Our Favorite Extra Añejo Tequilas

Suerte tequilas are made with 100% tahona crushed agaves. The tequilas are double distilled, first in stainless and then in a copper still with the entire process taking 17 hours to complete. Suerte Extra Añejo Tequila is a single-barrel release aged for seven years in charred American white oak whiskey barrel.

First released in 1995 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the distillery, Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia is the world's first extra-añejo tequila. Distilled from agave hearts harvested at seven to twelve years old and then matured in both American and French oak barrels for at least 3 years, this is the ultimate expression of Jose Cuervo. Rich and flavorful, sip this neat or on the rocks.

El Tesoro translates to "the treasure." Created by Don Felipe Camarena and Alain Royer of A. de Fussigny cognac brand, El Tesoro Paradiso is an extra añejo tequila. It is made from 100% blue weber agave cooked in a brick oven and double-distilled in a copper pot-still. Aged for five years in former cognac barrels. It is bottled at 40% ABV. (SRP $180)

This extra añejo tequila uses agaves matured from 7-10 years harvested from Los Altos in Jalisco. The agaves are roasted for 72 hours in brick ovens before crushing, fermenting, and distilling. Uniquely, after distillation, the spirit goes through Avión's proprietary ultra-slow filtration method before it enters the barrel. It's aged a total of 44 months--43 months in large oak barrels and the final month in specially selected "petite barrels", which are rotated daily. Each bottle is hand-numbered and signed by Avión founder, Ken Austin.

Tequila San Matias is one of the oldest distilleries in Mexico, and to commemorate a century and change of tradition in 1993, released one of the first "extra-aged" tequilas on the market. The spirit is made from 100% agave grown in the Jalisco highlands that is harvested between 7 - 10 years. It spends three years in a combination of American (ex-bourbon) and French oak.

Master distiller Enrique Fonseca crafted this spirit with the goal of producing the world's longest-aged tequila. Unlike most other releases in the 2015 line, which incorporate at least some tequila produced in pot stills, the 21 year old is produced exclusively in copper double-column stills. Most of the spirit was placed into barrels used to age Canadian rye whiskey, along with one barrel previously used to age California white wine. These spent ten years in Atotonilco el Alto before being moved to Chapingo for an additional eleven years. It is bottled at 43.5% ABV.

Don Pilar Extra Añejo is tequila distilled from 100% blue agave grown in the Los Altos (Highlands) region of Jalisco, on five ranches owned by the distillery near the town of San José de Gracia. This Extra Añejo ages for 3 years in American white oak before it finishes an additional 4 months in French Limousin oak. Each bottle is hand-signed by distiller Don José Pilar Contreras Marquez and packaged in wooden gift boxes.

"Diablito" translates to "the little devil," a play here on the phrase "the devil is in the details." The agave used in this tequila is grown using certified organic methods at 6,000 feet above sea level, in the Tierra Roja soils of the Amatitan region of Jalisco. The spirit is aged for 3 years and four months in new, lightly-charred French oak. Released annually in limited quantities.

Germán González puts his tears and his heart into a distinctive, etched bottle with the classic Llorona legend on the back. Extra-mature agaves are selected and a proprietary yeast strain is used in a slow fermentation. Oak barrels which aged Scotch, sherry and cognac are used for maturation and aged for around five years. The blend is made with the goal of achieving a cognac or single-malt level of complexity. While most tequila is aged at 80 proof, this is bottled at 86 proof. The release will always be limited, according to González.

Tapatio is the partnership between Marko Karakasevic of Charbay Distillery in northern California with Master Distiller Carlos Camarena at La Alteña distillery in Jalisco. Excelencia Gran Reserva Lot 1 was distilled in 1996 and aged in char no. 4 new American oak for four years. Here's where it gets crazy - then it was rested in 5 liter glass vessels before bottling in 2013. Spirits can't evolve in glass, you say? Well, agave breaks all the rules.