Tequila

Tequila is a spirit made from the blue Weber agave, and the only real question on the label is whether it is made from all agave or only some. That one line decides most of what lands in your glass and a good deal of how you feel the next day.

What tequila is made from

The plant is the blue Weber agave, grown mainly in Jalisco and a handful of municipalities in Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas. The heart of the plant, the piña, is cooked to turn its starches into fermentable sugar, then crushed, fermented and distilled. Cooking method matters for flavour. Brick ovens and stone tahona crushing, as at Fortaleza, are slower and traditional. Diffusers, used by many larger producers, are faster and cheaper, as with Espolon.

What the law requires

Tequila is regulated under Mexico’s NOM-006-SCFI standard, and the US treats it as a distinctive product of Mexico under 27 CFR 5.148. Tequila need only be 51% agave sugars, with up to 49% from other sugars. That is the mixto, and Jose Cuervo Especial Gold is one. Only tequila labelled 100% agave is made entirely from agave sugars. Mexican rules also permit a small amount of added material: up to 1% of the tequila’s weight in glycerin, caramel colour, natural oak extract and sugar syrup, which NOM-006 calls abocado. The regulator does not let brands say “additive free” on the label, so the independent list of brands that tested clean is the only guide, and it was withdrawn in 2024. See additive-free tequila for the 134 brands it last named.

Types of tequila

Blanco is unaged or rested briefly. Reposado is aged in oak for at least two months and up to a year. Añejo is aged for at least a year, and extra añejo for three years or more. Gold tequila, or joven, is usually a blanco with colour added, or a blend of aged and unaged spirit, and in the cheap end it is almost always mixto. 100% agave blancos such as Don Julio show the agave most clearly.

Calories and sugar

A 1.5 oz pour of 40% tequila is about 97 kcal, all from ethanol, and unflavoured 100% agave tequila has effectively no sugar. Sugar can enter through the additive allowance: up to 1% of syrup, caramel and glycerin can add sweetness without a label mention, and a mixto may lean on it more than a 100% agave bottle. Margarita mix is a much bigger source than the tequila itself. See the healthiest tequila for bottle-level numbers, and the gluten-free tequila page for the allergy question.

Tequila and other spirits

Our comparisons cover vodka vs tequila, rum vs tequila and tequila vs mezcal.

What it means for hangovers

Tequila scores a 4 on the hangover index: low congeners, histamines and sugar, but a moderate additive load. The gap between 100% agave and mixto is where the reputation for rough mornings comes from. A mixto is part non-agave spirit and often coloured, and cheap shots tend to be drunk faster and in bigger volumes. Aged expressions pick up congeners and tannins from the oak. For the cleanest outcome, drink a 100% agave blanco and keep the mixer plain.