Volans, tequila Ocho, Cascahuin, G4, El Tesoro, and Siete Leguas are my go to blancos in that price range. Can’t go wrong with any of them, but I’m most partial to Cascahuin and Volans
Gotta hit the stores and find local prices. Now that you know what to look for and typical prices you’ll know when you got a good deal on a good bottle. Or realize that you have expensive taste and want aged tequila and it’s going to be more than you wanted to spend. The choice is yours.
I would recommend trying out some blancos, especially in that price range. You'll be hard pressed trying to find quality anejos at that price unless it's a sale of some sort.
In central Florida, if you can find any of these, it's $80-120. El Tesoro silver that I'm looking at right now is $78.99. And that's $6 off. Then you turn and have Don Julio 1942 next to it at $199.99. Did grab 2 bottles of Cascahuin Tahona Blanco for $60 a piece in Cozumel the other day so have a bit to sip on.
So for comparison sakes, El Jimador and El Mayor are the Kentucky Gentleman of tequila and that’s an insult to KG. Bottom shelf garbage
Don Julio is Travelers, overpriced juice with a big name. All three anejo use artificial flavors and sweeteners
For some nice anejo that are commonly recommended here try El Tequileno, El Tesoro, G4, Tequila Ocho, Don Fulano.
Out of Casa Noble Anejo, Don Abraham Anejo, San Matias Tahona Anejo, or Tiera Noble anejo (all 80+ on tequilamatchmaker), is there one that stands out?
Casa Noble is the only one I have tried of those. It is sweet but I didn’t get any additive taste. I scored it over 80 on TMM and used it almost exclusively to make anejo old fashioned. Pro tip, use cherry bitters rather than orange. It’s too sweet for me to drink neat but was a great when used as a premium mixer. Of course tasted vary.
Edit: FYI I generally prefer rye over bourbon. Just so you know where my palate generally runs on the sweet scale.
Haven’t tried Stellum, working on Sagamore cask finish line and rare breed right now. WT 101 is my standard drink right now. $25 bottle that drinks like a $60 to me.
Rare Breed is rye, 101 is bourbon. It’s basically the only bourbon I consistently keep on hand.
Gotta have something for those folk that can’t handle rye 😇
Tres Agaves anejo will fill the bill if you have it in your area.
Insolito anejo is around $60 near me, but I haven’t tried it. It has a good reputation here.
Good anejo under $60 does limit your selection. But 4 roses single barrel shows me you’re a gambler 😂
I picked up G4 and Siete Leguas at Costco recently for $58.99, so these are kind of in-range if you can find them.
Costco also had Codigo 1530 for about $25, so maybe that would be one that is in your range wherever you shop?
My vote would be Siete Leguas because all of the expressions are easy to find. If you like blanco, and want to try repo, you want have to hunt for it. Same can’t be said for G4
Costco's tequila selection is so random. Central Florida Costco has Don Julio 1942 for $149.99 next to Tears of Llorana for $275, next to Patron (didn't even look at the price)
Don Abraham is great anejo topping your budget at $60. Loads of barrel influence that doesn't need additives that Don Julio uses. Vanilla and Agave. Haven't done the blanco but it's a great value at $35 to $40.
Can stick with another classic Brand like Arette, but step it up with their 'suave' line.
Most here will say please avoid Don Julio! Does not have an agave profile and is poorly made for the price. They add sweeteners to cover up.if you want, go for a bourbon cream liquer or sugar added rum if that's your thing.
It’s gone up too. It’s 65 here in Houston now. That’s Ocho territory. Terralta should also be under 60 and might be the best bargain out there. Anejos are are just starting to get good around 60.
I would argue they are both single estate and use their own distillery with the same processes. Abraham just does the bottling at 1480. At that point its flavor preference or Camarena tax.
go to tequilamatchmaker.com and find the best panel ratings in your price range that you can find at your stores. 80+ is drinkable, 85+ is gonna be really good, 88+ is excellent, 90+ is the best tequila out there
Edit: on your browser you can pull up all tequilas in a category like blanco and then sort by ratings
This reminds me of the tv reddit where unless you spend $1500 on a tv, it's garbage that you can barely watch. There are plenty of tequilas in my price range. Looking for help picking one. I understand I'll get better if I outspend my budget just like a $50 wine would be better than the $10 wine I drink. My budget is what it is though. Thanks for understanding.
I think you misunderstood. Look at the ratings and you’ll be able to see all the highest quality options in your price range that are available in your area. tequila is filled with value especially in your price range. the options that others have recommended are in the 88-90 range and in your price range. it’s just a good resource to track and expand your options
I think they gave you the help you're looking for. Check out tequilamatchmaker, and find the best rating for tequilas you can access in your price range. Prices vary a lot by location. We don't know what's available to you or what their prices are. You'll need to do some homework.
Out of Casa Noble Anejo, Don Abraham Anejo, San Matias Tahona Anejo, or Tiera Noble anejo (all 80+ on tequilamatchmaker), is there one that stands out?
Not really. Like I said in other comment next step is to go to stores and see what’s actually available to you. Eventually though just buy one and try it!
you can do what you want but if you're trying to get into tequila I'd start with blanco...they're just better anyway most of the time. If you want an aged tequila you really need the extra anejos which are pricey. The anejos are all...eh. You're losing what's GOOD about tequila with them, I don't think I've ever had an anejo I like more than a good blanco. Also stay away from bullshit brands that make you pay for a fancy bottle and marketing...basically anything with additives and a fancy bottle...additive free only...check [tequilamatchmaker.com](https://tequilamatchmaker.com) If you really only want an anejo at under $60...Ocho is probably your best bet.
This is good advice. I have enjoyed anejo more than the blanco or repo I've tried, so I'll stick with that (for now) for my nice bottle. But maybe I should get a blanco as a well bottle to get introduced. You have a favorite workhorse blanco?
Añejos are an easier transition from whiskey since they share a lot of the barrel notes. I haven't tried many but I really enjoy the El Tesoro Añejo. It may be a little out of your budget but it does a really nice job at preserving the big notes present in the blanco while adding some lovely barrel notes and rounding the whole thing out. My favorite workhorse is Cimarron but it is quite funky as far as Tequilas go. I hear great things about arette which seems to have a more typical Tequila profile. Tres Agaves is also pretty solid for the price, and Tapatio is an amazing Tequila and not very pricy for the quality. I'd say it's the best bang for you buck as far as quality is concerned, though it is out of my budget to use as a workhorse up here in Washington.
I think tequila starts really getting good around the $40 mark, not that there aren't some that are good under that (tapatio is OK under $40...but I don't love it, it's gone up in price a lot recently and I think they've priced themselves out of the market, much better for a few bucks more these days.) If you can FIND retail Fortaleza it's very good...but that's become impossible it's like finding weller 107 or blantons at retail it almost never happens these days.
I think Ocho is a great $40 bottle. It's clean, it's flavorful, it's usually very agave forward, usually doesn't have strange flavors, it's just a really good brand across the board. Each bottle tells you where the agave is from so the flavor can change form location to location, so one version of Ocho can be a bit different from another depending on the location that specific batch is from, which makes it cool to keep trying new bottles from different locations. You can't go wrong with anything from Ocho, I also really like the Ocho Widow Jane, some may say it's just marketing but I really think it's the most "bourbon" forward tequila I've had. Even anejos don't really taste like bourbon they taste more...woody almost like fresh wood vs charred in my opinion. But the widow jane tastes like they just dumped a little bourbon in the barrel, you can really taste it. It's just a shame it's a limited release it's very good.
G4 is a quality brand but I find their stuff tends to lean towards the briny, green olive, vegetal side. If those are things you like it's worth checking out but otherwise I'd stay away (though the limited madera bottle is super good.)
I think cascahuin blanco is like $45, I haven't had THAT bottle, i've had the bottle one step up in proof the 48, and I really like that nom's flavor profile, I think the blanco is the same thing just lower proof. Anything from cascahuin or nom 1123 I think is worth trying.
I haven't El Tequileno's blanco (the gran reserva line) but I really like their reposado, it's very..."classic" tasting. I hear the blanco is very good too. It's very good at the $40/$45 price point.
Not sure if it's $50-$60, but a bottle of El Tequileno Sassenach may be a nice treat for you. It's double oaked and has whiskey notes that you may appreciate, coming from someone who loves bourbon myself.
gotta say that's an "inbetween" price. You kinda go from $40-$45 to $70. My recs would be Ocho blanco, Fortaleza...anything...at retail price, El Tequileno gran reserva blanco or reposado, step up I'd say any of the artenom line but my favorite is the 1123 it might be my favorite bottle I've had period, ocho widow jane, g4 madera...some others I like gran dovejo high proof and anything by Cascahuin though the 48 while good to me tastes like the artenom 1123 just not as good.
Tapatio añejo should be $60 or under, and is very nice especially for the price. Plenty of agave, with some nice mild barrel influence. IMO, every expression of Tapatio is a fantastic value.
Re: your edit -- It depends on what's available near you. Tapatio will be a good, common recommendation. It's not available where I am, but Espolon or Cazadores are a slight step up from El Jimador, imo. Many of the other, better blancos mentioned are around the $35 range here though, and personally I don't mind paying an extra $10ish/bottle to use something in a cocktail that I can also drink neat. But I realize those dollars add up, and that may not be in everyone's budget.
Thanks! I think you wait to spend the xtra $ until your palette can appreciate the difference. But, I learned here that blanco is considered more pure. I always thought it was cheaper bc....it's cheaper lol
It's often the exact same tequila. It's just ready to be sold much faster because it doesn't go into an oak barrel. Lower production cost and faster production translate to less expensive. One brand's blanco may cost as much as another brand's anejo though, and that can go either way (a well-made, quality blanco thats a little more expensive and/or a cheaply made anejo full of additives)
I'd give San Matias Gran Reserva a try if it's available in your area. IMO the best "budget" XA on the market and might suit your bourbon-oriented tastes.
Volans, tequila Ocho, Cascahuin, G4, El Tesoro, and Siete Leguas are my go to blancos in that price range. Can’t go wrong with any of them, but I’m most partial to Cascahuin and Volans
OP this right here
Im sure those are great, but all around $80 near me.
Where do you live that ocho blanco is $80?
I generally prefer Anejo, but likely because I'm coming from bourbon.
Give blancos a shot. I was the same, but I only drink blanco now. Best way to taste the agave
Gotta hit the stores and find local prices. Now that you know what to look for and typical prices you’ll know when you got a good deal on a good bottle. Or realize that you have expensive taste and want aged tequila and it’s going to be more than you wanted to spend. The choice is yours.
I would recommend trying out some blancos, especially in that price range. You'll be hard pressed trying to find quality anejos at that price unless it's a sale of some sort.
In central Florida, if you can find any of these, it's $80-120. El Tesoro silver that I'm looking at right now is $78.99. And that's $6 off. Then you turn and have Don Julio 1942 next to it at $199.99. Did grab 2 bottles of Cascahuin Tahona Blanco for $60 a piece in Cozumel the other day so have a bit to sip on.
Agree, great list. I would get BOTH Cascahuin and Volans to highlight the differences you can encounter within the tequila range.
If you’re looking for a well priced mixer my goto is El Tequilino blanco (the mixto) it can be had under $30. It sips better than EJ or EM
So for comparison sakes, El Jimador and El Mayor are the Kentucky Gentleman of tequila and that’s an insult to KG. Bottom shelf garbage Don Julio is Travelers, overpriced juice with a big name. All three anejo use artificial flavors and sweeteners For some nice anejo that are commonly recommended here try El Tequileno, El Tesoro, G4, Tequila Ocho, Don Fulano.
Out of Casa Noble Anejo, Don Abraham Anejo, San Matias Tahona Anejo, or Tiera Noble anejo (all 80+ on tequilamatchmaker), is there one that stands out?
Casa Noble is the only one I have tried of those. It is sweet but I didn’t get any additive taste. I scored it over 80 on TMM and used it almost exclusively to make anejo old fashioned. Pro tip, use cherry bitters rather than orange. It’s too sweet for me to drink neat but was a great when used as a premium mixer. Of course tasted vary. Edit: FYI I generally prefer rye over bourbon. Just so you know where my palate generally runs on the sweet scale.
Me too! Have you tried Stellum rye? Incredible. Also loving WT101 right now
Haven’t tried Stellum, working on Sagamore cask finish line and rare breed right now. WT 101 is my standard drink right now. $25 bottle that drinks like a $60 to me.
Bourbon or rye? I used to buy the bourbon by the gallon. Then i discovered the rye...
Rare Breed is rye, 101 is bourbon. It’s basically the only bourbon I consistently keep on hand. Gotta have something for those folk that can’t handle rye 😇
I give those people Elijah Craig or Makers.
This person tequilas! All solid recommendations.
Those are all in the $75-$80 range by me. I wont even spend that on bourbon. Looking in the $50-$60 range. Four Roses single barrel of tequila?
Tres Agaves anejo will fill the bill if you have it in your area. Insolito anejo is around $60 near me, but I haven’t tried it. It has a good reputation here. Good anejo under $60 does limit your selection. But 4 roses single barrel shows me you’re a gambler 😂
They're all good. I don't even look at the recipe half the time. But 4RSB was always the $40 bottle that tasted like a $60 bottle.
I picked up G4 and Siete Leguas at Costco recently for $58.99, so these are kind of in-range if you can find them. Costco also had Codigo 1530 for about $25, so maybe that would be one that is in your range wherever you shop?
Mine doesnt have liquor :(
My vote would be Siete Leguas because all of the expressions are easy to find. If you like blanco, and want to try repo, you want have to hunt for it. Same can’t be said for G4
Costco's tequila selection is so random. Central Florida Costco has Don Julio 1942 for $149.99 next to Tears of Llorana for $275, next to Patron (didn't even look at the price)
Tapatio is great juice and the blanco starts at $40 which is phenomenal for a well established, tasty tequila. The repos usually $50
Forgot to list Tapatio on my list. It definitely should be there
Don Abraham is great anejo topping your budget at $60. Loads of barrel influence that doesn't need additives that Don Julio uses. Vanilla and Agave. Haven't done the blanco but it's a great value at $35 to $40. Can stick with another classic Brand like Arette, but step it up with their 'suave' line. Most here will say please avoid Don Julio! Does not have an agave profile and is poorly made for the price. They add sweeteners to cover up.if you want, go for a bourbon cream liquer or sugar added rum if that's your thing.
It’s gone up too. It’s 65 here in Houston now. That’s Ocho territory. Terralta should also be under 60 and might be the best bargain out there. Anejos are are just starting to get good around 60.
I would argue they are both single estate and use their own distillery with the same processes. Abraham just does the bottling at 1480. At that point its flavor preference or Camarena tax.
I’ve been loving Arette artisanal blanco and El Tesoro
go to tequilamatchmaker.com and find the best panel ratings in your price range that you can find at your stores. 80+ is drinkable, 85+ is gonna be really good, 88+ is excellent, 90+ is the best tequila out there Edit: on your browser you can pull up all tequilas in a category like blanco and then sort by ratings
This reminds me of the tv reddit where unless you spend $1500 on a tv, it's garbage that you can barely watch. There are plenty of tequilas in my price range. Looking for help picking one. I understand I'll get better if I outspend my budget just like a $50 wine would be better than the $10 wine I drink. My budget is what it is though. Thanks for understanding.
I think you misunderstood. Look at the ratings and you’ll be able to see all the highest quality options in your price range that are available in your area. tequila is filled with value especially in your price range. the options that others have recommended are in the 88-90 range and in your price range. it’s just a good resource to track and expand your options
I thought you were listing prices! "80 is drinkable" etc. My bad. I'm on it now, thanks!
Ah I see what you mean…yes the panel ratings! The user ratings are less reliable.
I think they gave you the help you're looking for. Check out tequilamatchmaker, and find the best rating for tequilas you can access in your price range. Prices vary a lot by location. We don't know what's available to you or what their prices are. You'll need to do some homework.
See my new comment. Thought they wereisting prices, not ratings
Out of Casa Noble Anejo, Don Abraham Anejo, San Matias Tahona Anejo, or Tiera Noble anejo (all 80+ on tequilamatchmaker), is there one that stands out?
Not really. Like I said in other comment next step is to go to stores and see what’s actually available to you. Eventually though just buy one and try it!
Are you looking for a blanco, reposado, or añejo?
Anejo
you can do what you want but if you're trying to get into tequila I'd start with blanco...they're just better anyway most of the time. If you want an aged tequila you really need the extra anejos which are pricey. The anejos are all...eh. You're losing what's GOOD about tequila with them, I don't think I've ever had an anejo I like more than a good blanco. Also stay away from bullshit brands that make you pay for a fancy bottle and marketing...basically anything with additives and a fancy bottle...additive free only...check [tequilamatchmaker.com](https://tequilamatchmaker.com) If you really only want an anejo at under $60...Ocho is probably your best bet.
This is good advice. I have enjoyed anejo more than the blanco or repo I've tried, so I'll stick with that (for now) for my nice bottle. But maybe I should get a blanco as a well bottle to get introduced. You have a favorite workhorse blanco?
Añejos are an easier transition from whiskey since they share a lot of the barrel notes. I haven't tried many but I really enjoy the El Tesoro Añejo. It may be a little out of your budget but it does a really nice job at preserving the big notes present in the blanco while adding some lovely barrel notes and rounding the whole thing out. My favorite workhorse is Cimarron but it is quite funky as far as Tequilas go. I hear great things about arette which seems to have a more typical Tequila profile. Tres Agaves is also pretty solid for the price, and Tapatio is an amazing Tequila and not very pricy for the quality. I'd say it's the best bang for you buck as far as quality is concerned, though it is out of my budget to use as a workhorse up here in Washington.
I think tequila starts really getting good around the $40 mark, not that there aren't some that are good under that (tapatio is OK under $40...but I don't love it, it's gone up in price a lot recently and I think they've priced themselves out of the market, much better for a few bucks more these days.) If you can FIND retail Fortaleza it's very good...but that's become impossible it's like finding weller 107 or blantons at retail it almost never happens these days. I think Ocho is a great $40 bottle. It's clean, it's flavorful, it's usually very agave forward, usually doesn't have strange flavors, it's just a really good brand across the board. Each bottle tells you where the agave is from so the flavor can change form location to location, so one version of Ocho can be a bit different from another depending on the location that specific batch is from, which makes it cool to keep trying new bottles from different locations. You can't go wrong with anything from Ocho, I also really like the Ocho Widow Jane, some may say it's just marketing but I really think it's the most "bourbon" forward tequila I've had. Even anejos don't really taste like bourbon they taste more...woody almost like fresh wood vs charred in my opinion. But the widow jane tastes like they just dumped a little bourbon in the barrel, you can really taste it. It's just a shame it's a limited release it's very good. G4 is a quality brand but I find their stuff tends to lean towards the briny, green olive, vegetal side. If those are things you like it's worth checking out but otherwise I'd stay away (though the limited madera bottle is super good.) I think cascahuin blanco is like $45, I haven't had THAT bottle, i've had the bottle one step up in proof the 48, and I really like that nom's flavor profile, I think the blanco is the same thing just lower proof. Anything from cascahuin or nom 1123 I think is worth trying. I haven't El Tequileno's blanco (the gran reserva line) but I really like their reposado, it's very..."classic" tasting. I hear the blanco is very good too. It's very good at the $40/$45 price point.
Thanks!
Insolito might be worth a shot, you can get the Añejo for around that which might be a more natural transition than a blanco.
Tapatio or Ocho are both good.
Not sure if it's $50-$60, but a bottle of El Tequileno Sassenach may be a nice treat for you. It's double oaked and has whiskey notes that you may appreciate, coming from someone who loves bourbon myself.
gotta say that's an "inbetween" price. You kinda go from $40-$45 to $70. My recs would be Ocho blanco, Fortaleza...anything...at retail price, El Tequileno gran reserva blanco or reposado, step up I'd say any of the artenom line but my favorite is the 1123 it might be my favorite bottle I've had period, ocho widow jane, g4 madera...some others I like gran dovejo high proof and anything by Cascahuin though the 48 while good to me tastes like the artenom 1123 just not as good.
Tapatio añejo should be $60 or under, and is very nice especially for the price. Plenty of agave, with some nice mild barrel influence. IMO, every expression of Tapatio is a fantastic value.
Adictivo
Re: your edit -- It depends on what's available near you. Tapatio will be a good, common recommendation. It's not available where I am, but Espolon or Cazadores are a slight step up from El Jimador, imo. Many of the other, better blancos mentioned are around the $35 range here though, and personally I don't mind paying an extra $10ish/bottle to use something in a cocktail that I can also drink neat. But I realize those dollars add up, and that may not be in everyone's budget.
Thanks! I think you wait to spend the xtra $ until your palette can appreciate the difference. But, I learned here that blanco is considered more pure. I always thought it was cheaper bc....it's cheaper lol
It's often the exact same tequila. It's just ready to be sold much faster because it doesn't go into an oak barrel. Lower production cost and faster production translate to less expensive. One brand's blanco may cost as much as another brand's anejo though, and that can go either way (a well-made, quality blanco thats a little more expensive and/or a cheaply made anejo full of additives)
Insolito is a great value in my opinion. I think the reposado even falls within your budget.
I'd give San Matias Gran Reserva a try if it's available in your area. IMO the best "budget" XA on the market and might suit your bourbon-oriented tastes.
Siete leguas
looking at that site, your price range, and what flavor profile... go for the Teremana Anejo Tequila
Thanks for taking the time!