Blue Gold

Tequila may be shaking off its dive-bar reputation, but the market is still awash with inferior brands. Here's how to find the real deal-and why it matters.

- Jason O'Bryan

Twenty years ago, tequila was considered the basest of spirits, relegated to dives and college bars. Most of what you'd see were mixtos, cheap versions made of 51 per cent agave and 49 per cent corn or sugar syrup, resulting in the type of low-quality swill that demanded not only a chaser but also a sort of pre-chaser. You may recall the ritual: lick a pile of pure salt, choke down the shot, then bite into a lime wedge as your throat burns, your eyes water and the regrets begin.

Today’s tequila landscape is unrecognisable. The growth has been profound. Tequila consumption in the US has roughly doubled in the past seven years, recently overtaking whisky and set to pass vodka. What’s more, the majority of the ascent has left mixtos behind. In 2022, for the first time ever, seven of every 10 bottles of tequila consumed in the US were 100 per cent agave. Tequila is so popular, agave distillates have begun to pop up all over the world, including in South Africa, India, Australia, Peru and New Zealand—where there’s a distillery making a limited-edition Blue Weber agave that sells for nearly US$600 a bottle. The spirit cannot be labelled tequila unless it’s made with Blue Weber agaves in one of five designated states in Mexico, the most famous of which is Jalisco. (That New Zealand bottle is known as TeKiwi.)