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What Is The Best Most Expensive Tequila In The World? (2024)

What Is The Best Most Expensive Tequila

Last Updated on April 9, 2024 by Lydia Martin

Tequila might not be the first thing people consider a “luxury spirit.” However, it can be one of the most expensive spirits when done right. 

Some fine tequilas owe their hefty price points to the quality of the blue agave plant used, the intricate production process, the lengthy aging period, and bespoke signature bottles. 

So, what is the best most expensive tequila in the world? Let’s find out. 

What Is The Best Most Expensive Tequila: Top 15  

15. Tequila 1800 Colección Reserva Extra Añejo Tequila

3 Bottles of Tequila 1800 Colección Reserva Extra Añejo Tequila

Average Price: Around $1,800

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

We’re starting the list of the most expensive tequilas in the world with the Tequila 1800 Colección Reserva Extra Añejo Tequila by the Beckmann family (also behind Jose Cuervo). [1]

This fine tequila costs just shy of $2,000 per bottle. It starts with the manual selection of the finest agaves, which enter their signature slow baking process.

The juices are double-distilled in copper stills and finally aged inside French oak casks. 

What makes this brandy-like tequila truly special is they partner with a different artist with every release.

They took LA-based artist Gary Baseman on board for 2013. His vision for the bottle was the doomed romance between a Mexican warrior and a mermaid. 

14. Herradura 150 Anniversario Extra Añejo Tequila

Herradura 150 Anniversario Extra Añejo Tequila with glass and a box

Average Price: Around $500 

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

The Herradura 150 Anniversario Extra Añejo Tequila was released to commemorate the brand’s 150th anniversary in 2020. 

The 100-month aging process inside American oak barrels rounds out the raw agave taste and imparts dried fruit and vanilla notes. 

It’s also one of the most accessible luxury tequilas, as you can probably find this in many high-end liquor stores. 

13. Fuenteseca 21 Years Old Vintage 1993 Extra Añejo Tequila

Fuenteseca 21 Years Old Vintage 1993 Extra Añejo Tequila Bottle and a wooden box

Average Price: Around $950 

Alcohol Content: 44.3%

What Makes It Expensive:

The Fuenteseca 21 Years Old Vintage 1993 Extra Añejo Tequila takes 21 years to produce. 

The longest-aged tequila in the world started with the planting of raw agaves in 1984. They were grown, harvested, and distilled within nine years and bottled in 1993. 

The tequila then spent ten years aging in a lowland climate, after which it was transferred somewhere with a high altitude to age for eleven more years. 

Find out what country drinks the most tequila per capita here

12. Don Julio Real Tequila

Don Julio Real Tequila with a box

Average Price: Around $350 

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

The decanter housing Don Julio Real Tequila is a certified work of art.

It celebrates the agave spirit inside by showcasing an agave plant (“piña”) stopper and agave leaves on the sides of the bottle. 

“The middle part [of the agave], which we refer to as ‘piña’ or ‘corazón’ can be cooked and chewed on.”

– Adam Fodor, Founder of International Tequila Academy 

We believe the decanter is mainly why it’s so expensive, as it’s not the most complex spirit flavor-wise. 

11. Casa San Matias Rey Sol Extra Añejo Tequila

Rey Sol Extra Anejo Tequila Bottle in a box

Average Price: Around $350 

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

Casa San Matias Rey Sol Extra Añejo Tequila translates loosely to “tequila of the sun,” which explains the sun-shaped decanter the spirit is housed in.

This luxury tequila spent six years aging inside French oak barrels. 

The aging has imparted notes of butterscotch, caramel, and chocolate to the amber, golden tequila. 

10. Deleón Leona Añejo Tequila

3 Bottle of Deleón Leona Añejo Tequila on a wooden table

Average Price: Around $950 

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

Deleón is associated with pricey bottles.

What makes Deleón Leona Añejo Tequila special is it is made from a blend of the brand’s best barrels of the year and sold in limited quantities.

The final blend spends at least a year aging inside French Sauternes casks. 

The spirit has noticeably complex flavors from the various barrels, and every sip always brings something new to the drinking experience. 

9. Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario

Bottles of Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario

Average Price: Around $2,400 

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

The Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario was released to celebrate the brand’s 250 years of tequila distilling. 

The mature agave plants used to make this fine tequila come from a single crop field.

The spirit is made from a blend of tequila aged in French and American oak barrels and the best tequila from their cellar and spends at least one year in sherry oak barrels imported from Spain. 

Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario is an indulgent sipping tequila with agave, butterscotch, and chocolate notes. 

8. Barrique De Ponciano Porfidio

Barrique De Ponciano Porfidio Bottle with Can

Average Price: Around $2,000 

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

Barrique De Ponciano Porfidio Tequila is one of the rarest tequila bottles, as only 2,000 units are released annually. 

The premium tequila is made with 100 percent blue agaves that undergo a quadruple distillation process.

One of the most expensive tequilas in the world has apple cider, vanilla, cooked fruit, and an agave profile. 

7. Clase Azul Tequila Ultra Extra Añejo

Clase Azul Tequila Ultra Extra Añejo with glass

Average Price: Around $1,800 

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

The Clase Azul Tequila Ultra Extra Añejo grabs your attention with its striking metallic bottle with freehand drawings in platinum, silver, and 24-karat gold inlays. 

Of course, the bottle isn’t the only good thing about it.

It houses an equally impressive fiver-year-old gold tequila with dried plums, caramel cream, and a cinnamon profile. 

6. AsomBroso Reserva del Porto

Average Price: Around $2,800

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

The AsomBroso Reserva del Porto comes from Ricardo Gamarra’s (CEO of AsomBroso) personal collection. 

One of the most expensive tequilas in the world is housed in a crystal decanter made by Italian artist Luciano Gambaro.

It took Gamarra and Gambaro two years to create this crystal decanter. 

This premium tequila is aged inside newly acquired port wine barrels from Portugal.

It has an exceptionally smooth and silky mouthfeel and keeps things interesting with vanilla, honey, and floral notes. 

5. Patrón x Guillermo Del Toro Añejo Tequila

Patron Guillermo Del Toro Special Edition Extra Añejo Bottle

Average Price: Around $2,000 

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

Did you know that Guillermo Del Toro shares his birthplace with tequila in Jalisco, Mexico? [2]

The Patrón x Guillermo Del Toro Añejo Tequila stays true to the horror filmmaker’s vision by being housed in a skeleton decanter inside an altar-like box. 

You’ll notice that there are two chambers in the altar: one contains a special extra anejo tequila, and the other, an orange liqueur. 

They can be drunk individually, but the best way to enjoy them is together. Light the candles (included in the box) while you drink tequila for a truly magical experience. 

4. Patron En Lalique, Serie 2

Bottle of Patron En Lalique, Serie 2

Average Price: Around $7,500 

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

Patrón En Lalique, Serie 2 caught the attention of both glassware and tequila collectors: it is exquisite tequila housed in French crystal. 

The French crystal decanter, made by Lalique, recreates the squat shape from Serie 1, but it incorporates a heavy gem etched with the brand’s signature bee symbol in white gold as its stopper. 

Of course, the high-quality tequila doesn’t disappoint.

The aged tequila spends at least eight years aging inside French oak, American oak, and well-seasoned sherry barrels to reach an exceptional balance of agave, oak, and sweet honey. 

3. Clase Azul 15th Anniversary Edition

Average Price: Around $30,000 

Alcohol Content: 40% 

What Makes It Expensive:

There are only 15 bottles released for Clase Azul 15th Anniversary Edition, each specially crafted by a Mexican artist. 

Inside the special bottles is a blend of two ultra-aged tequilas, made from a 15-year-old inside Spanish sherry barrels and a six-year-old tequila aged in a port barrel from Portugal and an additional five years inside American white oak barrels. 

The final spirit is remarkable, with an oak, sherry, and dried fruit profile. You can drink tequila straight, and this is one of the best choices for it. 

2. Ley .925 Ultra-Premium

Ley .925 Ultra-Premium bottle with glaass and lime

Average Price: Around $225,000 

Alcohol Content: 42% 

What Makes It Expensive:

There are only 33 bottles of Ley .925 Ultra-Premium in circulation. If you’re a fan of rare, expensive bottles, perhaps this is the one for you. 

The ultra-premium bottles are made with pure white gold and platinum with yellow gold accents. 

Ingredients-wise, the extra anejo tequila is made from blue agave sap and aged for at least six years in Hacienda La Capilla distillery. 

1. Tequila Ley .925 Diamante

Tequila Ley .925 Diamante Bottle in a glass case

Average Price: Around $3.5 million 

Alcohol Content: 42% 

What Makes It Expensive:

First released in 2010, the Tequila Ley .925 Diamante is the most expensive tequila in the world at a whopping $3.5 million. [3

The expensive bottle was designed by Jose Davalos Mejia, who crafted it from five pounds of pure platinum and 4,100 white diamonds.

It took him ten months to create the bottle. 

If you’re brave enough to open the bottle, you’ll come face to face with the same tequila from number two. This time, it goes through a seven-year aging period. 

FAQs Related to What Is The Best Most Expensive Tequila

What’s the most expensive reposado tequila?

The Clase Azul Reposado Tequila is one of the most expensive reposado tequila in the market. Much like other expressions from Clase Azul, the bottle used to house the spirit is a collector’s item. 

How much is the most expensive tequila shot?

The Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario gets the title of being the most expensive tequila shot at roughly $300 per shot.

Can you buy the most expensive tequila?

No, you won’t be able to buy the most expensive tequila in the world. The Tequila Ley .925 Diamante is not available in retail stores. 

What makes tequila the most expensive?

The most expensive tequilas often boast exceptional quality, unique production methods, rare ingredients, and luxurious packaging, contributing to their high price tags.

What factors determine the quality of expensive tequila?

Expensive tequilas are typically made from high-quality agave plants, distilled with care, aged in premium barrels, and often undergo rigorous quality control measures to ensure excellence.

How do I know if a tequila is considered the best?

The best tequilas are often recognized through awards, industry accolades, expert reviews, and reputation among tequila connoisseurs for their exceptional taste and craftsmanship.

Are there specific brands known for producing the best and most expensive tequilas?

Yes, brands like Clase Azul, Patrón, Casa Dragones, and Don Julio are renowned for producing some of the best and most expensive tequilas in the world.

Key Takeaways of What Is The Best Most Expensive Tequila

Expensive tequilas have evolved beyond their party drink image and can even give your favorite cognacs and whiskeys a run for their money. 

Expensive tequila brands are made with 100 percent pure blue agave and undergo an intricate production process, which can bulk up their price tag.

Some companies use additives to cut costs, so you’ll sometimes get really cheap bottles. 

The Tequila Ley .925 Diamante, costing a whopping $3.5 million, is the most expensive tequila, made from a five-pound platinum decanter flecked with 4,100 diamonds. 

The spirit inside is equally impressive: an extra anejo barrel-aged for at least seven years. 

References: 

  1. Juan Beckmann Vidal & family
  2. Guillermo del Toro Mexican Director
  3. Diamond History and Lore
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