Teremana Blanco

Is it the star power of brand founder and co-owner Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson? Is it the fortuitous timing of starting the brand in 2020, aligned with the COVID-fueld pandemic boom? Is it the very affordable price point and multiple sizes, from 375ml to 1.75L? Is it the distribution muscle of partner Mast-Jägermeister, who ensures that it’s available in a LOT of places? Is it the distilling prowess of the López family, long-time agaveros and tequileros from Los Altos? Maybe it’s a little of each of these.

Regardless, there’s no questioning the success of Teremana. In just five years, this startup tequila has become a top-12 bestselling brand in the United States, making it one of (if not the) fastest-growing tequila companies of all time.

Teremana is made by cooking agaves in stone ovens, and distilling with copper pot stills. This non-industrial process is admirable, and was very much influenced by Patrón, which also makes tequila the “right” way, and in massive quantities, as well.

The 40% ABV blanco at the core of the Teremana lineup is not objectionable. It’s just…there. This expression has a disjointed smell. It’s a mixture of nice lemon and lime citrus with a heavy dose of ethanol/nail polish remover - less than ideal. But overall, I don’t find it to be a bad aroma, just a little weird.

On the flavor front, this is a somewhat thin mouthfeel. Not a lot of juiciness or viscosity. Flavors of raw agave and lemon/lime with white pepper riding shotgun. Some earthy and green pepper notes peeking around the corner. Those medicinal/ethanol elements are very obvious, along with some rubber ball/pencil eraser characteristics.

Finish is short and the lingering impression is lemon drop candies. Some aficionados say this tequila is terrible. I disagree. There are MANY tequilas I enjoy less than this blanco. But this tequila lacks the complexity, residual sugars, and cooked agave elements that are common in my favorite blancos. And the persistent ethanol aromas and flavors are hard to ignore. That said, if you want a very neutral tequila for a big batch of margaritas to be served up to folks who are not tequila nerds, I wouldn’t fight you if you grabbed Teremana.