The Best Tequilas Under $100

A 100% blue agave tequila owned & imported by 3 Badge Mixology, Pasote Tequila Blanco is made by Felipe Camarena at El Pandillo Tequila Distillery in the Los Altos (Highlands) region of Jalisco, Mexico. Camarena maintains the traditional process of tequila making, using stone ovens with built-in steam jets to cook the piñas and a hand-built steel shredder and tahona wheel to shred and extract the agave. Fermented in stainless steel vats and double-distilled in copper stills, 40% collected rainwater and 60% stream water is added and the final bottled product. Additive free.(SRP $49)

For generations, the Fonseca family supplied big tequila brands with their estate-grown agave from the Los Altos (Highlands) region of Jalisco. In 1990, renegotiated contracts left the family with acres of growing agave and not enough buyers. Don Enrique Fonseca decided to produce his own tequila and purchased La Tequileña distillery, located in the Tequila Valley (Lowlands). He called the brand "Don Fulano," a generic name that roughly translates to "someone." Don Fulano Reposado is a blend of various tequilas that have aged 8 to 24 months in both new and used French Limousin oak.

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 tequila is actually distilled at two of the brand's own distilleries, Fábricas El Centenario and La Vencedora. The former employs more traditional methods including the use of two mules to pull the tahona (stone wheel) and wild yeast in fermentation while the latter uses a molina (a modern mill) to crush the agaves and their own yeast strain. Both are distilled in copper pot stills and the two tequilas are blended together to create their product. (SRP $45)

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.

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.

While the majority of tequilas in this category are unaged (or aged briefly in stainless steel or in oak then filtered for clarity), this pale golden-hued one, made from 10 year old agave grown in Los Altos, Jalisco, is aged for 28 days in new French Limousin oak barrels. That's not enough time for a reposado, hence its plata-ness.

The mountain town of Jesús María is the highest point in all of the tequila agave growing regions, and the El Pandillo Distillery-- located in the middle of these agave fields-- is one of the most forward-thinking and sustainable distilleries of all tequila. Master distiller, Felipe Camarena crafts this Highland style from stressed hillside agave plants which are slowly roasted in brick ovens. They are then macerated intact with fiber for a pronounced agave flavor that he then dilutes with 50% captured rainwater and 50% high mineral spring water. Additive free.

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%).

4 Copas was founded by Hector Galindo Miranda The brand makes its tequila from 100% organic blue weber agave along with organic agave yeast in its production. The agaves are slow-cooked in traditional brick ovens. (SRP $49)