Best Additive-Free Extra Añejo Tequilas

Produced at Cava de Oro Distillery (NOM 1477) in Amatitán, Jalisco by fifth-generation Maestro Tequilero Alberto Partida, Amatiteña is a single estate tequila made exclusively using artisanal methods. Blue Weber Agave from the distillery's El Novillero field is cooked in a mesquite wood-fired stone oven before being milled using a mechanical tahona. Fermented with fibers in wooden tanks using spring water and ambient yeast, then distilled in original 19th century copper pot stills. The Extra Añejo blends tequilas aged three years in ex-red wine casks and four years in ex-bourbon barrels, combining American and French oak. Additive free, bottled at 84 proof.

Produced at Casa Siete Leguas in Atotonilco El Alto, Jalisco, established in 1952, De Antaño is made from 100% Highland Blue Weber Agave. The agave is cooked in small masonry ovens before being milled using both a tahona and a mechanical mill. Twice distilled in copper pot stills, the tequila is then aged five years in American white oak barrels.

This is an additive free tequila made from 100% organic agave grown in the Jalisco highlands. It is cooked in stone ovens, fermented without fibers in open air tanks activated by natural yeast, and 2 x distilled in custom stainless steel Alambique stills. This expression is aged in a combination of new white American oak and ex-bourbon barrels for at least 3 years.

The oldest expression in the Don Fulano range, Imperial is produced by the fifth-generation Fonseca family in Atotonilco, Jalisco, using 100% estate-grown agave, proprietary yeast, and volcanic spring water with no additives. Matured a minimum of five years in French Limousin oak before finishing in oloroso sherry casks. Bottled at 80 proof.

Produced at La Tequileña Distillery (NOM 1146) in Jalisco by Master Distiller Enrique Fonseca, Tears of Llorona is made from estate-grown Blue Weber Agave matured for nearly a decade before harvest. The agave is slow-roasted in steam ovens before open-air fermentation using a proprietary yeast strain and double distillation in copper pot stills. Aged five years in a combination of barrels previously used for Scotch, sherry, and Cognac, each batch is a limited, numbered blend personally selected and married by Fonseca. Bottled at 86 proof.

Produced in the Jalisco Highlands, Pasote is an additive free 100% Blue Weber Agave tequila. The agave is cooked for two days in a brick oven before open-air fermentation in stainless steel tanks without fibers, using a proprietary blend of cultivated local yeasts. Double distilled in stainless steel pot stills, it is then aged 48 months in ex-bourbon American oak barrels. Bottled at 90 proof.

Produced in Amatitán, Jalisco, Cazcanes No. 7 is a small batch Extra Añejo made from 100% certified organic Blue Weber Agave. The agave is cooked in a low-pressure autoclave over 24 hours before double distillation in stainless steel pot stills with copper coils. Aged an average of 37 months in re-charred American oak barrels sourced from Jack Daniel's, Jim Beam, and Four Roses, with a small portion finished in French oak staves before integration into the final blend. Certified organic, kosher, and additive free. Bottled at 80 proof.

Produced at El Pandillo Distillery in the Los Altos highlands of Jalisco by Master Distiller Felipe J. Camarena, Volans is an additive free 100% Blue Weber Agave tequila made from exclusively estate-grown agave. The agave is cooked in stone and brick-lined hornos before extraction using a mechanical tahona, fermented in open-air stainless steel tanks using a proprietary Camarena family yeast strain, and twice distilled in copper pot stills. Aged over three years in ex-bourbon American white oak barrels, bottled at 80 proof.

Produced by Felipe Camarena at El Pandillo Distillery in Jesús María, Jalisco, G4 takes its name from four generations of the Camarena family distilling tequila since 1937. The agave is cooked in stone ovens for 28 hours before being milled using a mechanical tahona nicknamed Felipestein. Fermented in stainless steel tanks using a proprietary yeast strain passed down from Felipe's grandfather, the tequila is twice distilled in copper pot stills using a blend of 50% collected rainwater and 50% spring water. The Extra Añejo is aged a minimum of three years in former American oak whiskey barrels with no additives. Bottled at 80 proof.

El Tesoro Extra Añejo Tequila is made with 100% estate-grown blue weber agave harvested from the highlands of Jalisco. The agaves are cooked in a horno, or oven, for three days before being crushed by a two-ton volcanic rock tahona. It is double distilled and aged in ex-bourbon barrels for 4-5 years, longer than the three years required for this category. As of October 2019, this is a permanent addition to the portfolio.