The Best Añejo Tequilas

Uno Dos Tres is an Organic tequila brand created by David Ravandi. The añejo (also called “Tres” or 3) is aged for 18 months in white oak. The tequila is sourced from the Tequila Valley (aka Lowlands) and is certified organic by the USDA and the EU.

4 Copas Tequila Añejo took seven years for Master Distiller Sebastian Melendrez to develop. It's produced in Amatitan, Jalisco. The blue weber agaves are grown organically and slow-cooked in traditional brick ovens. The fermentation process is also slow, with the use of organic yeast. Their añejo expression is aged in charred American white oak and bottled at 40% ABV.

It’s a unique approach utilizing former cabernet franc wine casks sourced from the Loire Valley in France for the maturation of this tequila. Enrique Fonseca, master mezcalero (distiller), uses these wine casks to age 60% of this tequila for 2 years and the remaining 40% for 3 years. He then ages them together for an additional year in American white oak barrels. ArteNOM is a project that “Las Joyas del Agave” has created to bring you special expressions from the some of the best distilleries or “NOMs” in Jalisco. The number 1146 represents the NOM where this tequila is distilled. Additive free.

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.

Azuñia Añejo is distilled from 100% blue weber agave grown in Jalisco, Mexico which are harvested 8 to 10 years after planting. The agave is roasted in clay hornos ovens for 36 hours before being distilled twice. This Añejo is aged for up to 18 months in American oak barrels before being bottled and distributed. Additive free.

The añejo from Don Julio is aged for 18 months in American oak from agaves sourced in the Highlands of Jalisco. Don Julio is named for its founder, Don Julio González Estrada who founded the distillery in 1942.

Released under the Gran Patrón label by Patrón Spirits, this añejo tequila follows a unique production process. This tequila is distilled twice before being aged at least one year in American and French oak barrels. It is then distilled again and stored in vintage Bordeaux barrels. This process gives this tequila its name - "Burdeos" is Spanish for Bordeaux.

Chinaco is the only brand of tequila made in the northern state of Tamaulipas, and in fact the owner of the distillery had to fight to have it included in the designated area for tequila production. These tequilas are distilled from Tamaulipas-grown agave both from the highlands and near the coast, as well as a small amount harvested from Jalisco. The añejo is aged two and a half years in casks formerly used to mature Glenlivet single malt (90%) and ex-Bourbon barrels (10%).

This 100% Highlands blue agave añejo tequila is crafted by Maestra Tequilera Ana Maria Romero Mena. Uniquely, the tequila is aged for 18 months in a series of four types of casks. First it's aged in American white oak, then in French oak, followed by acacia wood, and for the last two months, it's aged in cherry wood. Like the other Mijenta Tequilas, the paper label and box are all made from agave waste products. Available online beginning May 2, 2022 for the first two months followed by a wider release in select states. (SRP $199)

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.