The 6 Budget Blancos Approved for Summer

The question everyone is asking these days is “What’s a great blanco tequila at an affordable price?” And while we’re at it, how can a producer make a lower-priced tequila while still maintaining a high level of quality?

To figure that out, we put 6 well-priced blancos in a blind tasting and gave them to 24 members of the Tequila Matchmaker Tasting Panel.

Which ones stood out? As it turns out, a lot of them. Although there was one clear high-scoring blanco, 3 of them came within just 1 point of each other.

Here’s a breakdown of what the Tasting Panel members had to say about these 6 bang-for-the-buck blancos:

Tapatio Blanco

88.174 points: Tapatio Blanco is an old-school favorite made at the La Alteña distillery in Arandas by the Camarena family. Tasters found it to be agave forward with notes of pepper and minerals. This tequila gets a lot of flavor from its traditional process: cooked in brick ovens, fermented in wood tanks, and distilled in copper pots.

The price for Tapatio Blanco at Old Town Tequila is $38.99 for a 750 ml liter bottle. It’s affordable in part because the brand is owned by the distillery, so there is no distillery markup at play.

Panelist Comments:

– “Gorgeous rich agave nose. I could smell this all day. Easy going (on the) palate with a lovely … finish. This is tequila.”

– “This tequila showcases a well-balanced profile, combining robust flavors with a harmonious balance. An enticing choice for further exploration and enjoyment.”

Cimarron Blanco

85.087 Points: This tequila is filled with cooked agave, spice, and brine. Made at the La Tequileña distillery (NOM 1146), in the town of Tequila, this brand has been a bartender’s friend for years because it’s available in a 1-liter bottle and is great for both mixed drinks and sipping.

This, too, is a brand owned by the distillery. But they are able to get the price down even further because they have been growing their own agave for generations, and make use of a column still, which is a more efficient means of distillation.

This tequila scored the most points for value than any of the others in the lineup.

Old Town Tequila currently sells Cimarron for just $28.69 for a 1 liter bottle.

Panelist Comments:

– “An earthy delight for tequila lovers, offering a nuanced and enjoyable sipping experience.”

– “Nose: fresh spring water, raw agave. Palate: salty/briney like olives, (with) raw agave, like a dirty martini of the tequila world. Hot tamales. Finish builds and lasts a long time.”

– “Hint of lactic acid, but not overwhelming, (with) vegetal notes on nose. Nice, oily feel in mouth, baking spices detected. Finish hits at top of throat, (with) smooth warmth but leaves quickly.”

Tres Agaves Blanco

84.696 Points: Made at the same distillery as aficionado favorite Cazcanes, the Tequilera TAP distillery (NOM 1614) in Amatitan, this blanco pleased tasters with notes of cooked agave, pepper, and mint.

This is the distillery’s house brand, and they are able to use their own organic agaves, which helps keep the price down. It is made with a low-pressure autoclave, a roller mill, and stainless steel pot still that contain copper coils.

Tres Agaves Blanco is selling for $29.99 at Old Town.

Panelist Comments:

– “This blanco tequila offers an interesting and unique tasting experience. While not a personal favorite, its complexity warrants further exploration beyond a sampler, making it a tequila worth revisiting for a more thorough assessment.”

– “This one smells oily. Olives, salt, rosewater, sand. Almost smells like the beach? Love it! Very, VERY crisp on the tongue with a slow warm finish. Extremely drinkable, although tough to put my finger on how this stands out. This would be a fantastic recommendation & very versatile tequila.”

– “This has a funky nose, a bit sour or like spoiled milk. Sitting in the glass for a few minutes the sourness dissipates to hints of roast agave. On entry this is a bit thin but has nice sweetness and some vegetal notes on the finish.”

Onda Blanco

84.609 Points: This is a new product on the market, made at Grupo Solave (NOM 1607), in Amatitan (next door neighbors to Tequilera TAP!) Their goal was to create an affordable tequila and they were able to achieve that by using a blend of processes: Traditional (brick oven cooked, tahona crushed, copper pot distilled) and industrial (diffuser and column still).

This is a bold choice made by the brand considering that the industrial process often gets a lot of negative commentary, but it was able to retain some character by blending it with the traditional process. In the end, they created an affordable product that surprised several of the panel members, who scored it higher than expected.

It is currently selling for $29.99 at Old Town Tequila.

Panelist Comments:

– “Really nice aromas: pear, apples. Flavor: salted caramel, green apples, melon, creamy finish. I really enjoyed this one.”

– “Nose – Agave, citrus, floral, lime, brine, mint. Taste – Agave, tropical fruits, mint chewing gum, pepper, minerals, pepper. Has a pleasant mouth feel. Almost has a fresh rain taste.”

– “Nose: Right to the point. Some cooked agave and minerality. Taste: Agave, citrus, and a hard punch of anise in the middle. Not off putting, just there. A nice peppery finish that has a long finish on the tongue. Definitely an easy sipper.”

Arette Blanco

83.348 Points: This classic brand coming from a famous distillery “El Llano” (NOM 1109), has been a bar staple for years thanks to its high quality and affordable price. It is cooked in an autoclave, extraction via roller mill, and distillation in stainless steel pot stills with copper coils.

Once again, this is the distillery’s house brand, so they are able to keep costs down while maintaining a high level of quality.

Currently on sale at Old Town Tequila for $22.99 for a 700ml bottle.

Panelist Comments:

– “The nose is agave and herbs. This has more viscosity than (samples) 2 or 3 and tastes well balanced in flavor. The viscosity leads to some oiliness in the mouth, but also a shorter finish than other samples.”

– “Nice bright notes great with lemongrass, agave, and a slight white pepper pop.”

– “After a few tries it really grew on me. Soft floral aromas. For the flavor I get slight lactic (and) berries, with a toasted nut finish.”

30-30 Blanco Reserva Especial

81.739 Points: This is a blanco that we’ve been drinking at home in Mexico for years, simply because it’s an affordable daily sipper. It was one of the few Mexico-only products until a few years ago, and it’s now finding its way into various states in the USA. Although it is slightly more expensive in the States than it is in Mexico, it’s still a decent blanco that doesn’t break the bank.

Production process includes high-pressure autoclaves, a roller mill, and stainless steel pot stills. And, just like most of the others, it is the house brand owned by the distillery.

30-30 sells for $35.99 at Old Town Tequila.

Panelist Comments:

– “Roast agave and a bit of ethanol on the nose leads to a nice mouthfeel with slight viscosity. Some oiliness in the mouth with natural sweetness and a mid-tongue finish, this fades to some citrus acidity.”

– “Very citrus(y), lemongrass flavors. Finishes fairly well. Doesn’t have a super strong nose.”

– “Nose: Agave, Funk (malolactic), nutty, earth, olive, alcohol. Taste: Agave, brine, olive, pepper, cheese, lime. It starts great, but in the middle, it turns a bit too cheesy and ends fairly nice with a peppery burn”

How Our Blind Tastings Work

There is some inaccurate information swirling around regarding how we conduct our Tasting Panel blind tastings, and exactly what we ask of the panelists, so let’s clear that up right now.

The general rules are:

1. Rate the tequilas against each other, and not against the best tequilas you’ve ever had in your life. The point is to figure out which of the samples were the favorites. For example, if a panel member rates all of the samples in the mid-70s then we’re not going to get the data we need to determine that person’s preference. Something in the lineup should be in the 90s.

These ratings are kept separate and don’t count toward the average scores posted in Tequila Matchmaker. A panel member can choose to publicly rate that same tequila higher or lower if they want to after the tasting period closes. The score may be different because they are now rating it against all the tequilas they’ve ever tried instead of just the few samples in the lineup.

If a panel member isn’t able to rate the tequilas against each other, and scores all of the samples closely with each other, then we simply don’t invite them to participate in future blind ratings.

2. We don’t like to see scores below a 60 unless there’s a major defect in the product. And, if there is a major defect in a product, we aren’t going to include it in the first place. In our system, we go back to grade school where 60 is a failing grade.

Refer to this chart as a guide:

We encourage people to follow this rating system for all of their ratings on Tequila Matchmaker, not just during blind tastings.

3. Leave descriptive comments. This is really important because it gives context to your scores, and helps us identify trends and write a more complete story.

And that’s it. We don’t tell anyone to rate something artificially high, and we let the panel members do what they want to do.