Best Anejo Tequila

Looking for the best Añejo tequila? Well, we’ve tasted and researched our way through the many options to find the best on the market, no matter your taste, budget, or occasion.

Let’s dive in and see which will be your new favorite!

Key Takeaways

• Sweeter anejo tends to have strong notes of agave sweetness and dried fruit.
• The best anejo tequilas use estate-grown blue agave or at least blue agave grown in Mexico, usually Jalisco.
• Anejo tequila is usually aged in French oak, American oak, or White Oak barrels. 
• Oftentimes baked agave, roasted agave, or toasted oak is used in order to create caramel notes.
• There are a variety of anejo tequilas to choose from on the market at every price point and flavor profile that would be perfect for any occasion.

Don Julio 1942 tops our list as the best overall Añejo tequila for many reasons. For one, do you see that gorgeous bottle? Not to mention, the liquid bliss that is inside is perfect for any occasion.

It is also well-liked by just about everyone we’ve shared with– even those that don’t like tequila.

Now, we can’t blow over the fact that Don Julio 1942 has a premium price tag, but between all of the awards it won, being aged for 24 months, using 100% Blue Weber Agave, and the smooth, vanilla caramel taste, it’s easy to fork over the money. 

Besides, it’s not even close to being the most expensive option.

Though there are a lot of Añejo tequilas that can be enjoyed for sipping, Adictivo Tequila Añejo is our top choice. It is made from pure blue agave and is on the sweeter side, making it an excellent sipper.

Adictivo is aptly named, too. With a cool bottle, deep amber color, and smooth taste, Adictivo can certainly be a go-to.

123 Organic Añejo Tequila is made with agave grown on farms certified organic by both the EU and USDA, so you know it is truly grown without any harmful practices.

123 takes it a few steps further as they use recycled glass bottles and recycled paper labels printed with soy-based ink, and production is done by local master artisans.

The flavor is great, too, since it’s aged in oak barrels for 18 months. We recommend letting it breathe for a while after pouring since the tequila’s complexity comes out even more the longer you let it hang out in the glass.

Though Milagro Añejo can be sipped on its own or over ice since it is so smooth, we love this for cocktails because it is agave forward and really takes on strong flavors from the agave is slow roasted in brick ovens for 36 hours before being twice distilled and aged in American oak barrels.

This strong flavor allows it to not get lost in cocktails even when they have other strong flavored ingredients. Instead, it adds to the complexity of your cocktail, which is what a good spirit is supposed to do. 

This is also moderately priced, so you don’t have to worry about mixing a spirit you paid a pretty penny for.

Espolon Añejo Tequila is a brand founded on being the people’s tequila and is a tribute inspired by Mexican culture, which is why they chose their iconic rooster as a symbol of pride, strength, and nobility. Don’t worry, and it tastes great too.

Espolon is aged in American white oak barrels for at least 12 months, but then they take it one step further and finish it in charred Wild Turkey bourbon barrels to get an essence of whiskey that complements the agave beautifully!

When you’re looking for only the best of the best, we’ve got a great option for you. Codigo 1530 Origen Extra Añejo is our choice for the best high-end bottle for the tequila lover.

This selection is aged six years in Napa Cabernet French Oak barrels, making it one of the longest-aged agave spirits on the market and, therefore, such a complex tequila.

It has a rich agave flavor on the back end and initially a woody, fruity note perfect for sipping neat.

You would be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn’t like Casamigos Anejo Tequila which is why it makes for one of the best añejo tequilas to gift.

They pay attention to detail at Casamigos, too, as it’s made with the finest blue agave in Jalisco, Mexico, which gets roasted for three days in brick ovens, slowly fermented, and then aged for 18 months in toasted oak barrels.

In the final product, you can really taste the roasted agave which gives amazing notes of vanilla and caramel.

If you drink añejo tequila, you probably already know about Don Julio Anejo, as it is behind almost any bar. This is because it is well-liked by the masses and has won several awards.

It has a bit of spice and a bit of sweetness with notes of butterscotch and honey. This can be served neat, on the rocks, or in your favorite tequila cocktail.

Patron most often comes up when talking about Blanco tequilas, though their anejo is just as good, if not better.

It’s additive free, has a sweet, woody profile from being aged in oak barrels for 12 to 15 months, and the agave is baked, giving it just a hint of smokiness.

Technically, Maestro Dobel Diamante Tequila isn’t a true anejo tequila. Instead, it blends extra anejo tequila, anejo tequila, and reposado tequila which gets aged in Balkan new white wood barrels before being filtered again.

This process makes it ultra smooth and has a totally unique taste. It is also priced way under its smoothness, meaning that in a blind taste test, you would think it is much more expensive than it truly is.

Most aged tequila is a rich amber color, though Herradura Añejo gets filtered to remove the minor color impurities that make it even smoother. 

The ending flavor is fruity with vanilla notes which is why most people (including us!) like to drink this one straight or just on ice with some lime.

Teremana Tequila Anejo is the perfect balance of roasted agave, oak, and vanilla. At a great price, this may not be the best, but it makes for an excellent choice that won’t break the bank. We like to think of this one as an everyday tequila versus a luxury sipper.

You may think of Jose Cuervo as a “call” brand rather than a brand beloved by tequila enthusiasts, but the Jose Cuervo Reserva De La Familia Extra Anejo is definitely the exception. 

Their extra anejo is a double gold medal winner with a dark amber color and rich flavors. It’s velvety, too, which just amps it up that much more.

Tres Generaciones Anejo Tequila is the first small batch of tequila from Don Francisco as a memorial to his family’s 100 years. This comes in 100 ceramic bottles that are numbered, making it quite exclusive though we promise it doesn’t make it as expensive as you think.

The flavor is good, too, as it focuses on the 100% blue agave flavor, which is aged in toasted American oak casks giving it a hint of spicy black pepper taste.

El Tesoro Anejo Tequila is another family brand, and their attention to detail shows. They embrace the traditional tequila-making methods creating truly delicate flavors and honoring the history of the spirit. It is a good sipper fit for any special occasion.

You have probably seen 1800 tequila on the shelf at your local liquor store or behind the bar at your favorite watering hole, but do you know why it is named 1800? It’s because the brand follows the recipe from the year 1800.

The Cristalino Anejo variety is made with blue agave picked in Jalisco, Mexico, and the bottle represents ancient stone pyramids from the Mayans. Everything about this tequila screams history, and since it is double distilled, the rich flavors come through in their purest forms.

Gran Centenario Anejo takes a unique approach to its tequila. First, they distill their tequila from specifically selected blue agave. Then, they age it in new American oak barrels. Now here’s where they switch it up.

They use a proprietary blending process that combines only the smoothest and richest tequilas together. The final product has vanilla flavors, caramel flavors, hints of cooked agave, and even a bit of cloves and almonds. To us, it really tastes like a spiced apple pie!

Olmeca Altos Añejo goes above and beyond the tequila industry standard. Their tequila is aged for a minimum of 18 months in ex-bourbon barrels. The standard is only one year.

This extended aging process in used bourbon barrels creates many notes of whiskey, so whiskey drinkers and bourbon lovers looking to ease themselves into tequila will love this one.