Obviously, not all aged spirits are the same. While the use of charred barrels can impart flavors like vanilla, caramel, and oak to any spirit, it’s just a simple fact that whisk(e)y, rum, and tequila taste different from one another. This is because of the ingredients used to distill the spirit before it enters the barrel and various distilling and aging techniques. But just because you’re a fan of one aged spirit, this doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy another.
Specifically, we’re talking about whiskey and tequila.
Granted, there are major differences between whiskey and tequila. Take bourbon for example. This corn-based spirit is matured in charred American oak. It’s most typically know known for its sweet, vanilla, dried fruit, spiced flavors. Tequila on the other hand is known for its earthy, vegetal, agave-sweet, fruity flavor notes. That being said, there are enough similar flavors that there are many tequilas that would still appeal to whiskey drinkers.
The key is knowing how to find them.
“I recommend a reposado or Añejo Tequila,” says Oscar Aranda, restaurant director at Acre Resort in San Jose del Cabo in Mexico. “The notes, aromas, and flavors are smokier, caramelized, woody, and spicy. Don Julio 1942 is a good expression of tequila with characteristics similar to whiskey.”
To find more examples, we went to the professionals who spend their days pouring drinks behind the bar for help. We asked a few well-known bartenders to tell us the best tequilas for whiskey fans. Keep scrolling to see all of their picks.
Tequila Ocho Añejo
Jessie Smyth, founder and consultant at Stubborn Nail Cocktail Company in Los Angeles
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $72
The Tequila:
Tequila Ocho Añejo is my pick. A few words on the tequila: Tequila Ocho’s añejo is one of my favorite recommendations for whiskey drinkers who want to cross over to agave spirits. The añejo is aged for one year in barrels.
Tasting Notes:
It starts pulling subtle notes of butter and caramel that a bourbon drinker might be looking for, while still retaining some peppery spice of the agave, offering the best of both worlds.
Patrón Extra Añejo
Joel Karaway, senior mixologist at The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $50
The Tequila:
The Patrón Extra Añejo tequila is an amazing choice for any whiskey drinkers as it is barreled for an extensive amount of time, and much longer than regular añejos. The longer barreling period gives this bright, dark gold tequila a taste and smell similar to whiskey.
Tasting Notes:
Patrón Extra Añejo includes a light agave, fruit, and honey taste, and also enhances the aromas of vanilla, oak, and woodiness making it akin to whiskey. When smelling it out of the bottle, our resort guests and diners have often assumed it was whiskey, proving the similarity between the two.
Teremana Añejo
Resa Mueller, bartender at R&D Philly in Philadelphia
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $50
The Tequila:
Añejo tequila is a great choice for classic cocktails that typically call for another aged spirit, like whiskey, and works well as a substitute for classically stirred drinks such as an old fashioned. Specifically, I like Teremana Añejo because of its complementary flavors.
Tasting Notes:
I enjoy using Teremana’s Añejo for its rich vanilla, caramel, and oak notes. The attention that Teremana gives to producing their añejo, preserving the integrity of the agave plant by roasting in small batches as well as the time spent aging in whiskey barrels, creates a complex flavor profile that also makes it a great option to sip on the rocks or neat.
Don Fulano Imperial
Scott Taylor, beverage director at Harris’ Restaurant in San Francisco
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $150
The Tequila:
I’d pour a whiskey drinker Don Fulano Imperial. Aged five to twelve years, this extra-anejo tequila offers notes of cardamom, cinnamon, Mexican chocolate, and earthiness from the toasted agave.
Tasting Notes:
For a highland tequila, it’s not overpowered by vanilla but has a long, smooth finish rich with caramel. Sweet but not overly so, it’s easy to sip.
Tapatio Excelencia Extra Añejo
Jared Kelly, head bartender at Merchants Cigar Bar in New York City
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $45
The Tequila:
Whiskey drinkers are usually on the opposite side of the liquor spectrum than your tequila enthusiasts would be. While that gap might have some difficulty being bridged, a good handful out there build that crossover, and my favorite has to be Tapatio Excelencia Extra Añejo.
Tasting Notes:
With notes of malt, oak, and vanilla on the nose, it follows with undertones of butterscotch, chocolate, and nuttiness on the pull. With those notes and a nicely bodied mouthfeel, this is definitely one to bring you, whiskey friends, over to the agave side.
El Tesoro Extra Añejo
Tom Muscolino, director of beverage innovation at Landmark Hospitality in Plainfield, New Jersey
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $125
The Tequila:
El Tesoro Extra Añejo. Aged for five years in ex-bourbon barrels, it is beautifully balanced. It’s a great choice for whiskey fans hoping to get into tequila.
Tasting Notes:
It’s filled with notes of butterscotch, spice, vanilla, caramel, cooked agave, ripe tropical fruit, and oak that isn’t overpowering.
Siete Leguas Añejo
Drew Russ, lead bartender at Venteux in Chicago
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $60
The Tequila:
Siete Leguas Añejo is a great Tequila for whiskey fans because it’s aged for eighteen months in charred American oak barrels. This imparts some of the same flavors whiskey fans enjoy.
Tasting Notes:
This is a complex, highly flavorful tequila. It still has the bright agave flavors but with a softness often found in well-crafted bourbons.
Fortaleza Añejo
William Keeling, bartender at the Iron Door at The Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley, California
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $80
The Tequila:
Fortaleza Añejo tequila is my pick. Fortaleza is a fantastic tequila maker that keeps to long-used distilling tradition in their recipe. The result is a spirit that still holds notes of earth and molasses.
Tasting Notes:
The añejo will have sat in cedar barrels long enough to impart notes of charred wood and vanilla; flavors that any whiskey fan will be seeking, while also taming the ceiling of this noisy complex agave distillate. My message to the whisky drinkers is to start with the añejo and work your way to the reposado and then the blanco (the wildest in flavor), keeping each of the gorgeous, hand-blown bottles on the way.
El Tesoro Añejo
Michael Carlisi, beverage director at Barrio in San Francisco
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $70
The Tequila:
Aged anywhere from one to three years in oak barrels, Añejo offers characteristics similar to whiskey. El Tesoro Añejo is my favorite.
Tasting Notes:
The aging process produces a warm amber color and smooth notes of vanilla, raisins, and honey. The finish is smokey and with a caramel flavor similar to bourbon.
Patrón Añejo Sherry Cask Aged
Federico Doldi, food and beverage director at Gansevoort Meatpacking in New York City
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $80
The Tequila:
In my opinion, the best tequila for whiskey fans is the Patrón Añejo Sherry Cask Aged. Served on the rocks, neat, or in a classic drink (like an old fashioned or Manhattan), it will change your life.
Tasting Notes:
This is a bold, oaky tequila with two years of Oloroso Sherry cask aging, giving it a well-balanced taste of toasted pecans, caramel, and dry fruit. It almost tastes like a young whiskey or bourbon.