agave’s sweet, crisp flavors. This is what makes this Añejo so unique. The spirit is triple-distilled to bring out even more refined flavors and aromas of the smooth, rich spirit.
Tasting notes
You’ll get deep, complex and rich stone-roasted agave, chestnut, almond, chocolate and vanilla flavors. The drink has a smooth, warm body and finishes with an oaky lingering.
Why we recommend it
There’s a little something that gives this Añejo tequila an intensely sensual, smooth and elegant quality, making it an ideal choice to show off and offer to your guests. Try this one on the rocks or in a classic cocktail, like the Manhattan below.
Añejo cocktail: Manhattan
Combine 1.5 ounces of Añejo tequila and a half-ounce each of 100-proof rye, sweet vermouth, and dry vermouth. Toss in a dash of Angostura bitters and stir until chilled. Strain into a tequila cocktail glass, then garnish with a twisted lime peel and thinly sliced lemon peel.
Best Extra Añejo: Tezcazul Extra Añejo Tequila
Tequila Las Americas is a small family-owned and operated distillery in Amatitan Jalisco, Mexico, where many consider the true birthplace of tequila. The operation has its own estate-grown agave plants that come from volcanic red soil. For every tequila, the organically-grown agave is harvested after 7 years, and the piñas cook in traditional brick and stone ovens for two days, without any colors, sugar or additives.
The distillery’s handcrafted Tezcazul Extra Añejo Tequila is aged for 60 months in American oak whiskey barrels then bottled at 40% ABV.
Tasting notes
As you experience this dark red and amber Extra Añejo, you’ll smell sweet, fruity aromas and taste complex, layered and toasty notes of oak, vanilla, butterscotch, citrus and cinnamon. It finishes long with vanilla and oak.
Why we recommend it
This particular Extra Anejo delivers savory and sophisticated flavors that only such a unique and distinguished spirit can.
Extra Añejo cocktail: Thai-basil grapefruit cocktail
To an ice-filled cocktail shaker, muddle 4-5 Thai basil leaves and half a fresh-squeezed lime.
Then, add 1.5 ounces Extra Añejo tequila and a half-ounce of Green Chartreuse and shake. Fill a rocks glass with ice and strain the cocktail shaker mixture into it. Top with San Pellegrino Grapefruit and garnish with a lime wheel and Thai basil sprig.
Best Cristalino: Hornitos Cristalino Tequila
If you’re looking for a unique aged tequila, this extra smooth, crystal clear Añejo Cristalino won’t let you down. Hornitos Cristalino Tequila (named after the “little ovens” for roasting agave) has been around since 1950. It’s gently filtered to remove the color after over one year of aging in American white oak casks.
Tasting notes
You’ll smell sweet notes of honey and floral. The spirit brings a vanilla and butterscotch flavor alongside toasted wood that comes from the oak casks. The spirit finishes mildly warm with sweet, velvety tannins.
Why we recommend it
We love how this Cristalino goes with a cigar or in a cocktail. Hornitos strikes a fantastic, smooth, soft balance of sweet flavors with its toasty, oaky center. This bottle is a fabulous introduction to the new and growing Cristalino tequila category.
Cristalino cocktail: Dirty negroni
In a pot, cook 1 liter of apple cider with 3 cinnamon sticks, 5 cloves, 1 star anise pod, and half an orange for about 6 minutes. Once ready, in a glass or mug mix in 2 ounces of Cristalino with 4 ounces of the hot cider Garnish with a cinnamon stick or orange peel.
Best Mezcal: Mina Real Mezcal Joven
As one of the only aged mezcals from the Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca region, Mina Real Mezcal Joven is made with both traditional and contemporary distilling techniques. To create it, espadin agave grown at about 4,800 feet above sea level is steam-roasted in brick kilns for 36 hours, double-distilled in small clay pot stills and bottled at 40% ABV.
Tasting notes
Because of this mezcal’s production process, you’ll get a lighter, more honey flavor than most other mezcals. Notes of vanilla, citrus, peppers and corn with just a hint of smoke are brought forward to the palate. The medium body is vibrant, satiny and dry, and the finish is long.
Why we recommend it
This light mezcal is excellent neat or in mezcal cocktails, and the perfect tequila alternative for your guests who like a little something different.
Mezcal cocktail: Mezcal mule
Fill a rocks glass with ice and to it add 2 ounces of mezcal, a half-ounce of fresh-squeezed lime juice (not the bottled kind) and 4 ounces of ginger beer (or ginger ale). Stir until chilled and garnish with a mint sprig.
Hopefully, this lineup of the best tequilas to entertain with will help you out with planning your next get-together. Don’t forget to grab your bottle at the Taster’s Club’s Bottle Shop. Even better, sign up for one of our tequila clubs, Tequila or Tequila PRO. You’ll get your tequila faves delivered right to your doorstep and have more time to entertain!
