Tequila Question

You pretty much nailed it...With tequilas, similar to rum, it boils down to what you will use it for and personal taste. Nowadays I hear all kind of theories about how long should tequila be aged or should not, in what barrel type it should be and what pricing to be expected for a good tequila. A lot of it is very subjective and frankly, taste is a very personal subject. But generally speaking blanco is for blending, ie cocktails and anejo/reposado for tasting. There is no absolute as some anejo/reposado brings extra flavors to your cocktail depending on what you are blending. There is certainly good and bad tequila and pricing can help but it is not the only indicator. If you are sipping or doing shots and want something smooth, particularly for those that do not usually drink hard liquor alone, a tequila with a lower alcohol percentage is often better for you and one that has done great in blind tasting competitions for the last few years and is actually cheap for such a good one is Carmesi, their reposado version, at about $21 US in Mexico. I currently have a few others I'm using that I enjoy in their $40+ US range, Chinaco, La Cantina and Cava Don Anastacio. I also enjoy Aha Toro in their anejo version.

I do chuckle when I hear the debates going on regarding pricing and againg of tequila as this was a new "in" thing and build for tourists. About 25 years ago, I had a sales rep finishing a transaction with me and our food and beverage manager by opening a small rep suitcase he was carrying around. It contained a bottle of tequila and 4 shot glasses. The reposado tequila had been aged for a minimum of 25 years in oak barrels and was only produced in small batches. Back then the retail value, if you could have bought one, was over $1K US. To my knowledge, around that time period, 3 different tequila production houses had similar products worth upward to $2K and the rarest were close to 50 years old +. So nothing new in aged tequila in oak barrels. In my first visit to a tequila producing facility way back when, I was explained that tequila is in fact very similar to cognac, and age very well and develop different flavour, colour and texture over time. That age and rarety comes at a price, no different than cognac.

My suggestion, if you are looking at possibly buying a bottle that is expensive for you, would be to try a shot while in Zihua and you can see if you enjoy it. I personally try to buy from smaller producers but the big houses do have some great products too...