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