Best Additive-Free Añejo Tequilas

This additive-free añejo tequila from La Pulga Spirits is produced at NOM 1068 from 100% blue weber agave grown in the Highlands of Jalisco. Aged for 18–22 months in second-use American oak barrels that previously held Tennessee whiskey, it is bottled at 40% ABV. Released in August 2023, this expression expanded the Fort Worth-based brand’s core tequila lineup beyond its blanco and reposado offerings. Each bottle features alebrije-inspired packaging, with the añejo marked by a stag symbolizing nobility, grace, and strength. (SRP $74.99)

Tapatio is produced at La Alteña distillery in Jalisco, where generations of the Camarena family have been making tequila, mostly for local consumption. This a joint project between Carlos Camarena and Marko Karakasevic of Charbay Winery & Distillery in Napa. The 100% estate-grown blue agave is roasted for 4 days and fermented with a proprietary yeast culture that dates back 75 years. It's double-distilled in copper pot stills, aged 18 months in ex-bourbon barrels and undiluted to retain natural flavors. Additive free.

This additive-free añejo tequila is the third release in Mijenta’s Symphony Series, which explores maturation in custom barrels constructed from American oak Symphony staves sourced from Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Made with fully mature highlands agave, this release was aged for a minimum of 18 months in these proprietary casks and bottled at 90 proof (45% ABV). Available beginning March 2026. (SRP $119.99)

El Tesoro uses 100% estate-grown agave harvested from Los Altos (Highlands) in Jalisco for its tequila production. After cooking for three days, these agaves are then crushed using a two-ton stone tahona. After distillation, the añejo tequila ages for 2-3 years in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. It is bottled at 80 proof. Note: Packaging update in April 2018 for the three main marques in the portfolio. (SRP $85)

This is an additive free tequila that is produced with 100% blue Weber agave that is organically grown on a single estate in Los Altos (highlands), Jalisco. It is cooked in brick ovens, crushed with a roller mill, fermented in open air stainless steel tanks without fibers and twice distilled in stainless steel pot stills. This expression is matured for 14 months in American oak ex-whiskey barrels from Kentucky. It is bottled at 80 proof.

This additive-free añejo tequila from ArteNOM is produced at Tequileña (NOM 1146) in Tequila, Jalisco under Maestro Destilador Enrique Fonseca. Made from 100% blue weber agave grown in Atotonilco El Alto, Jalisco, the tequila is slow cooked in low-pressure autoclaves, crushed using screw and roller mills, fermented in stainless steel tanks, and double distilled in copper alembic pot stills. It is aged for a total of 28 months, including 14 months in ex-Cabernet Franc French oak barrels followed by 14 months in American oak casks that previously held either Canadian whisky or Tennessee rye whiskey. Bottled at 41.3% ABV.

Created by Felipe Camarena, G4 (four generations) is a tequila distilled at El Pandillo Distillery in Jesús María, Jalisco. The agaves are cooked in one of two stone ovens on site for 22 hours and crushed in a handmade metal tahona nicknamed "Felipestein". It is distilled in copper stills for both distillations. The water used to create the tequila is a 50/50 mix of collected rainwater and spring water. Their añejo tequila is aged for 2 years in former bourbon barrels. Additive free.

This additive-free añejo tequila from Don Fulano is produced at La Tequileña Distillery (NOM 1146) under Master Distiller Enrique Fonseca and blended by Sergio Mendoza. Made from 100% mature blue weber agave sourced from the Highlands of Jalisco, it undergoes slow autoclave cooking, open-air fermentation, and a combination of copper pot and Coffey still distillation. The tequila is a blend of various aged tequilas matured for a minimum of 30 months in French Limousin and Nevers oak casks that previously held wines from Burgundy and the Loire Valley. Bottled at 40% ABV.

This is an additive free tequila made from 100% blue Weber agave grown in the Jalisco highlands (Los Altos) near the town of Arandas. A team led by maestra tequilera Ana Maria Romero roasts the agave in autoclave, extracts it via stone mill, ferments it without fibers in an open air steel vat with natural yeast, after which it is twice distilled on stainless steel pot stills. This expression is aged for 12 months in a combination of Symphony, Missouri, and Hungarian oak, then spends an additional 6 months in ex-Merlot wine casks from Valle de Guadaloupe, for a total of 18 months of aging.

Fortaleza Añejo Tequila is made from 100% blue weber agave grown in the Tequila Valley of Jalisco. The piñas or hearts of the agave plants are roasted in a traditional stone oven before being stone crushed. The juice called "mosto" is fermented for 3.5 days in open air wood tanks using natural yeast present in the air and plants to ferment the mosto. The fermented product is double distilled in copper pot stills before the spirit is aged for 18 months in used whiskey American oak barrels.

This additive-free añejo tequila from Amatiteña is produced under Maestro Tequilero Alberto Partida at NOM 1477 in Amatitán, Jalisco. Made from 100% blue weber agave sourced from single estate fields, the agave is cooked in a mesquite-fired stone oven, crushed using an automated tahona, fermented with fibers in open-air wooden tanks using ambient yeast, and distilled in 19th century wood-fired copper pot stills. The tequila is then rested for 12 months in ex-Napa Valley red wine American oak barrels before bottling at 42% ABV (84 proof).

This additive-free añejo tequila from family-owned Tequila El Mexicano is made from fully mature 100% blue weber agave sourced from the Highlands of Arandas, Jalisco. Produced at Hacienda El Mexicano (NOM 1588), the tequila undergoes a low-and-slow autoclave cooking process, open-air fermentation, and double distillation in stainless steel pot stills. It is then aged for 14–16 months in a combination of new American oak (70%) and new French oak (30%) barrels. Released nationally in April 2026, this expression expands the brand’s core lineup of blanco, blanco 90, and reposado. (SRP $50)