Tequila’s upward thrust in reputation has been one thing of an underdog’s story. Thirty years in the past, maximum drinkers knew the spirit simplest as an aspect in a Margarita or a party-starting shot. Even twenty years in the past, because the recent cocktail revolution used to be in complete tilt, only some manufacturers of tequila, comparable to Herradura, El Tesoro and Jose Cuervo, had been to be had to shoppers outdoor of Mexico.
Propelling the spirit to international reputation used to be no easy feat. It took years of suave advertising campaigns, industry presentations and dad cultural cachet—from George Clooney founding Casamigos to Avión appearing as an integral a part of HBO’s hit collection Entourage. As of 2021, consistent with the World Wine & Spirit Pageant, agave spirits had been the second one fastest-growing spirits class, trailing simplest premixed cocktails. In line with the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, gross sales of tequila and mezcal climbed 30.1 % year-over-year to $5.2 billion, with experiences indicating that they’re gunning for vodka’s crown because the most-sold spirit within the U.S.
Keep in mind that, tequila is now firmly entrenched throughout the mainstream. With new manufacturers—a lot of them celebrity-owned—launching on a reputedly day by day foundation, the class is in the middle of an remarkable increase. To lend a hand filter out throughout the noise, we surveyed 10 bartenders from around the globe, asking for his or her go-to tequilas for blending.
For many combined beverages, blanco tequila is the usual as it “has a tendency to be agave-forward, with distinguished notes of citrus and pepper that bode rather well for shaken cocktails,” says Andrea Grujic, bartender at Brooklyn’s Fandi Mata. “I all the time search for one with the ‘100% de agave’ mark at the bottle, and I all the time be sure that it’s a tequila that hasn’t been sweetened and doesn’t comprise any form of components.”
For Liana Oster, bar director at Facet Hustle at The NoMad Lodge London, regional variations amongst particular manufacturers go well with sure cocktails higher than others. “If I wish to mess around with a blanco tequila that boasts extra floral and gentle notes, I lean in opposition to one thing from the Highlands,” she says, regarding bottles from Patrón, Cazadores or Tapatio. “If I sought after one thing slightly extra herbaceous, earthy and inexperienced, I would like the Lowlands,” comparable to variations through Cascahuín or Maestro Dobel.
