The 10 Best Tequilas That Aren't Celebrity-Owned
2024-12-13 · 5 min read
The celebrity tequila invasion has flooded the market with brands that prioritize marketing over liquid quality. George Clooney's Casamigos, The Rock's Teremana, and Kendall Jenner's 818 are fine products, but they are not made by tequileros with generations of agave expertise. The best tequilas come from families who have been doing this for decades, and they rarely need a famous face on the label.
Fortaleza is the gold standard for traditionally made tequila. The Sauza family has been making tequila for five generations, using brick ovens, a tahona stone wheel, and copper pot stills. The blanco is bright and peppery with cooked agave sweetness. The reposado adds vanilla and caramel from barrel aging. The anejo is rich and complex. Every expression is exceptional.
Tapatio, from the Camarena family in the Jalisco highlands, delivers extraordinary value. The blanco runs around $25 and tastes like twice the price: crisp, citrusy, and with a clean agave character that makes it perfect for sipping or mixing. The 110-proof blanco expression is a cocktail bartender's dream, with enough proof to stand up to any mixer.
Siete Leguas has been producing tequila since 1952 using traditional methods at their distillery in Atotonilco El Alto. The blanco has a sweet, herbaceous quality that reflects the highland terroir. The brand is widely respected within Mexico but less well-known internationally, making it one of the best discoveries for anyone willing to look beyond the obvious choices.
G4 is made by Felipe Camarena, a fourth-generation tequilero whose family also makes Tapatio. G4 uses a slightly different production method, including a deep well water source and extended fermentation, producing tequila with a distinctly mineral, earthy profile. The blanco is savory and complex, and the extra anejo competes with spirits at three times its price.
Other excellent non-celebrity tequilas include Ocho for single-estate terroir expression, Pasote for exceptional value at every price point, Cascahuin for a lesser-known but superb highland producer, El Tesoro for traditional production at scale, and Terralta for concentrated highland agave flavor. These are the brands that tequila professionals drink when no one is watching.
