What type of tequila is best for sipping

Medina prefers to sip his aged tequila in a snifter with one large cube of ice, which melts slowly, keeping the spirit cool but not diluting it.

Along with those complex layers of flavor, Hurley likes its mouthfeel. Look for spirits with a medium to full body, a bit of attitude, minerality and brightness — and not much ethanol burn. You can tell an impure spirit if you get that. Like many bartenders, Chasse considers this reposado from Siete Leguas her favorite tequila in general, regardless of the expression. The distillery where it's made uses a mix of grinding methods: efficient roller mill and traditional tahona , a millstone carved from volcanic rock.

Don Julio, Chasse notes, takes care of its raw materials. When the producers were planting their fields, they used much more land than other producers and spaced the agave out so as not to overtax the soil and sap it of its nutrients. But its round, sweet qualities are balanced out, says Chasse, by a gingery, peppery spice. Good to Know: Want to nibble while you sip? Try fatty things with a crisp blanco, like guacamole and chips, a grilled steak and carnitas tacos.

For aged tequilas, Hurley advises dark chocolate. And any sipping tequila goes great with spicy or salty foods, chased by a Mexican lager —just the way the distillers like to drink it themselves.

A combination of used American and new French oak casks gives it a deep amber color that looks great in a snifter. Plus, a velvety mouthfeel and a drying and nearly tannic finale compels you to take another sip.

Related: The Best Flasks. At his estate in the town of Tequila, master distiller Guillermo Sauza makes the spirit the way his great-great-grandfather made it, using an old stone tahona and brick ovens. Its flavors and a super-long finish make it fascinating to drink, but it goes down surprisingly easy for such a powerful spirit. But, she says, "eventually I would add a bit of water to open it up, so you can see how tequila evolves at different levels of alcohol. Related: The Best Margarita Mixes.

Medina enjoys its smoothness, a quality that helps make it friendly for beginners, who might want to drink it on the slightly cool side. Related: The Best Shot Glasses. The tequila provides notes of toasted coconut and vanilla, with some cocoa powder and dark roasted coffee , Hurley notes.

The glass is embedded with gold flakes and decorated in wooshing lines composed of Swarovski crystals, which frame the dark amber liquid inside. It makes a showstopping centerpiece for any bar. Chasse finds plenty of peppery spice, nuttiness and a hint of cacao but with a lush mouthfeel that makes Casa Dragones' tequila feel luxurious.

Related: The Best Margarita Machines. Most gold tequilas get their color from the caramel coloring added to the tequila before fermentation. Silver tequila, sometimes referred to as blanco, is rarely aged more than a couple of weeks, making it the purest form of tequila. It is often considered the best type of tequila to use in mixed drinks, and is commonly seen in margaritas. The brand uses a copper pot still, then a column still method and finally through the copper pot one more time before bottling and selling its tequila.

A sip of Corralejo Reposado offers a smoky experience with a soft, silken finish. Best value tequila: Corralejo Reposado. Owned by spirits-giant Diageo, Don Julio is enjoyed by tequila lovers all over the world and is known for being a staple brand. The brand uses a time-honoured distillation process to create its best-selling spirit and offers a crisp agave flavour and hints of citrus.

The brand uses only mature agave plants from the Mexican highlands, ensuring a higher concentration of natural sugar. A deeper taste of the bottle offers hints of pine nuts with a mellow finish. Best reposado tequila: T1 Tequila Repo Excepcional. Along with traditional notes come hints of port, plum and pepper, with undertones of dark chocolate. Grand Mayan is an exciting tequila that proves that, sometimes, appearances are spot on after all.

It has won awards both for taste and presentation over the last few years and promises an extraordinary, smooth tasting drink served in a beautiful bottle. The Ultra Aged variety is dark in colour and has a scent to match.

Pair your Grand Mayan with all the necessary ingredients for a top-quality cocktail. For another superbly smooth tequila, check also the latest price of Tequila. And its production method uses the original year-old Indian recipe used when tequila was first made.

Its No. This crystal clear tequila is clean, dry and smooth to the taste with a huge range of aromas. Expect a combination of floral, sweet and citrus notes on the nose with a hint of candy cane to round it off. Its finish is mostly floral with a final touch of black pepper.

Best tequila blanco: Cazcanes No. There might be a fairly wide range of flavoured tequilas on the market but by far the best comes from Tanteo. Tanteo produces award-winning artisanal tequilas in a class of its own. It uses blanco tequila with fresh peppers infused by hand in the hills of Jalisco, Mexico, resulting in a delicious and unique tequila to sample at least once. The Tanteo Cocoa is exactly that: a chocolate-infused tequila that combines the traditional flavour notes of the spirit with a savoury heat from peppers and a sweet note from the natural chocolate extracts.

Best unconventional tequila: Tanteo Cocoa. Azunia produces a range of tequilas that work as an excellent accompaniment to food. There are endless options for food pairings that work well with tequila. There are around possible aromas to be found inside a bottle in comparison to about in a bottle of wine which makes tequila the perfect spirit to enjoy alongside a wide variety of dishes.

Not sure where to start? Try pairing your tequila with chorizo, dark chocolate, ceviche or roasted tomato-based dishes. The agave is slow roasted in brick ovens and tahona -crushed before a double-distillation in copper stills. The tequila is aged for 18 months in bourbon oak barrels.

Vida Mezcal. Mezcals are a love-it-or-hate-it spirit, and how much you enjoy the flavor of smoke will be the deciding factor for you. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.

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