The Houses
Every rated house in the Index, best score first, from tahona traditionalists to the celebrity new wave. Each links to its dossier.
Leucadia is a California-born luxury label rooted in an American bourbon distilling heritage, paired…
A modern craft brand bottling at still-strength with no water added back, Cazcanes quickly earned hi…
A collaboration between the Camarena distilling family and the late 'European Tequila Ambassador' To…
Founded by Guillermo Sauza, the great-great-grandson of Don Cenobio Sauza, Fortaleza revived fully t…
An independent, family-owned distillery in Atotonilco running both tahona and roller-mill processes.…
One of the earliest USDA-certified-organic tequilas, and a reliable benchmark for what organic certi…
A historic highland brand from the La Alteña distillery in Arandas, El Tesoro remains tahona-milled …
The Camarena family's domestic Mexican brand from La Alteña, long a quiet insider legend for deliver…
Fuenteseca Reserva is the project of Enrique Fonseca, an agave grower's son from Atotonilco el Alto …
Made at Felipe Camarena's engineering-driven El Pandillo distillery, G4 blends deep-well and capture…
A century-old valley distillery in El Arenal, Cascahuín is run by the Rosales family and prized by e…
Wild Common was created by Andy Bardon, a National Geographic photographer and former mountain guide…
Esquisito is an ultra-premium label built on estate agave from its own fields in Arandas, in the hig…
Los Abuelos is the Mexican-market name of Tequila Fortaleza. Fifth-generation distiller Guillermo Er…
From master grower-distiller Enrique Fonseca, Don Fulano showcases estate highland agave and a colum…
Don Vicente is a Mexican family-owned label made at Destilería El Pandillo in Jesús María under mast…
Siempre was started by Monica Sanita and Alex Lacroix, two former advertising professionals who laun…
Zumbador comes from the López family, fourth-generation agave growers within the extended Camarena f…
Lost Lore was started by a descendant of Jalisco agave distillers: the founder's great-grandfather m…
Aguila Superior comes out of the family distillery in El Arenal established in 1904 by Salvador Rosa…
Alquimia grew out of a family project by Dr. Adolfo Murillo, a California optometrist born in Agua N…
ArteNOM Selección is a curated portfolio founded in 2010 by importer Jake Lustig, who grew up betwee…
Atanasio comes from the Landeros brothers, sons of agave farmers in the heart of Tequila, Jalisco, a…
Elevación1250 grew out of a partnership built around master distiller Iliana Partida, whose family h…
Lagrimas del Valle, 'Tears of the Valley', is a single-ranch, vintage-dated tequila project made wit…
Manuscrito was created by three friends from Wisconsin, professionals and fathers who set out to mak…
Poncho y Cisco markets itself as coming from 'the land of volcanic waters', using 100% Weber Blue ag…
Siembra Azul grew out of Guadalajara-born David Suro's frustration after opening Tequilas, his Phila…
Siembra Valles is Siembra Spirits' lowlands expression, distilled at the historic family-owned Desti…
Tequila Cabeza is a bartender-focused highland blanco created by The 86 Co. (Simon Ford, Jason Kosma…
The brand is a tribute to General Enrique Gorostieta Velarde, the professional soldier who led the C…
Terralta is a tequila made by Felipe Camarena at his El Pandillo distillery (NOM 1579) in Jesús Marí…
AD is a small independent project assembled by Guadalajara hospitality figure Javier 'El Impostor' R…
Selección de 1123 is the 'Blanco Histórico' of the ArteNOM range, distilled at Destilería Cascahuín …
Montagave grew out of a wedding: founders Lucie and John Melvin aged valley tequila in French oak ba…
PM Spirits is the Brooklyn negociant house of Bordeaux-born Nicolas Palazzi, mentored into the guard…
Primo 1861 traces its name to the year Pedro Camarena Ramírez was born and opened the first tequila …
Siembra Alteño is Siembra Spirits' highland line, born of a decades-long friendship between founder …
Mosto Tequila was founded in 2022 by Jalisco-born Richmond, Virginia restaurateurs Nelson and Paulo …
Dos Tierras is a tequila produced at the Tequila Las Américas distillery (NOM 1480) in the Valles re…
El Gran Legado de Vida is a first-generation project: the founders inherited no recipe, instead plan…
Gran Dovejo began in 2009 as a lifetime passion project and is produced at the Feliciano Vivanco dis…
Pasote takes its name from the fierce warrior spirit the Aztecs honored when they celebrated victori…
VALE is a small tequila brand based in the surf town of San Pancho, Nayarit, with its spirit distill…
Rey Sol is the luxury extra añejo of Casa San Matías, one of tequila's most established houses and n…
Tequila De La Riva is a 100% agave tequila produced by the Vivanco family (Feliciano Vivanco y Asoci…
The Vivanco family behind Tequila Viva México began as agave growers in 1929, and in late 1994 Felic…
Alma del Jaguar was created by Memphis entrepreneur McCauley Williams, whose uncle co-founded the No…
Cambio was created by John des Rosiers, a classically trained Chicago-area chef and sommelier with t…
Suave was created through a partnership between a young entrepreneur and Jaime Villalobos Sauza, a d…
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, Suerte set out to make ultra-premium, tradit…
Tears of Llorona is master tequilero Germán González's self-described greatest creation, an extra añ…
TAU launched in 2019, though the company says its roots in the Jalisco highlands stretch back more t…
Tierra de Ensueño, 'land of dreams', is a small-batch highland tequila grown on a 3,000-acre estate …
Valor was founded by Christiane Maertens, who comes from a line of farmers and agronomists and disco…
Yéyo began in 2009 when Jon Bullinger walked away from a job at Intel at age 25 and found his callin…
Arette was launched in 1986 by brothers Eduardo and Jaime Orendain at the El Llano distillery in the…
Ruta 2010, marketed as Bicentenario Mexicano, is a 100% agave tequila produced under NOM 1445 (Unión…
Amatiteña was created by engineer Alberto Partida Hermosillo, a third-generation master tequilero, a…
Don Jorge Salles Cuervo, descended from one of tequila's great families, founded El Tequileño in 195…
Hacienda Los Alamos positions itself as a premium artisanal producer working exclusively with certif…
Tres Vidas is a certified organic, 100% agave tequila produced at Tequila Las Américas (NOM 1480) in…
Zee Bandido de Amores is a 100% blue agave extra añejo tequila developed as a collaboration between …
Born from a chance meeting on a shoe-sourcing trip to Mexico, Acre Largo was founded in 2022 by brot…
Launched by George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman and sold to Diageo in a landmark deal repo…
Cimarron is a value-focused tequila produced by agave grower Enrique Fonseca at the La Tequilena dis…
Felicente pairs Napa Valley winemaker Philippe Melka with French barrel-trade veteran Vincent Garry,…
Tequila Tres Mujeres was born in 1996 from Don Jesús Partida's passion for tequila, and the brand ta…
Viva Los Sanchos is a tequila produced at Tequila Selecto de Amatitán (NOM 1459) in the Los Valles r…
Volans was founded by Chad and Cristina Allen together with Cristina's father Miguel, an agronomist …
Calle 23 was launched in 2009 by Sophie Decobecq, a French biochemist and engineer who moved to Mexi…
Chamucos began in 1992 as a collaboration between Oscar-nominated filmmaker Antonio Urrutia, glass a…
Don Modesto honors Modesto Toro Anaya of Tototlán del Oro, Jalisco, whose family raised cattle and c…
Xoloitzcuintle Tequila takes its name from the ancient Mexican hairless dog of Aztec belief, combini…
A private-family recipe from Amatitán, Código 1530 is backed by country star George Strait and known…
Malinalli takes its name from the indigenous woman also known as La Malinche, interpreter and adviso…
Casa Noble was founded by José 'Pepe' Hermosillo, a seventh-generation member of a tequila-making fa…
Caton is a special-release tequila line from Caton Importing LLC, the Chicago-area company behind th…
Chinaco is the only tequila made in the state of Tamaulipas, produced by the family-run La Gonzaleña…
Mi Casa is a family venture begun when Ezequiel Duarte Rodríguez and his wife Carmen planted their f…
The brand that made premium tequila mainstream in the US. Now owned by Bacardi, Patrón remains widel…
Real Hacienda is a value-priced 100% blue agave tequila from the Los Altos highlands of Jalisco, cur…
Komos is the flagship ultra-luxury tequila of Casa Komos Brands Group, the venture master sommelier …
Alabanza is a house brand of Destiladora Los Magos, a distillery near Chapala, Jalisco founded in 19…
Real Gavelo is a producer-driven tequila from the Highlands of Jalisco, made with estate-grown agave…
Vida is a women-led ultra-premium label started by Lisa Barlow and her husband John, billed as the f…
Herencia de Villa is a 100% Blue Weber agave tequila currently produced at Compañía Tequilera Hacien…
One-Ten is the 110-proof blanco expression from Puro Verde, a brand built around organic 100% Blue a…
Tequila 1937 is a 100% agave tequila produced under NOM 1107 at Tequila El Viejito in the Ciénega re…
Founded by Don Julio González, now owned by Diageo, Don Julio helped define premium tequila. Its 194…
El Caballito Cerrero was created in 1950 by Don Alfonso Jiménez Rosales, a co-founder of Herradura w…
Socorro was founded in 2020 by spirits-industry veterans Josh Irving and Pablo Antinori, who make th…
Founded by the grandson of Don Julio González, Lalo is a single-purpose blanco, highland agave, no …
A Day-of-the-Dead-branded value brand from the San Nicolás distillery, Espolòn is prized as the best…
Famous for its hand-painted ceramic decanters, Clase Azul is a luxury-gifting icon whose value propo…
El Desorden is a tequila produced at Destiladora Jarro Viejo (NOM 1673) in the southern Los Altos hi…
Tequila Zirconia is a 100% agave brand associated with the historic NOM 1079 distillery in the south…
Kendall Jenner's brand drew early controversy over its marketing but has leaned into sustainability …
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's small-batch brand became one of the fastest-growing tequilas in history,…
A historic estate in Amatitán with deep roots, Herradura rests its reposado longer than the category…
Co-founded by Michael Jordan and a group of NBA team owners, Cincoro is an ultra-premium, design-led…
Dos Artes is bottled under NOM 1588 at Tequilas El Mexicano in Arandas, and is known above all for i…
Tequila Watch has no commercial relationship with any house listed here. Dossiers are reported from public records, distillery visits and the panel's own tastings.