The first mistake when drinking tequila is to shoot it with a lick of salt and a lemon slice. If you want to drink tequila like a Mexican local, it’s always sipped, straight up. To not look like an amateur, chase it with small sips of spicy ‘sangrita’ or freshly squeezed lime.
The second mistake is choosing poor quality tequila. That will just give you a headache and leave an awful burn in your throat.
If you learned to hate drinking tequila based on some horror story from your 20s, it’s not your fault. Here we explain how to drink tequila the right way… and enjoy it, too.
The Best Ways To Drink Tequila
In Mexico, the traditional way to drink tequila is neat and with small, regular sips. Purists say tequila should be young or white (joven or blanco tequila) and that it should be drunk at room temperature. All of these points give you the best way to savor and taste the earthy notes of the agave plant.
Besides ignoring the hard work that goes into producing each glass of tequila, shooting tequila makes you look like a tourist in Mexico.
Of course, as far as the tequila industry goes, there are many ways to enjoy tequila: chilled, aged, in a cocktail… and you will develop your own preferences and favorite brands. You can also review which tequilas have won the annual SIP awards.
The important thing is to know what you are looking for when buying and drinking tequila so you look like an expert.
10 Steps To Drink Tequila Like a Pro
1. How to drink Tequila straight or neat: What’s a good chaser?
The most popular way to drink tequila is straight. Some do ‘tastings’ with tequila with a slight swish over the tongue, followed by an exhale through your nose before swallowing. This helps identify the different flavor profiles and release some alcohol fumes. Usually, though, it is enough to start with a small sip to prepare your tongue, followed by a longer sip to taste it properly.
A common sidekick to drinking tequila neat is an equal-sized shot of ‘sangrita’, a slightly spicy, tomato-based drink reminiscent of a bloody Mary. You then alternate your sips between tequila and sangrita. You can make it at home exactly to your taste, or buy it online. Commercial sangrita tends to be sweeter and less spicy; artisanal sangrita has more herbs and is closer to the authentic version.
If you’re feeling nationalistic, order a ‘bandera’ (flag), which includes three shot glasses that represent the Mexican flag: lime juice (green), young tequila (white), and sangrita (red). You alternate sips between the three, and it works as a great chaser if you’re still unaccustomed to drinking straight tequila.
Another common way to drink tequila is alongside a beer, and use the beer as a chaser for the tequila. Some will lightly suck on a lime slice dipped in salt, but this is less common.
Tequila cocktails are also popular, although you wouldn’t waste a premium tequila by mixing it. Some popular mixes include margaritas, a vampira or ‘bloody Maria’ (bloody Mary with tequila), tequila sunrise, paloma (with grapefruit), or tequini (tequila martini).
2. Choose the right glass
Many drink tequila using a large 2 or 3 ounce shot glass (caballito, or little horse in Spanish), or sometimes a snifter. An ‘official tequila glass’ was approved by the Tequila regulatory board (Consejo Regulador del Tequila) called the Ouverture Tequila glass, by Riedel. The shape is fluted like a sherry glass and is recommended especially for aged tequilas (reposado, añejo and reserva). You can buy a box of 4 on Amazon for around $40.
3. Drink 100% agave tequila
If you’ve ever had a bad night with tequila followed by a pounding headache, you were likely drinking an inferior tequila or a mixto (mixed tequila). The legal minimum requirement for ‘real tequila’ is 51% agave, which means other sugars and filler ingredients are used. These bad sugars can give you a worse hangover and headache.
Tequila made from 100% agave sugar is much cleaner and pure. The agave also gives tequila a more complex flavor and body, so it tastes better.
It is also important to note that some tequilas (like oro, gold tequila) use coloring to make them look like aged tequila (a fake reposado or añejo); this coloring will also increase your chances of a hangover.
So you should always read the bottle to understand exactly what’s in it.
4. Should tequila be chilled or drunk on the rocks?
Some swear that tequila is best drunk chilled. It is preferable to store the bottle in the refrigerator to chill the tequila, rather than watering down the flavor with ice or ‘on the rocks.’ But it really comes down to personal choice and quality.
If you’re drinking a commercial or cheap tequila, certainly chilling it or drinking it on the rocks can help smooth the flavor. It may also be influenced by where you are located; beach towns are more likely to serve chilled tequila.
However, premium tequilas do not impart significant alcohol burn, and chilling it can reduce the smell and flavors. Many argue that premium (or any!) tequilas should only be drunk at room temperature to fully appreciate the agave profile.
5. How to drink reposado or añejo tequila
If young, white tequilas are too confrontational, the best advice is to start with an añejo tequila, which is aged in a barrel for at least a year. Aged tequilas are comparable to a fine cognac. The flavor is smoother and sweeter, with hints of vanilla or caramel. The trade-off is that the agave flavor is softer.
The middle ground would be a reposado, which is aged in a barrel for between two months and one year. You get a stronger agave profile with a less refined finish.
Because it is harder to detect the agave profile, it is recommended to drink añejo tequila at room temperature. A snifter glass is also a great way to experience the tequila profile, which adds to the flavor when drinking. Similarly, reposado is also typically drunk at room temperature.
Purists, however, argue that tequila should only be drunk young because you otherwise can’t appreciate all the complexities of the agave (soil, altitude, age etc. contribute to the flavor). Aging tequila or multiple distillations remove a lot of what makes tequila the unique drink it is.
However, once you taste a premium añejo, like Tapatio or Don Julio 1942, it’s hard to keep reposado or añejo tequila off your tequila shelf.
6. What about cristalino tequila?
A newer technique on the market is cirstalino tequila: it is aged or añejo tequila, where the color is filtered out (usually with carbon) to give it a clear color. The filtration process strips the tequila of some of the woodier flavors, without loosing the smoothness of the aging process.
They are becoming increasingly popular as they offer the complexity and texture of an aged tequila but with some bright agave notes of a young tequila.
One of the first cirstalino tequilas was Don Julio 70 to commemorate the founder’s entry into the tequila market 70 years before. It is aged for 18 months and is best neat or on the rocks.
Maestro Dobel Diamante claims to be the first multi-aged cirstalino, which mixes tequilas of various ages to use all of the different flavor profiles. Qui creates its platinum cirstalino using extra añejo (aged three and a half years), while Moët Hennessy’s technique for its Volcan cirstalino is to use a variety of barrrels during the aging process.
7. Forget the worm but should you drink pink Tequila?
Good tequila will never have a worm in it. Also, an ‘agave worm’ or ‘maguey worm’ is actually moth larva, called a ‘gusano’ – a delicacy to eat in Mexico!
There are many stories on how this trend started:
- it was added to change the flavor of the alcohol;
- it was a sign of the potency of the alcohol;
- it was thought to bring good luck or strength if you found it in your glass;
- but the most likely theory is that it was marketing ploy.
It is also more associated with mezcal. Today, you might still find certain mezcal brands with a gusano or scorpion at the bottom – and it’s nothing more than a marketing ploy.
If you want to impress friends with a bug tequila, try pink tequila or mezcal; while some create the pink coloring with red wine barrels, others (like Pasion) use the cochineal bug. These bugs live on nopal cacti and produce a natural red dye. While that might sound gross, many companies use it (including Starbucks, until protesters demanded they stop).
8. Know what influences flavor
Tequila is made from only one type of agave, the blue agave. The flavor of tequila is influenced by different terroirs (environmental factors, like soil, sun, climate) – you are truly getting a taste of Mexico.
Agave plants from lowlands produce botanical and earthier flavors, while highland plants often produce fruitier or sweeter tequila flavors. The age of the agave plant is another influencer on flavor, with older plants providing richer, sweeter notes.
There are also differences in the production techniques, which tequileros (tequila experts) believe influences the flavor. But there are different beliefs over this. Some argue that commercial production techniques are cleaner, reduce impurities and create more consistency in flavor.
Others say traditional techniques, like using the tahona stone to crush the agave, bring out more flavors. When comparing tahona-style and commercial-style tequilas, some say the first creates a more agave-forward flavor with earthy and vegetal notes, while roller-milled tequila creates sharper citrus and vanilla notes. With tahona-crushed agave, the fibre also stays during the fermentation process and the first distillation, which can trap in and strengthen desirable flavors.
Younger tequilas are typically vibrant, vegetal, fruity, and peppery. With aged tequilas, you may find smooth hints of vanilla or butterscotch.
9. Will You Get a Hangover?
Tequila gets touted as the hangover-free, gluten-free, low-calorie, health-benefit drink. And while all of these things are correct, it is less so if you mix tequila. That is to say, you will still get a hangover if you drink too many, or if you mix it with other drinks or sugary mixes.
Some people reporting feeling sick or vomiting after drinking tequlia, but that is more likely to be related to drinking a mixed tequila (mixto) or a poor quality one that is not 100% agave. Hangovers and feeling sick are partly contributed to impurities in drinks; so the less pure the tequila, the higher the chance of feeling bad.
Some that the purest form is a young or joven tequila, which is bottled quickly and has a lower chance of picking up impurities or absorbing other alcohols from barrel aging.
10. Does Tequila Go Bad?
For storing tequila, young tequila doesn’t contain tannins, unlike wine. So even if storage conditions are not ideal, the flavor of tequila remains relatively constant after bottling. Tequilas aged in barrels may be more prone to flavor changes but will preserve as good as any other barrel-aged alcohol.
As the flavor profile doesn’t change with age, tequila does not get better or more valuable with age.
How Much Tequila Is Drinking Too Much?
Tequila has a similar proof or alcohol content to many other spirits, like Vodka, Gin or Whisky. The average alcohol content of Tequila is around 38 to 40 %, which is 76 to 80 proof. However, there are stronger tequilas, with up to 50–75% alcohol content or 100–150 proof so double check.
Each person’s level of getting drunk from tequila will depend on their body weight and other factors, like how often they drink or how fast they metabolize alcohol. You can calculate how many drinks it would take to reach an unhealthy (around 0.1%) Blood Alcohol Content here.
How To Store Tequila Once Opened
Once you’ve opened a bottle of tequila, you want to make sure you store it properly to preserve the flavors, although it’s hardy like most spirits.
The best way to preserve your tequila is to:
- avoid exposure to direct sunlight
- keep it at a constant temperature (60–65°F or 15–18°C); on a shelf is fine, you do not need to refrigerate it to preserve it
- ensure the seal remains intact and does not leak air
- enjoy the best flavors within one to two years of opening.
