Good tequila to bring back?
 

Looking suggestions on good tequila to buy and bring back from our trip to Mexico. We can bring back 1.14 litres (40 ounces) duty free back to Canada. I haven't a clue what good tequila goes for in Mexico. Off the top of my head I'd like to keep it sub $50 unless you can twist my arm otherwise. Any suggestions?

TIA.

How much of a tequila connoisseur are you? I've never cared much for silver or gold, and the anejos usually get too much of the dark barrel flavor imparted in them, so I stick with sipping reposados and usually come back with a 750 ml Don Julio reposado. Looking at my Walmart receipt, they were 285 pesos ten days ago.

Or if it's for something special, try the "Premium" Don Julio 1942 which is probably the best I've had. ~800 pesos. At least try to sample one of the premium classes while you're there.

Best prices usually found at larger grocery stores like Super Gigante, or even Walmart if you can find one.

I second what JimC said, except if you like sipping a good single malt scotch, you might want to try a good aged anejos. I went to Tequila last June and did a factory tour of the Jose Cuervo distillery. I got a very nice bottle of Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Tequila that I'm still sipping. I think I paid $60 US, it retails for well over $100 in the States. Whatever you decide, be sure to get 100% Blue Agave Tequila, don't get a blend.

Indeed....it must be 100% Blue Agave....

A few of Mrs. unagi1 and my favorite brands:
Don Julio
Don Eduardo
El Tesoro
Del Dueno
Corazon

Thanks for the feedback.
To be honest, I'm not much of a tequila connoisseur. I just like to take advantage of the duty free allowance to build up a nice selection of drinks for parties or get togethers. My friends will not drink tequila unless it's "good" tequila. :)

Will definitely look for 100% blue agave. We're doing a Mexican Riviera cruise so we'll probably hit the Walmart in Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta. Thanks for the brand and specific product suggestions.

I also enjoy the Don Julio tequilas, but one of my favorite tequilas if not my favorite is La Puerta Negra Joven (it doesn't cost a fortune and its in this link here: http://www.tequilabottles.com/db_pub...iew.php?id=463)

And I know that the PVR Wal-Mart has all the tequila that you could ever ask for... and a great tour guide I had in PVR (still talk to him today) told me that in general, any tequila you buy in Mexico is better in the states. The Jose Cuervo there is MUCH different than here. Oh, and if you enjoy Corona's, you'll love Pacifco.

What types of tequila drinks do your friends drink? my opinion but I don't waste good sipping tequila on friends who drink margaritas or sunrises.

On a side note, anyone know of a good mixed tequila drink that is NOT a margarita or sunrise ?

Timely thread as we are heading to Mexico in December.

sweet willie, some friends and I have recently discovered that we really like tequila and tonic. With lime, of course. Just like a gin and tonic, south of the border style. ^

I am a Don Julio Anejo fan.....

I will throw my vote in for Don Eduardo as well.
Very good straight drinking Tequilla.

Ciao,
FH

Here are a few Tequila terms that might help you:

100% Agave
Tequila that is made exclusively from sugars of the "Agave Tequilana Weber, variedad Azul" (Agave Tequilana Weber, blue variety). Premium tequilas are made with "100% de Agave," and can only be bottled in Mexico, not bulk-shipped for bottling outside of Mexico. 100% de Agave is one of the two official categories of tequila. The other category is "mixto". This product must be labeled using one of the following statements: “100% de agave,” “100% puro de agave,” “100% agave,” or “100% puro agave,” to which the word “azul” [“blue”] may be added.

Types of Tequila
There are five types of tequila within specific categories - Blanco (Silver), Joven (Gold), Resposado (Aged), Añejo (Extra aged) and Extra Añejo (Ultra-aged).

Blanco / White Tequila
Clear, unaged tequila that is normally bottled right after being distilled. When the clear white tequila drips from the cooling coils of the alambique, it is correctly called silver or plata, but is more commonly called white or blanco. All Tequila begins as white Tequila and no barrel aging is required.

Reposado (ray-po-sah-doh) Tequila
The first definitive level of aging is termed reposado or rested and madates that the tequila remain in wood for a period of two months but no longer than 12 months. This is a requirement of the Mexican government. Each distillery has its own preference for the type of barrel used in aging. Some of the most common are made from french oak or white oak.

Añejo (an-yay-ho) Tequila
The next level of aging is the anejo tequilas. Añejo, which means "old" or "mature", can only appear on bottles that contain tequila, aged in oak barrels having a maximum capacity of 600 liters, a minimum of one year. This is a requirement of the Mexican government. A year of resting in a cool bodega produces a smoother and more sophisticated taste. American whiskey barrels, french oak casks, or cognac barrels, are commonly used to age this tequila. Añejos are typically aged between one and six years. They are darker in color, more complex in flavor, and smoother than reposado tequilas.

http://www.tequilasource.com/glossary_01.htm

At this point, I suspect we'd buy one bottle that's more geared towards sipping and another bottle for mixed drinks.
That said, does anyone know what bottle sizes are standard? If it works out, maybe we can bring back four different bottles that total under our 1.14L limit.

Thanks for the glossary of terms. I did some basic research on Wikipedia also.

How about a Vampiro--tequila, sangrita, limes, and 7-up I think? Pretty good when you're sick of margaritas.

Or order a "banderita" with your specified tequila and get 3 tall shot glasses, one with tequila, one with sangrita and one with lime juice.

Most are 750ml or 1L, so it might be tough to hit 1.14L with two bottles. Can you each bring 1.14L, or is that combined?

Figure on mostly 750ml and 1l, with a few rogue 500ml or supersize bottles or even mini bottles attached to the larger ones for gimmicks. But I noticed El Jimador (which I don't buy ever since they removed 100% agave from their label) and other well knowns had strange 700ml, 900ml, and 1200ml sizes at the Walmart I went to.