Tequila Lovers Gift Guide: 12 Bottles At Every Price Point

Featuring elite additive-free blancos, rare whiskey barrel-aged reposados, high-dollar collaborations with Travis Scott, and more.

Who doesn’t love tequila? While well-reported challenges hit the spirits industry this year, premium tequila remains one of the only growing categories in America. The reason is simple: When crafted with pride and expertise, tequila delivers a spectrum of flavors—and joy—that few spirits can match. So we’ve collected a dozen of our favorite recent tequilas to share this holiday season—whether as a requisite party offering, generous gift to a loved one or simply a much-needed totem of self-care. We got you covered. 

Tequila Ocho Añejo Barrel Select Old Fitzgerald

Here Ocho’s meticulous field-to-bottle philosophy meets Kentucky’s revered Old Fitzgerald—an arranged marriage blessed by Heaven Hill, owners of both esteemed brands. Nary a tequila roundup goes by in Maxim without inclusion of Tequila Ocho, which is understandable given co-founder Carlos Camarena’s dedication to the craft. Known for launching the single-estate tequila category—where each batch focuses on a specific estate-owned field, in order to discern the subtle differences of its terroir—Ocho is simply one of the finest tequilas you can buy. In the label’s latest edition of its “Barrel Select” series, third-generation tequilero and fifth-generation agave farmer Camarena ages his blanco in barrels that once held Old Fitzgerald 10-Year Bottled-in-Bond—the Spring 2023 Decanter Series, to be exact. As the tequila rests for 12 months in these bourbon barrels, famed for their soft, wheat-driven sweetness, those characteristics seep gently into Ocho’s agave-forward profile. Expect aromas of toasted coconut, maple syrup, nuts, cherries, dark chocolate, roasted pineapple, and minerality. The palate goes deeper: coffee, toffee, toasted oak, orange peel, cacao, and a long, warming finish. Bottled at 48 percent ABV and limited to 3,200 cases. $110

Laelia Añejo Tequila

It’s fair, although not official, to say Laelia is the vanity project of Casa Natima, specifically its young scion Fernando Pérez Ontiveros. The found and CEO of Laelia wants his peers to know his family’s Amatitán distillery can craft a top notch, all natural, unadulterated tequila that stands hombro-a-hombro with the best craft distillers out there. The blanco is terrific, but keep an eye out for the recently debuted añejo—an expression crafted to showcase agave at its most soulful. Ontiveros calls it “an evolution of our work,” shaped by more than a year of patient aging in French oak, where spice, warmth, and layered complexity develop without muting the pure agave character. Laelia Añejo starts with mature lowland Blue Weber agave, slow-cooked in brick ovens and crushed using a traditional Tahona to preserve depth and texture. Master distiller Carlos R. Huizar distills in copper pot stills, then leads months of meticulous tasting to determine the exact moment each barrel reaches peak flavor. The result is a rich, elegant Añejo with notes of vanilla, caramel, and cooked agave. $80

Loco Ámbar Reposado Tequila

Launched in 2019, Loco Tequila’s spiritual home may be the 200-year-old Hacienda La Providencia in El Arenal—part of the UNESCO-recognized “Agave Landscape”—which anchors the brand in history. But its current actual home, the Cascahuín Distillery (NOM 1123), crafters of among the finest tequila in Mexico, is where the juice is actually made. About as good a co-sign as there is in all Jalisco. Loco owns and controls all its own agave, with over 200 acres of proprietary fields within three miles of La Providencia. Loco aims to capture the essence of this land through obsessive field-to-bottle control, and a devotion to 18th-century methods: cultivating agaves years older than most, double-shaving them and extracting the cogollo (fibrous piña core) so all the bitter green is sheared away, steaming in traditional stone ovens for 36 hours, extracting via both tahona and roller mill, fermenting with centuries-old native yeasts (collected from the Hacienda La Providencia), and then double-distilling in small copper pot stills. The process isn’t cheap, and neither is its blanco ($150 SRP). But it’s the Ámbar reposado that we find most intriguing. For Ámbar, the blanco is aged for six to eight months in four different rare barrel types—Irish whiskey/stout, aged port, PX sherry, and new French oak—and then blended to perfection, delivering layers of honey, roasted grain, dried fruit, florals, spice, and pure mineral-rich agave. Perhaps the most sippable tequila here.  $212

Dizzy Donkey Blanco

Fairly new on the scene, we got to know Dizzy Donkey via its visionary’s masterful seafood restaurant La Panga del Impostor in the bustling Americana neighborhood of Guadalajara. There Javier “El Impostor” Rodriguez fed us a steady stream of tequilas and mezcals out of unmarked bottles, liquid mercury he’d collected from across Jalisco, Oaxaca and beyond. So when he launched Dizzy Donkey we were already curious. Working with longtime friends at Authentica Distillery (NOM 1124), Rodriguez crafted Dizzy Donkey using slow-roasted 100 percent Blue Weber agave, clean fermentation, roller mill extraction, and small-batch copper distillation. No additives, no shortcuts—just pure, old-school tequila. The flavor profile is quietly gorgeous: silky and soft at first sip, unfolding into roasted agave, citrus, white pepper, and a whisper of minerality that speaks to Jalisco’s terroir. It’s smooth enough to sip neat yet vibrant enough to shine over ice, making it a rare blanco that feels both refined and totally unpretentious. Not to mention priced under $30, Dizzy Donkey is a standout value.  $30

Leyenda 1925 Blanco

We popped this bottle at a boys’ weekend deep in the Joshua Tree desert and it barely lasted an afternoon; as good a personal testament as we can give. Leyenda 1925 arrives in the U.S. with a full century of lineage behind it—an heirloom tequila rooted in the González family’s traditions of agave cultivation and craft. Founded by cousins Julio, Juan, and Montse González of Los Altos de Jalisco, the brand pays tribute to their grandfather, a longtime tequilero whose lessons in patience, respect for the land, and hands-on artistry shape every bottle. “He passed down more than technique,” say Julio and Juan. “Every bottle is a tribute to our people, our land, and our legacy.” At the heart of the debut trio lineup lies Leyenda 1925 Blanco, a pure, additive-free expression that mirrors the family’s commitment to authenticity. While the tall stylish glass strikes the eye, it’s all about the juice held within: clean and elegant, the blanco opens with soft citrus, subtle sweetness, and the clarity of slow-grown agave. Initially debuting across New England, Leyenda 1925 sets a new benchmark for thoughtful, heritage-driven luxury tequila—and the beautiful packaging makes for a perfect gift.  $60

Cazcanes No.7 Joven

While often confused with a blanco, a joven starts with an unaged tequila that is then blended with other aged tequilas, such as reposado or añejo. Cazcanes respect for the blanco category is unquestioned: it launched in the US market with no less than a trio of unaged offerings, ranging from an 80-proof all the way to a still strength offering. For Joven the distillery stars with its excellent blanco (59 percent) and elevate it with 13 percent reposado, 26 percent añejo, and a splash of extra añejo. Each batch is hand-selected barrel by barrel, crafted to preserve the vibrancy of the blanco while weaving in the depth of aged expressions—the result being a bright, pure Joven with rounded edges, superbly balanced. On the palate, No.7 Joven opens with agave-forward energy before unfolding into silky layers of vanilla, toasted coconut, baked apple, citrus, and caramel. It’s expressive yet effortlessly approachable, finishing long, warm, and gently sweet—an easy draw for newcomers and a rewarding discovery for seasoned aficionados. $100

‘Cincoro Jack’ x Travis Scott Artist Edition Añejo

(Cincoro Jack)

Cincoro has excelled in its creative artist series collaborations, teaming up last year with superb street artist Joshua Vides for a stark bottle utilizing Vides’ famed duotone style (LINK). This year they aim more mainstream with one of the biggest rap stars on the planet, Travis Scott. When your tequila is helmed by Michael Jordan (and a bevy of NBA owners like Lakers Jeanie Buss, Bucks Wes Edens, and ex-Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and wife Emilia Fazzalari), you can pull this sort of high-wattage superstar power. For “Cincoro Jack” —a nod to Scott’s Cactus Jack imprint—the team put his Airness in a room with Travis so they could smoke cigars, share stories about dominating their respective fields, and drink a boatload of tequila. The duo settled on a custom batch of Cincoro’s Añejo aged more than 26 months, a juice that lies on the sweeter, vanilla-forward spectrum—perfect for the velvet rope denizens that this bottle is targeting. Another one where the gorgeous chocolate colored packaging and exclusivity make it ideal for gifting.  $150

Tierra de Ensueño Blanco

Launched only last year in the US, Tierra de Ensueño—or Land of Dreams—is another fairly new entry into the ever-expanding tequila universe. Staunchly and proudly certified additive-free, its founders Master Distiller Sergio Cruz and Master Blender Oscar Vazquez Camarena aimed to set their world-class Blanco apart by barrel-resting a normally unaged juice, removing it from wood just before it qualifies as a reposado. Produced in tiny 2,000-bottle batches at the family-owned Destiladora El Paraiso (NOM 1580) in the town of Jesús María, Jalisco, every Tierra de Ensueño release reflects the nuances of its terroir, fermentation, and distillation. Cruz and Camarena claim that because dreams are never identical, no two batches of their juice taste the same—and that’s by design. Batch 8 just arrived in November, showing just how expressive a blanco can be. Rested for 30 days in wheated bourbon barrels—much like the aforementioned Tequila Ocho x Old Fitzgerald collaboration—Tierra de Ensueño Blanco Batch 8 delivers an unusually layered profile. The palate opens with the brightness and purity you expect from a top-tier blanco: cooked agave, citrus zest, and a lift of orange blossom. Then comes the quiet magic of the barrel: toasted oak, warm spice, and a whisper of vanilla bean, all without tipping into the sweetness or heaviness of a full repo. About as smooth and clean as a blanco can get. $65

Volcán de Mi Tierra Blanco Tahona

While many of the distilleries on this list boast a heritage reaching generations back, Volcán de Mi Tierra looks to the future. Born in 2017 when luxury superpower LVMH partnered with the venerable Gallardo family, Volcán de Mi Tierra was built from the ground up to craft a tequila with no expense spared. They bought a distillery under the Tequila Volcano—only a stone’s throw from the Gallardo’s 250-year-old family hacienda—rebuilt it from the ground up with eight identical copper pot stills, and focused on making the best tequila they could. They’re unabashedly aiming for a prestige tequila here—but unlike many other “status” brands that take ordinary juice, bottle it in fancy glass, and charge a premium, Volcán walks the walk. For instance they use a blend of Highland and Lowland agaves for balance, age in both French and American oak, and blend no fewer than three different tequilas to make their Blanco. In our humble opinion the expression that best embodies this commitment to excellence is their Blanco Tahona launched last year. A massive two-ton volcanic stone wheel, the tahona slowly crushes cooked agave the way it was done generations ago. It makes for a laborious and time-consuming process, but it also leaves fibers, or bagasse, to ferment in the wood tanks while the mosto ferments. Only a handful of our favorite tequileros go through the pains of this method, but usually only a fraction of the juice is tahona crushed. Volcán uses 100 percent tahona-crushed juice in this B.T. bottle—and the results can be tasted in the final product. Significantly more complex than most, redolent and radiant with agave character.  $125

Casa Azul Orgánico Blanco

Not to be confused with the similarly named ceramic blue-and-white decanter lubricating bachelorette parties across America. Quite the opposite, actually, as Casa Azul Orgánico lies on the furthest extreme of the spectrum as the cupcake bomb known as Clase Azul. Unfortunately similar-sounding names aside, Casa Azul Orgánico is the offspring of the Montes Family, third-generation agaveros (aka agave farmers) turned distillers—so their love of tequila starts with the “tierra negra” volcanic soil of their Lowlands single estate farm. Hence they only farm sustainably: no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, and only planting USDA-certified organic Blue Weber agave. Their philosophy is as much stewardship as it is distillation, allowing the mineral-rich land to shape the flavor. This philosophy extends to a simple but dedicated principle: no shortcuts, no additives, no chemical crutches. Just agave, water, yeast, and time. While Casa Azul also offers an Añejo and Reposado, the Blanco is our favorite way to experience the Montes Family’s diligently clean farming efforts. $60

Herradura x LA Dodgers Double Barrel Reposado

Few tequila houses command the respect of Herradura, the Amatitán icon that has shaped tequila culture since 1870. That year it launched with a high-proof (46 percent ABV) Blanco, the only juice the distillery made for over a century. Fun fact: that “Blanco 46 Original” was finally introduced to America only in January of this year. Fast forward 10 months, when the heritage brand invited players and staff of the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Casa Herradura to handpick a barrel to celebrate their MLB world championship. We tasted their selection at a dinner in the infield of the legendary Dodger Stadium, and it is a juice worthy of the Commissioner’s Trophy. The Double Barrel Reposado earns its name through a meticulous two-stage aging process: first the tequila rests for 11 months in toasted and charred American white oak, where it develops the warm caramel, vanilla, and browned-agave notes Herradura is revered for. Then it moves to a brand-new toasted barrel for an extra month—a finishing step that amplifies flavor, adding smoked wood, dried fruit, and a luxuriously creamy undertone. The result: a refined, deeply expressive reposado where no two barrels taste exactly alike. The Herradura x LA Dodgers Double Barrel Reposado is available at Dodger Stadium and select retailers, a bottle as collectible as it is drinkable. But if you can’t get your hands on this limited edition offering, the aforementioned high-proof Blanco 46 Original makes a hell of a consolation prize. $70 for Dodgers / $40 for Herradura Blanco 46 Original