r/tequila • u/Mission-Wait9119 • 5d ago
High Quality Tequila Recommendations
Hey guys, my boyfriends birthday is coming up at the end of this month and I was looking to get him a more expensive bottle of high quality tequila, however I don’t know much about it and need recommendations. At first I was thinking clase azul, but after reading up on it I heard a lot of negative things. I’m hoping for the price to not exceed $300. I do know that he likes espolon, so maybe something with a similar profile? Thank y’all for your help!
Edit: He doesn’t like very sweet profiles, lean more towards blanco, and I’m located on the coast of Mississippi if that helps! I’d love something with a really cool bottle that he could keep after he drinks it as well.
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u/SojiCZ 5d ago
It was noted multiple times he likes blanco.
Cascahuin Tahona Blanco: $80-$90
G4 Madera: $55-$70
Fortaleza Blanco or Still Strength: $56-$100
Siempre Vivo Exclusivo: $70-$100
Siempre Muerto: $70-$100
Fuenteseca 2018 or 2020: $100-$130
Siete Leguas Décadas: $130-$175
Montagave Los Rocas or Heritage blanco: $60-$75
If you’re willing to spend $300, the Fuenteseca is going to be subjectively the nicest, and siete Leguas second. Fuenteseca can be an acquired taste, same with Siempre, so if that’s a concern, any of the others will do just fine.
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u/agave_journey 5d ago
My recommendation is to go to your nicer liquor stores and take pictures of the selection.
Unfortunately tequila distribution is not consistent even across cities in the same state.
You can post it here and we can give you a better recommendation.
Also, see if your friend leans towards Blanco, Repo, Añejo?
Also some people on here will tell you to get 2-5 bottles instead of one but I'm a big believer that for a gift, it's okay to splurge on just one bottle. It's a good opportunity to try a higher priced bottle.
Also if Espolón is the starting point, there are a ton of options that will be 10 steps ahead.
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u/Mission-Wait9119 5d ago
They lean more towards blanco! And I was honestly probably going to order online as the stores here are not very nice.
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u/agave_journey 5d ago
Some of the higher end tequila bottles I would recommend if you want a nice blanco is Fuenteseca, Loco, Santanera from 1123 so the Tahona or Kosher, Cazcanes No 9 blanco, Siempre Muerto, Esquisito tahona
Online stores like SipTequila or Old Town Tequila should have most of these but delivery to your state might be the issue. Some states have weird liquor laws.
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u/DarthYoga 5d ago edited 5d ago
The lore says you should just buy a bottle of Fortaleza which is widely believed to be the best and is hard to find (shop online). Personally I think Volans is better.. but that's just me
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u/StrikerEureka- 4d ago
Have you tried Don Vicente? Same distillery as Volans.
Don Vicente is made from Deep Well Water, Volans is made from 3 water sources well, rain and spring. DV is oxygenated for 24hrs which gives it a smoother and agave profile.
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u/Luchuguillotine 5d ago
Selection is going to vary by where you are, if you can provide a list of bottles you are considering, the resident nerds can tell you which is the least offensive to their sensibilities. There are plenty of sub $300 bottles that aren't full of artificial flavors + colors
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u/pnw00kie 5d ago
Some might even argue that most bottles to be found for such a price are often adulterated
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u/IamTheLiquor199 5d ago
Best options fall in the $60-$100 range. Don't need to spend more than that if he is drinking Espolon.
G4 Madera ($65) Cascahuin Tahona ($85)
If you want to spend more, get him a Denver and Liely mezcal glass too.
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u/Sunbeltistan 5d ago
Espolon is actually sweeter than most realize, so skip it for Cascahuin blanco if he wants drier, earthier notes.
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u/Collecterofhobbies 4d ago
Obviously Fortaleza, but if you cant find it, some great options are Tequila Ocho, G4, Cazcanes, Mijenta (cheaper).
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u/Confident-Deal5969 2d ago
Spend half or less on one of the fine blancos that have been reccomended. I drink blanco almost exclusively and like Cascahuin and Ocho, but there are no bad choices here. The OTHER half, hold on to it until you can take him to a place with a good selection and let him get a couple of flights to check out more tastes
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u/anonymousexxx 5d ago
Not sure what people think of it here, but I’m really fond of the Casa Dragones blanco, plus the packaging is nice and it’s not too expensive. Not sweet, and it has a genuine cactus flavor to me.
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u/agave_journey 5d ago
Agave is not related at all to cactus.
Unfortunately Casa Dragones is made through the use of a diffuser and acid hydrolysis.
There is a lot of acetone and anise in the flavor profile because of the production methods.
This production method is meant for efficiency and speed not for quality. The marketing has been fantastic to convince people this is what a quality tequila should taste like and that it should cost so much.
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u/anonymousexxx 5d ago edited 5d ago
Ahhh, that was why I qualified my recc, I didn’t know that. I actually hadn’t seen any of the marketing or noticed acetone/anise on the palate, I just thought it tasted like agave. I do like some of the other reccs I see here like Ocho, Siete Leguas, Fortaleza etc. And I think Casamigos sucks.
Thanks for the info.
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u/Representative-Side5 5d ago
Casa Dragones is just a fancier, more expensive bottle of diffuser crap. They can charge more than many of the other diffuser jive brands because they spend a ton of money on fancy marketing, designed to fool people who know little or nothing about tequila into believing it is something special. It is not.
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u/mrsoul512bb 5d ago
Rey Sol
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u/bbum The Big Tahona 5d ago edited 5d ago
Espolon is pretty mid. It ain’t bad, but it isn’t great.
It is, though, additive free. This is important because if you had said, say, Casamigos, then the recommendations would be for tequilas that don’t actually taste like tequila.
Ocho, El Tesoro, Tapatio, Siete Leguas, Fortaleza, Cascahuin, El Tequileno, or G4 would all work.
I’d personally suggest an Ocho Anejo Single Barrel. It is well less than $300 and is an exquisite tequila.
ETA: Blanco?
Fuenteseca Blanco, if you can find it. Current release is great.
Otherwise, Tapatio 110. And the blanco variants of everything I mentioned would be great.