Reposado and añejo are the two aged styles most tequila shoppers compare, and the labels mean something specific. Both start as the same kind of spirit made from blue Weber agave. The difference is how long the tequila spends in oak before bottling, and that time changes color, aroma and flavor. Here is what the rules say, how the two styles usually taste, and bottles in our shop that show each one well.
What the rules say
Tequila categories are set by Mexican regulation and overseen by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT). The aging minimums are:
- Blanco: no aging requirement.
- Reposado ("rested"): at least two months in oak.
- Añejo ("aged"): at least one year in oak containers of no more than 600 liters.
- Extra añejo: at least three years in oak containers of no more than 600 liters.
These are minimums, so a reposado can rest well past two months and an añejo well past one year. The label only tells you which threshold the tequila cleared, so it is worth checking how long a producer actually ages a bottle.
How they taste
Reposado
A few months to under a year in wood generally keeps cooked agave, pepper and citrus up front, with some vanilla and light spice from the barrel. It works neat, on ice, or in a margarita or Paloma when you want a bit more depth than a blanco gives.
Añejo
A year or more in oak usually brings a darker color and more caramel, vanilla, baking spice and dried fruit, with the agave further in the background. Most people sip añejo neat or with a single ice cube, the way they would a bourbon, and it is a good swap in an Old Fashioned.
Reposados to try
- La Gritona Reposado is made by Melly Barajas at her distillery in Valle de Guadalupe in the Jalisco Highlands. It rests about eight months in used American oak, so the barrel softens the spirit without covering the agave.
- El Tesoro Reposado Single Barrel, Hombre Barrel Select comes from Carlos Camarena at La Alteña, one of the few distilleries that still crushes agave with a stone tahona. This bottling is from a single barrel rather than a blend.
- Zumbador Reposado and Solento Organic Reposado are two more options if you want to compare producers.
Añejos to try
- Suerte Añejo is tahona-crushed and aged 24 months in used American white oak whiskey barrels, twice the one-year minimum.
- Turincio Añejo and Dos Ángeles Caídos Añejo round out the shelf for side-by-side tasting.
Going further: extra añejo and cristalino
If you like where añejo is headed, extra añejo adds at least three years in oak. Espolòn Extra Añejo spends two and a half years in American oak and then six months in French Chardonnay casks. Tequila Ocho Extra Añejo La Estancia 2022 is a single-estate bottling, and Ocho labels each release with the field the agave came from and the year.
Cristalino is not its own CRT category. It is an aged tequila, usually añejo, that has been filtered, often through charcoal, to remove the color while keeping much of the barrel flavor. It is registered under the category of its base tequila. Maestro Dobel is generally credited with the first one, Dobel Diamante, in 2008. To try the style, Laya Añejo Cristalino is aged in American oak and then filtered clear.
Which should you buy?
Pick a reposado if you mostly mix cocktails or like agave to lead. Pick an añejo if you sip neat and enjoy whiskey-style oak and sweetness. If you cannot decide, buy one of each and taste them side by side. You can browse the full reposado collection and añejo collection in our shop.
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