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Tequila!, Mezcal, AND Cousins

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What Makes Sotol a Highly Underrated Mexican Spirit. If you’ve never heard of sotol before, a quick Google Image search will make you think it’s just like agave.

What Makes Sotol a Highly Underrated Mexican Spirit

Also known as desert spoon, the drought-resistant plant looks the part, with mint-green spikes that protrude from a dense inner core, growing up to eight feet tall and six feet wide, depending on the variety. But, fun fact, sotol is actually in the asparagus family and has a rich history that traces back thousands of years—with Indigenous groups across the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, and Coahuila, as well as portions of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, using the plant’s spiny leaves for weaving, and slow-cooking its core for sustenance in harsh desert conditions. The 10 Best Cheap Tequilas to Drink in 2021. Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here.

The 10 Best Cheap Tequilas to Drink in 2021

We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. Tequila is a category that's gotten a lot of attention in recent years, and the most exclusive bottlings are commanding increasingly elevated prices—but in all the excitement about the latest extra añejo or celebrity vanity project, it's easy to forget about the quality budget tequilas that continue to represent incredible values. Some of these are made with very traditional ingredients and methods (e.g. 100 percent blue Weber agave, oven cooking, stone crushing, etc.), while others employ modern technologies like autoclaves and diffusers, but all of them represent good bang for the buck in a category that's becoming pricier by the day. The Best Blanco Tequilas Under $50. “Can you recommend a good tequila?”

The Best Blanco Tequilas Under $50

This is a simple question just about anyone who has an interest in agave spirits likely gets asked by friends, colleagues and family members. But when it comes to modern tequila, it demands a leading follow-up question: Good how? Almost exactly four years ago, in the long, long ago, we compiled a list of blanco tequilas for a blind tasting with some of our favorite tequila drinkers. It was a month after George Clooney’s Casamigos became a unicorn, selling to Diageo for a whopping $1 billion.

It seemed like the peak before an inevitable downslope of celebrity-backed tequila. The 14 Best Tequilas to Drink in 2021. Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here.

The 14 Best Tequilas to Drink in 2021

We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. In the Mexican state of Jalisco, everywhere are fields of blue agave—spiky cacti with big, sugary hearts called piñas. The 21 Best Tequilas You Can Buy Right Now. Americans first learned about tequila the same way this great nation learns about many things, through war.

The 21 Best Tequilas You Can Buy Right Now

In 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain. Then in 1836 a bunch of folks in what was then northern Mexico decided they should have their own country too. 12 New Tequilas to Try Today. Tequila is on a tear.

12 New Tequilas to Try Today

Producers are experimenting with it, celebrities are hawking it, and stuck-at-home consumers are purchasing and mixing with the beloved agave spirit. It seems as though there’s a tequila for everyone. No wonder revenues in the category spiked 17.4% in 2020, making it one of the fastest-growing spirits categories last year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. It’s an exciting time to be a tequila fan. Never have there been so many varieties to try. The 21 Best Tequilas You Can Buy Right Now. How Tequila Ocho Demonstrates Terroir in Tequila.

By now, we’re all familiar with the concept of terroir when it comes to wine, but recently the conversation has moved into the world of spirits, as well, particularly when it comes to tequila.

How Tequila Ocho Demonstrates Terroir in Tequila

Though only blue agave can be used to make tequila, there is so much variation that occurs in the plant depending on the region where it’s grown, its climate and weather, and the composition of its soil. Which is to say, terroir can play a significant role in a tequila’s character, perhaps more so than any other spirit. Since its inception 12 years ago, Tequila Ocho has been proving that terroir does indeed affect the flavor and quality of tequila by taking a hyperlocal approach — that is, bottling tequilas from single agave farms, a.k.a. ranchos. Each release is also bottled as a particular vintage, highlighting the natural variations that can occur from year to year (and even rancho to rancho), another well-established concept from the wine world.

This article is sponsored by Tequila Ocho. The 10 Best Añejo Tequilas to Drink in 2020. Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here.

The 10 Best Añejo Tequilas to Drink in 2020

We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. "Añejo translates to aged or matured tequila, and [said] aging is done in oak barrels for a minimum of 12 months, which imparts a lot of flavors to the spirit,” says Suyash Pande, head bartender at New York’s Baar Baar. The Proper Way to Drink Mezcal (and 6 New Ones You Should Try) “I like to drink these neat agave spirits in a very specific way.”

The Proper Way to Drink Mezcal (and 6 New Ones You Should Try)

Lou Bank is the founder of SACRED, a not-for-profit that helps improve quality of life in the rural Mexican communities where heritage agave spirits are made. He’s also the co-host of Agave Road Trip, a podcast that helps bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits and rural Mexico. A Disruptive Transparency Initiative Is Shining Light on Tequila Additives. One hundred percent.

A Disruptive Transparency Initiative Is Shining Light on Tequila Additives

The term seems straight forward enough. You see it listed on labels constantly. 8 New Tequilas to Try Right Now. We Asked 10 Drinks Pros: Which Tequila Offers the Best Bang for Your Buck? Synonymous with the simple but always satisfying Margarita, tequila shines in many cocktails, from the tart, citrus-forward Paloma, to the sweet fruity layers of a Tequila Sunrise.

Meanwhile, any purist will say that sipping the spirit neat, or with ice, is the best way to truly enjoy its range of complex flavors. As tequila’s popularity in the U.S. continues to grow, so too does the overwhelming selection and spectrum of styles available on the market. To help weed through the options, VinePair sought the advice of beverage professionals around the country to find out which bottles offer the best value, both tasting great without breaking the bank. To learn more about helping the hospitality industry at this time, please visit VinePair’s Live Blog: How to Give Back to Hospitality Professionals Impacted by Covid-19. “Olmeca Altos blanco. Donate: Toast Corner Spot on Venmo Donate: Help Support Easy Bistro Employees. Cincoro Was the Best Tequila of 2019. This week, InsideHook’s resident spirits expert will be naming all his favorite bottles of 2019.

In case you missed it, you can read about his favorite bourbon of the year here. Our favorite tequila in 2019 was not crafted by a tiny, family-owned, eighth-generation distillery in Jalisco that painstakingly hand-selects its agave and eschews all forms of modern machinery, preferring to use “traditional methods” passed down for 150 years. No, our choice was modern and, at times, very American. Here's Everything You Need to Know About Tequila Bribón. Tequila consumption in the States has been on an exponential rise as a new generation of drinkers discovers the complexity and versatility of this Mexican spirit. In fact, demand has nearly exceeded agave supply. While it might seem like there’s a new tequila brand hitting liquor store shelves every week, it’s rare that a 100 percent blue agave tequila that’s both affordable and high quality joins the ranks.

Enter Tequila Bribón, a recent addition that ticks both boxes. Read on to find out about the story behind the spirit, the family who makes it, and the best ways to put it to good use. 1. Nick Jonas and John Varvatos’ Tequila Is Really Good. But on August 28, it became a reality when Villa One, a new tequila co-founded by the pair in partnership with Stoli, was announced to the world. The two hosted an intimate gathering in New York just one night before Jonas would take the stage at Madison Square Garden. After collaborating on men’s fragrance and fashion line JV x NJ, Varvatos and Jonas wanted to work together again. After mulling over their options — a music festival?

A movie? A “Scream Queens” revival? Back in rainy New York 18 months later, Jonas was sharing the libation’s origin story, and how that pit stop played a major role in the tequila’s branding. “This is life as it should be,” Jonas recalled he said to his friends and family who had joined him in paradise that night. Currently, Villa One comes in three expressions: silver ($44.99), reposado ($49.99) and añejo ($59.99). The Best Tequila Under $40. 6 Tequila and Mezcal Bottles to Try Now. 12 Best Tequila Brands 2019 - What Tequila Bottles to Buy Right Now. 5 Essential Mezcal Bottles You Need for Your Home Bar.

The Best Mezcal at Any Price. The Best Tequila Under $40. 7 New Tequilas You Should Be Drinking. A Man's Primer on Tequila. 13 Best Tequilas You Can Buy in 2018. This definitive guide to the best tequilas of 2018 explores everything you need to know about the world’s most popular agave spirit, including important tequila terms — such as blanco, reposado and añejo — how to drink it and a list of the best tequila bottles and brands worth tracking down. Prefer to skip directly to the picks? Click here. Can Bats Save Tequila? A trip to an American grocery store is rife with existential struggle for conscientious consumers. Do we want conventional, pesticide-spritzed tomatoes grown somewhere far away but temptingly priced $1.99 per pound? Or are we going to shell out $5 for the organic ones from a farm down the road?

Drinkers are facing a similar conundrum with bottles of tequila at cocktail bars and corner stores nationwide. The consequences – involving bats, the health of farm workers, and the fate of an entire industry – are arguably more apocalyptic. Last Call at Mayahuel: Did the Pioneering Tequila and Mezcal Bar Change American Drinking Forever?

It came as something of a gut punch to learn that Mayahuel, the beloved East Village agave bar opened in 2009 by Ravi DeRossi and Phil Ward of Death & Co fame, will stir its final Oaxacan Old Fashioned on August 8. A protracted dispute between Mayahuel’s partners and the landlord finally turned untenable. According to DeRossi, the building owner changed his mind about a lease extension midstream and now wants to open his own tequila bar in the same space. How to Drink Mezcal the Mexican Way. Login. 6 New Tequilas for the True Aficionados. 6 Mezcals to Smoke Up Your Margaritas. In a time when our nation seems to be divided about nearly everything, there’s still one thing we can totally agree on: We all love margaritas.

6 Best Mezcals Under $60. Login. 12 Things You Didn't Know About Tequila. There’s plenty we think we know about tequila. That it always goes with lime and salt (nope). A Guide to Mezcal. “Mezcal is the most terroir-based spirit,” says Arik Torren, owner of mezcal producer Fidencio Mezcal. The spirit, made in one of seven Mexican states (Oaxacan mezcal is the biggest presence on US shelves), is small-batch distilled from fermented agave. Mezcal traditions and family recipes are often passed down through generations, which leads mezcal to reflect both the place it is grown and the hand of the maestro mezcalero who produces it. MAP: The States That Drink The Most Tequila. Coolmaterial. Tequila has come a long way since the warm, sombrero-clad shots of El Toro we all foolishly took in college. The once-mandatory lime wedge would now be an insult to many of the amazing spirits on the market. Brands have set themselves apart with limited editions, interesting blends, and creative ageing.

Best - Top 10 Tequilas. Top 5 Tequilas You Should Be Drinking For Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo is the official kick off of tequila season and an excellent time to broaden your horizons and try some new tequilas. We have nothing against some of the major tequila companies: Patron actually does a ton of green initiatives that are simply outstanding, Don Julio is one of the most approachable tequilas on the market and often a go-to for our margaritas, and Tequila Avion is one of the most exciting releases in the category we’ve seen in years. Drink Spirits is all about helping you broaden your horizons and try new things, so we picked 5 different tequilas you should try this Cinco de Mayo. Tequila Archives. DeLeon Tequila. Casa Noble Añejo Tequila. Review: Casamigos Anejo Tequila. Review: Tequila Avion Reserva 44. Top Rated Anejo Tequilas. Review: Montelobos Mezcal Joven. Review: Tequila Herradura Scotch Cask Finish.