The best tequila on the planet – in keeping with the TAG Global Spirit Awards 2024

Last month, the TAG Global Spirit Awards released their annual list of the perfect bottlings in all the foremost alcohol categories. We’ve already talked in regards to the competition itself and its relevance, and revealed the highest-scoring vodka and scotch bottlings. Now let’s take a look at what scored the best in tequila.

Out of a whole bunch of agave spirits submitted for evaluation this 12 months, TAG’s esteemed panel of judges rated three varieties as higher than all of the others. Two of those three are barrel-aged tequilas that truly come from the identical producer. The other is an unaged “plata” that has been a success with bartenders for years. They all received 96 out of 100 possible points – greater than some other on this crowded and intensely competitive category. Here they’re, from most cost-effective to costliest, with their accompanying tasting notes:

Ocho Plata Tequila – $38

This venerable artisan brand takes terroir in tequila to a brand new level. To create this offering, the producer gathers overripe agave from a single section of its vast farm within the highlands of Jalisco. So this just isn’t only a single-growing liquid, but a single Field. Quality ingredients are a very important foundation, but they need to be crafted to perfection within the distillery, otherwise they’re worthless within the bottle. And master distiller Carlos Camarena is a legend on this regard. For this unaged edition, he delivers an 80-proof sipper with vivid citrus flavors. Tropical fruits and rain-soaked slate collide on the palate before an explosion of black pepper follows on the finish. It has a posh tonality that may appeal to each connoisseurs and novices. 96 out of 100 points might actually underline this.

Seven Leagues Year Old – $55

Fans of barrel-aged tequila can sit up for this wealthy version of the style, which TAG’s judges recommend. It’s aged for at least 18 months in charred oak, giving the juice a clean copper hue and a definite hint of caramel, nutmeg and vanilla on the nose and mouth. Each sip is layered, with a more tart wood note giving method to sweetness and spice. It’s this slow and regular development that sets it aside from most of the more monotonous añejos already on shelves, and is probably going what won over the tasting panel.

Seven Leagues D’Antano Extra Añejo – $260

If you are willing and capable of spend big bucks in your agave spirit, this elegant bottling guarantees a solid return in your investment. For a tequila to earn Extra Añejo (or XA) status, it have to be aged in oak barrels for greater than 3 years. This tequila spends a complete of 5 years in American oak, taking up notes of Manuka honey, molasses, and gingerbread. The spicy wood notes that dominate the mid-palate are to be expected from a tequila this well-aged. Yet the residual earthiness of the underlying agave is noticeable even in spite of everything this time. And the indisputable fact that the judges at TAG ended up blindly awarding the best rating to 2 different bottlings from the identical producer proves that something special is going on here. Although this result shouldn’t come as such a surprise to That’s no big surprise, as this historic distillery in Atotonilco, Jalisco, has been producing premium spirits for over 70 years. If you didn’t know, now you do.

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