The Tequila Report has published a lot of lists of tequilas worth buying. They cover budget bottles, high scorers, craft brands, reader favorites, and picks for bourbon and wine drinkers.
This page puts all of them in one place and organizes them by what you need.
Start with the quick picker below. Or scroll to the section that fits how you shop.
We update this page whenever a new list is published (usually one or two each month).
Which Tequila Report list should you start with?
New to tequila, or "My friends don't really like tequila"?
Start with 55 Excellent Smooth Tequilas.
Making margaritas?
Want an everyday blanco that doesn't cost a fortune?
Prefer reposado?
Coming over from bourbon or whiskey?
More of a wine person?
Want the best bottles, whatever the price?
Want a brand you can trust across its whole lineup?
Want to support smaller producers?
Curious what other tequila fans pick?
See the Readers' Choice lists below.
What are the best tequila brands?
Our reviews panel ranks Cascahuín as the No. 1 tequila brand, with a score of 9.9 out of 10. G4 is second at 9.8 and Fortaleza is third at 9.7. Those results come from the summer 2026 edition of our Top 150 brands ranking.
Three lists answer the "what's best" question in different ways.
The Top 150 Tequila Brands Ranked
What it is: A ranking of brands, not single bottles. It scores how good a brand is across its lineup.
How we built it: 15 members of our reviews panel score independently on a 100-point scale. No brand pays to be included.
What you'll find: Nine brands tie at 9.5, so the gap between No. 4 and No. 40 is smaller than most people think.
Edition: Summer 2026
Highest-Scoring Tequilas of 2026
What it is: Every bottle we've scored 90 points or higher this year.
How we built it: Of the 200-plus reviews published since January, 87 bottles cleared 90 points.
What you'll find: Cascahuín Extra Añejo and General Gorostieta High Proof Blanco lead at 98. Prices on the list run from about $30 to nearly $300.
Edition: 2026, updated through mid-year
The Complete Ultimate List of Craft Tequila Brands
What it is: 233 brands that meet our definition of craft tequila.
How we built it: A brand must meet three tests. It uses no industrial diffuser. It declares that it doesn't use abocantes. And it sells fewer than 300,000 bottles in six months in Nielsen-scanned stores.
What you'll find: Small producers you're unlikely to see promoted on an endcap.
Edition: July 2026
Want to know how we score? Read How The Tequila Report Rates Tequila: 17 Questions, Answered. Or browse every scored bottle in our tequila ratings and reviews.
What's the best tequila for the money?
Our three value lists set a price ceiling: $50 for blancos, $60 for reposados and $45 for margarita blancos. Every bottle on them is one our reviewers would happily serve you.
All three are alphabetical, not ranked.
75 Winning Blanco Tequilas Under $50
Why $50: Our research found that most tequila fans cap a go-to blanco at around $50.
What you'll find: Familiar names like G4, Siete Leguas, Tequila Ocho and El Tesoro, plus dozens of smaller brands.
Published: February 2026
56 Great Reposado Tequilas Under $60
Why it matters: A great reposado doesn't need a $200 price tag. Every bottle here is $60 or less online.
What you'll find: Highlands and Valley bottles, from brands you know and distilleries you should. They work neat, and the lighter ones shine in cocktails.
Published: June 2026
26 Blancos $45 or Less That Make Great Margaritas
Why $45: It keeps the tequila cost under $3 per margarita.
What you'll find: Blancos with enough agave character to stand up to lime and salt. Suerte, Zumbador and El Bandido Yankee suit a classic margarita. Arette, Authentico and Nosotros handle spicier recipes.
Published: May 2026
What tequila should you try if you usually drink something else?
Start with what you already like. Bourbon drinkers should look for tequilas aged in American oak. Wine drinkers should look for bottles finished in wine barrels. Anyone who finds tequila harsh should start with smooth blancos.
55 Excellent Smooth Tequilas
Who it's for: Anyone who has ever said, "My friends don't really like tequila."
What you'll find: Mostly blancos that taste smooth because of how they're made. There are a few aged bottles for readers who want vanilla and oak.
Published: September 2026
44 Great Tequilas for Bourbon & Whiskey Drinkers
Who it's for: Whiskey fans who are getting into tequila.
What you'll find: Mostly reposados, añejos and extra añejos whose oak aging delivers familiar aromas and flavors. They include Tequila Ocho bottles finished in Old Fitzgerald and Widow Jane barrels.
Published: February 2026
59 Best Tequilas for Wine Lovers
Who it's for: People who've spent years exploring vintages.
What you'll find: Almost all of these rested in barrels that once held red wine, rosé, port, Sauternes or sherry. The list also explains "rosa," the industry's informal term for pink, wine-barrel tequila.
Published: September 2026
Which tequilas are made the traditional way?
A tahona is a massive stone wheel that slowly crushes cooked agave. Many distillers believe it produces fuller-bodied, more agave-forward tequila. Some brands use tahona-crushed juice for only part of their production. These 32 use it exclusively.
32 Tequilas 100% Crushed by Tahona
What you'll find: Brands that use tahona across their entire lineup, including Fortaleza, El Tesoro, Cambio, Don Vicente, Terralta and Alto Canto. The list also includes single expressions such as Siete Leguas' Siete Décadas Blanco.
Published: April 2026
For the full craft picture, see the craft tequila list above.
What tequilas do Tequila Report readers like best?
More than 1,000 readers voted in our Readers' Choice Awards. Fortaleza was voted favorite brand overall. LALO won best blanco, Tequila Ocho won best reposado, Fortaleza won best añejo and Tears of Llorona won best extra añejo.
Category | Readers' No. 1 | Full list |
|---|---|---|
Brand overall | Fortaleza | |
Blanco | LALO | |
High-proof blanco | LALO High Proof Blanco | |
Reposado | Tequila Ocho | |
Añejo | Fortaleza | |
Extra añejo | Tears of Llorona | |
New brand | Zumbador |
Voting for the 2027 Readers' Choice Awards begins in November.
Which tequilas are winning with judges and shoppers?
Some lists use outside measures rather than our own scores. These draw on blind-judged competition results and Nielsen store sales.
The 40 Tequilas That Won the Summer
How we built it: We compared each brand's average weekly Nielsen sales from June through August 2026 with January through May. Each brand also had to outsell its summer 2025 total.
What you'll find: Two rankings: 20 leading brands and 20 challengers. SCORE led the leaders at +180.7%. Tepozán led the challengers at +316.5%. Unlike our four-way growth list, this one includes mixtos.
Published: October 2026
The 57 Tequila Brands That Scored Double Gold at 2026 Agavos Awards
How it's judged: Agavos uses only blind judging by agave experts. Double Gold, the top tier, averages 90-plus points.
Keep in mind: Only brands that entered could win, so this isn't a complete ranking of the category.
Published: May 2026
The 41 Tequila Brands Growing All 4 Ways in 2026
How we built it: Nielsen scan data for the first half of 2026 compared with the first half of 2025. Each brand had to grow in dollars, units, distribution and velocity at the same time.
Why it matters: Growing on all four measures is a strong sign that real people are buying more of a brand.
Published: July 2026
35 Fastest-Growing Tequila Brands in Stores Right Now
What you'll find: Growth is concentrated in bottles under $30 and over $50. The craft brands on the list include Zumbador, G4, LALO, Wild Common and El Bandido Yankee.
Published: April 2026
How often do these lists change?
The Top 150 and the craft tequila list are revised twice a year. Most other Tequila Report lists are refreshed once a year.
When a list is updated, it stays at its current link and this page shows the new edition.
