Tequila is a spirit made from the Agave plant. In fact, Tequila is actually a type of Mezcal. Any spirit made from Agave is a Mezcal, it’s just that Tequila must be made with Blue Agave in the Mexican state of Jalisco. There are quite a few regulations around how and where Tequila is made, and it’s the same with Mezcal.
Both Tequila and Mezcal need to be made in Mexico to specific standards for the spirit to be considered Tequila or Mezcal. Sure, you can make Tequila exactly the same way with the same ingredients outside of Mexico, but you couldn’t legally call it Tequila. It would likely be called Agave Spirit.
That being said, while properly made Tequilas are great, there are a lot of great Agave Spirits out there as well, and the taste difference between “official” Tequila and Agave Spirit often is indistinguishable.
What’s more about Tequila though is that not all Tequilas are the same! There are actually five different styles of Tequila, and it mostly comes down to how they’re aged.
Like a lot of spirits, Tequila is aged in oak barrels. This tends to soften the spirit, which is clear when it comes out of the still, add oak flavours, and darkens the colour.
The Five Kinds Of Tequila
As mentioned, there are five kinds of Tequila, and it all comes down to the aging process as well as the blending process after aging.
Blanco Tequila
A Blanco Tequila has minimal aging and, because of this, is a clear or nearly clear spirit.
The usual process for a Blanco Tequila is to not age it at all and instead bottle it right away. That being said, a Blanco Tequila can be aged up to 60 days and still be considered a Blanco.
Since a Blanco Tequila hasn’t been aged, it hasn’t benefited from any of the softening and flavouring that comes from the aging process. Blanco Tequila can be a bit more harsh and, if it’s cheap, can not be the greatest. However, there are some great Blanco Tequilas out there. What’s more, Blanco Tequila goes well in a lot of Tequila cocktails, but there are plenty of other cocktail recipes out there that use different kinds of Tequila as well.
Reposado Tequila
Reposado Tequila has received minimal aging. The length of time the Reposado Tequila is aged is anywhere between 2-11 months. “Reposado” is Spanish for “rested,” which makes sense for this style of Tequila. It’s best rested for a little while in a barrel before it’s ready to drink.
Although Reposado Tequila has been aged, it hasn’t been aged enough to remove all the natural flavours of spirit or pick up too many of the flavours from the barrel aging process. But even the little bit of aging takes away the harshness that can be found in a Blanco. Because of this, Reposado makes a great sipping Tequila but is also great in cocktails.
Añejo Tequila
An Añejo Tequila is aged for 1-3 years. All this aging allows the Tequila to pick up plenty of flavours from the barrel it’s being aged in. Unlike a spirit like Bourbon, which must be aged in new American Oak barrels, Añejo Tequila can be aged in any kind of barrel. However, since Bourbon needs new barrels for every batch, there are plenty of used Bourbon barrels available, so Añejo Tequila often uses old Bourbon barrels. This practice is also fairly common to make Scotch as well; there are just that many ex-Bourbon barrels out there! Other than Bourbon barrels, Añejo Tequila is often also aged in barrels from France and other parts of the world. In this way, the Tequila picks up flavours from whatever was in the barrel first, be it Bourbon, Wine, or something else.
This make Añejo Tequila pretty exciting, with different brands of Añejo Tequila tasting vastly different.
Extra Añejo Tequila
As the name would imply, Extra Añejo Tequila is aged longer. To be consider Extra Añejo, the Tequila needs to age for at least three years. Añejo means “old” in Spanish, so this stuff is extra old!
Since Extra Añejo Tequila is aged the longest, it tends to be the most expensive. Like a good aged Scotch, Extra Añejo Tequila can be quite prized by Tequila lovers. This isn’t the type of Tequila that you’d use in cocktails. Instead, Extra Añejo Tequila should be enjoyed on its own.
Christalino Tequila
Cristalino Tequila is just Tequila that’s been aged and then charcoal filtered to remove tannins and the colour from the aging process. While this filtering process is supposed to make the Tequila even smoother, the jury may be out on this one. Christalino Tequila doesn’t have the same history as the other styles, and it’s quite a bit newer. We’ll let you decide what you think of it!
What Tequila Is Right For You?
That depends on what you’re doing with it. If you’re looking to make some cocktails, a Blanco or Reposado will do most of the time. If you want to sip on Tequila and just enjoy it, a Añejo Tequila or better will do the job.
Looking for a great cocktail you can make with the ingredients you have at home? Try our cocktail recipe generator!
