How to Drink Tequila, Like a True Connoisseur

Enjoying tequila is so much more than slamming back a shot and chasing it with a lime. While some tequila is designed best for shots, there is a large segment that’s designed to be sipped almost like a whiskey. And when you sip like a pro, you’ll be able to enjoy your tequila like never before.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear idea of how to best sip any tequila and enjoy it like a true connoisseur. Let's dive in.

The Basics of Drinking Tequila

Good news for beginners. The basics of drinking tequila are simple, and they work on a $30 bottle just as well as a $200 one. The real magic is in the small details, and those are easy to learn.

First, know what you are drinking. Real tequila comes from Mexico and is made from the blue Weber agave plant. The best bottles say “100% agave” right on the label. If a bottle does not say that, it is a “mixto,” which blends agave with other sugars and often tastes harsher. For sipping, always reach for 100% agave.

Also, if you want to find tequila that’s trending, look out for the best additive-free bottles, which means nothing was added to fake color, sweetness, or smoothness, so you taste the real agave.

You’ll also want to look out for the best organic tequila bottles, which means the agave was grown without synthetic chemicals.

How Tequila Is Actually Enjoyed in Mexico

If you want to truly enjoy tequila the way it’s supposed to be enjoyed, you’ll come to see that sipping slowly is the best way to indulge, and is how it’s appreciated in Mexico.

That said, tequila also makes an excellent and refreshing cocktail, such as a margarita. The key here is to make sure you’re enjoying the tequila in a way that respects its history and depth, while savoring it in your preferred method.

Ways to Taste Different Types of Tequila

The beautiful thing about tequila is that there are several different types that are best served and enjoyed in different ways.

Blanco (Silver)

Blanco tequila is perfect for serving neat for a small sipping experience, or in a margarita or Paloma. This type of tequila has that full agave nose and palate, with that classic “bite” that you’ll find from the unaged approach.

Joven (Gold)

Joven, or gold tequila, is slightly more aged than a blanco so it’s best enjoyed similarly to a blanco, sipping neat or in a cocktail where you want a bit more of an elevated sip. It’s a smoother tequila than a blanco, approachable for beginners and has depth for intermediate explorers.

Reposado

Reposado ages in oak for two to twelve months and is best served like a fine sipping whiskey, neat, on the rocks, or even with a single large ice cube. It also makes a perfect mixing tequila if you’re looking to truly impress with a cocktail that has oaky depths.

Anejo

An anejo tequila is aged for 1 to 3 years and has a very smooth complexity with even more depth than a reposado. It’s best enjoyed neat and sipped slowly.

While you can technically use an Anejo in a cocktail, we recommend sipping this neat and slow, to truly enjoy the incredible notes that open up from the aging that other tequilas don’t provide.

Extra Anejo

Like an anejo, extra anejo commands to be sipped neat, without ice, so you don’t compromise the silky depth that true connoisseurs look for in a top extra anejo bottle.

Cristalino

Cristalino is an aged tequila, often an anejo, that is filtered through charcoal to remove the color. You get more of an oaky taste with the clear look of a blanco, making it best served neat or with one large ice cube. The melting ice adds to the experience in this case, instead of drowning the notes like we want to avoid for an extra anejo.

How to Find Tequila to Sip and Drink

When it comes to how to drink and discover tequila, getting the right bottle is half the battle, and the most imperative step to actually enjoying the tequila sipping experience.

That is exactly where Taster's Club comes in.

Our Tequila of the Month Club sends bottles chosen by our in-house experts who dedicate their days to curating the ultimate tequila experience, every month.

So, instead of guessing in the aisle, you’ll receive a new premium tequila at your door each month, with tasting notes, how to best drink it, and the story behind the distillery.

How Should Beginners Drink Tequila?

While we’re going to show you how to sip tequila like a pro, if you’re just beginning your tequila tasting journey, there are a few best ways to approach this new experience.

Start with a blanco or reposado. These two types are the friendliest for new palates. The first way we recommend trying your bottle is by taking a small sip from a copitas glass (we’ll get into the glassware later), which will help you experience the true agave flavors from the distillers.

Next, we highly recommend making a fun margarita or Paloma cocktail with your bottle of tequila.

These two methods are perfect for getting your feet wet in drinking tequila that’s approachable and not intimidating.

How to Sip Tequila to Extract the Flavors Like a Pro

Once you’ve adjusted your sipping palate from the beginner's experience, it’s now time to sip like a real pro!

Begin by Cleansing Your Palate

The experience begins before you even sip your tequila of choice. We highly recommend letting your palate rest for 30 minutes to an hour beforehand and avoiding any potent aromas, like brushing your teeth, eating spicy foods, or smoking cigarettes.

Have a glass of water and let your palate relax while you set up your tequila-sipping environment for a relaxing couple of hours.

Choose the Right Glass

The tequila glass matters more than you think because the shape, how it hits the bottom, and how the aromas develop all matter for your experience if you want to truly sip like a pro.

Firstly, there is the copita glass. It’s the traditional choice for tasting tequila. It’s a small round glass that holds the perfect amount for an approachable sipping experience, where the aromas develop and send it right up to your nose. Start here if you’re an intermediate explorer who wants to be a pro.

Next, you can also use a Riedel or tulip glass. It works similarly to a copita glass, but has less intensity for the aroma concentration. Perfect for sipping your extra anejo or anejo.

Lastly, the caballito glass is the tall shot glass you’ll see at restaurants or may already have at home. It’s fun and does the job for sipping and enjoying, but does little for the aroma experience. Be careful: when you shoot it back, you get more of the harsh agave notes, rather than the beautiful citrus and pepper that can come through on a sip.

Pour Lightly

Once you have your glass picked out, pour your tequila gently into your glass, anywhere from one to three ounces. Ideally 2, which is enough for an in-depth sipping experience, without overdoing the event.

Observe the Color

Before you even begin the drinking experience, take some time to take in the color and potential for flavor that you think you’ll experience, based on this visual. Keep it on the table for review, then hold it up to the light to truly see its beautiful clarity.

Nose It the Right Way

Now, it’s time to get into the sipping experience. You’ll want to begin by gently picking up your glass and tilting it side to side as you bring it up to your nose and take small sniffs.

You’ll want to keep your mouth slightly open to create proper airflow that will prime your palate for the sipping experience.

Keep your sniffs short so you don't overwhelm your nose and can truly experience the initial aromas and notes.

Take Your First Sip

Now that your palate is primed, begin by taking a small sip and let to spread throughout your mouth and tongue, taking time to experience that within 2 to 3 seconds before swallowing.

Once you swallow, you’ll want to immediately breathe through both your nose and mouth.

Think About the Notes

If you’re experiencing tequila the best way possible, through a Taster’s Club tequila subscription, then you’ll have your tasting notes on hand. Have that by your side as you take your first sip, so you can reflect and see how you’re experiencing those notes on your nose, palate, and finish.

Take Your Second Sip

Now, take your second sip, the same way you took your first sip. This second sipping experience is meant to help you develop new notes that you didn’t recognize on your new palate and tongue. Nose it, sip, and enjoy your experience by referencing the tasting notes again.

Salt and Lime, Should You? (The Honest Answer)

You’ll notice that when you sip like a pro, there’s no salt and lime involved, and for good reason. The salt and lime complement the strong agave notes; however, it can be quite overpowering if you’re looking to experience the specific notes.

It’s fun amongst a group, and best done with a silver or gold tequila. We highly recommend against using salt and lime with a beautiful reposado or anejo.

The Best Temperature to Serve Tequila

Alright. You’ve done all this work to create a nice atmosphere, have the right bottle in your hand, and make sure you’re sipping like a pro. Without keeping the tequila’s temperature at the right levels, it could ruin the sipping experience altogether.

Similar to a fine whiskey or bourbon, you’ll want to store your tequila at room temperature, ideally between 60 and 70 degrees.

If you’ve tried your tequila at room temperature, you can also enjoy it when it’s slightly chilled; 30 to 40 minutes in the freezer, for a great experience if you’re sipping outside on a hot day. The tequila's development in your mouth as it warms can also unlock new notes you haven’t experienced.

Temperature changes tequila more than most people expect, so this one is worth getting right.

Should You Add Ice or Water?

Ice and water each change your tequila in their own way.

A few drops of water can open up a tequila, especially an aged one. Lowering the alcohol a touch pushes the softer flavors up to the top, where your nose and tongue meet them first. It is less about watering it down and more about unlocking it. Add one or two drops, swirl, smell, and taste.

Ice is a different drink. One large cube chills your tequila and slowly softens it as it melts. Use a big cube, not small ones, because big cubes melt slowly and keep your pour from getting watery too fast. A single cube works beautifully with a reposado or anejo.

You’ll definitely want to try both over the course of a few tasting experiences and evenings, rather than all at once.

Discover the Other Best Spirits

• The 10 Best Tequila Blanco
• The 10 Best Tequila Anejo
• The 10 Best Cristalino Tequilas
• The 10 Best Tequila Reposados
• The 10 Best Extra Añejo Tequila