Definitions

Unregulated marketing language for tequila made without the four permitted additives. No government body certifies the phrase, and Mexico's regulator has challenged organizations that promote it. Tequila Watch does not use the term outside this page; our lab-confirmed standard is called Verified Pure.

Tequila aged one to three years in oak casks under 600 liters, developing deeper color, vanilla and spice.

Unaged tequila, or rested under two months, bottled clear. The purest read on the agave and the distillery.

Agave tequilana Weber, blue variety. The only agave permitted in tequila; it takes six to eight years to mature.

An aged tequila filtered, usually through charcoal, to strip its color. Popular in luxury gifting and polarizing among purists.

An industrial extraction method that strips sugars from raw agave with water and often acid. Efficient, and widely considered a marker of lower-craft production.

Tequila aged more than three years, the darkest and most oak driven category. Introduced in 2006.

The high-elevation region of Jalisco. Iron-rich red soil, larger and sweeter agave, floral and fruit-forward spirits.

The field worker who harvests agave, trimming each piña by hand with a coa.

Tequila made from at least 51% agave sugars, the rest from other sources. Always choose 100% agave instead.

Norma Oficial Mexicana. The four digit code identifying the distillery that produced a tequila. Many brands can share one NOM.

The spirit after first distillation, before the second pass makes it tequila.

Tequila rested in oak between two months and one year. Light color and spice over an agave core.

A volcanic stone wheel that crushes cooked agave in the traditional method. Slow, inefficient and prized.

The lowland region around the town of Tequila. Earthier, more herbal and peppery spirits.

Tequila Watch's own standard: a bottle whose panel lot is confirmed to contain nothing but agave, water and time. It cannot be bought, sponsored or applied for.