Prousaefs was pleased to see a “very solid round”. Tanner added: “This was great value for money.” Lovely complexity Tanner remained equally enthused about agave‐based spirits. He added: “I think we’ll see, perhaps like gin, in a year or two there will be a more ‘contemporary’ Tequila category with different barrel finishes and a more experimental level.

From there, the competition moved onto Flavoured Tequila, where a Gold medal was handed to 1800 Coconut, with its “inviting, fresh coconut” aroma and “agave notes on the finish”. This double gold star awarded Tequila Añejo from VIVIR is their Tequila Blanco aged for 18 months in American Oak bourbon casks. The Tequila maintains its Agave routes whilst bringing an amazing palate of smoky oak, burned bananas and chocolate. Fantastic for sipping neat or over ice. VIVIR as a brand launched in March of this year. Since then, its rise has been astronomical bringing with it excitement, opportunity and what Paul calls “good challenges”. How did VIVIR Tequila come into being? The añejo options in the super‐premium contingent were also impressive – with two reaching the Master standard. Sierra Tequila Antiguo was deemed to be Masterworthy, with its “brilliant nose full of earthy spice, pepper” and “very well integrated oak” that “beautifully supports the spirit”. El Mayor Tequila Añejo also secured the top Master accolade. Smith found “bright agave on the nose, salted caramel notes; great balance of spirit and wood”. Unlike some wines, with their complex classification systems, tequila is simply categorised by age as follows: BlancoThe Master standard continued into the higher end of the añejo category, with one top award winner unearthed in the ultra-premium heat. Corralejo 99,000 Horas Añejo was a deserving Master medallist. The Tequila impressed the judges with its “very rich nose”, followed by a “smooth mouthfeel, wonderful complex mature flavours, and a long and elegant finish”. Five Gold medals added to the tally, with awards given to “highly aromatic” Tequila Herradura Reposado and “soft, candied citrus, peppery” Dobel Diamante.

The ELLE Lab is made up of a panel of 10 WSET-certified (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) experts and consumers. They sipped (no shots here!) their way through 40 blanco, reposado and anejo tequilas. Each was tried neat, before being diluted with a touch of water, which allows the alcohol to soften, bringing out more flavour. They were looking for bright, bold examples, with exceptional complexity. As opposed to blanco tequila, which is unaged, and añejo tequila, which is aged for a year or more, reposado tequila is aged at least two months and up to a year in barrel. That mild amount of aging results in a smooth, golden, and incredibly versatile spirit. The judges then turned their attention to aged Tequilas, beginning with a flight of Mixto Tequila – Reposado. In this round, two Silver medallists were discovered. Sierra Tequila Reposado secured Silver for aromas of “fruit, vegetal notes and a touch of pepper”, leading to “some warming spice” on the palate. El Sueño Tequila Gold also took home Silver for delivering “some grassy notes” on the palate, and a “nice spiciness”. Sierra Milenario Extra Añejo also received the top award for its “complex” profile. Tasting notes included: “Resinous, rich and bold nose with some dates and dried fruits. Spiciness has mellowed wonderfully, leaving toffee and subtle wood influence. Well‐rounded, balanced and delicious.”There are two types of tequila — those that are made with 100% agave, and the inferior 'mixto', which only contains the legally required minimum 51 percent (with the rest made up of any other sugar, often corn). Don’t worry, we’re not going to recommend any of those. The fruity, spicy notes of agave are what makes a tequila. Purists love to taste that raw material in the bottle. No aging process should erase that. Four Gold medals were also awarded in this round, including one for Gran Centenario Leyenda. The Tequila had a “silky, luxurious texture” and a “nice dryness” on the finish. There’s a reason celebrities are eager to claim a stake in the Tequila category, and that’s because the agave‐based spirit is soaring in popularity. After much consideration, the judges agreed to award the coveted Taste Master title to Sierra Milenario Tequila Extra Añejo. Pushing the boundaries

Clean and fresh with caramelised agave sweetness and a touch of biscuit. Lots of bright, green notes and something reminiscent of fresh sea air. Taste The third team consisted of Matt Chambers, co‐founder of the Whisky for Everyone blog and the North London Whisky Club, Evan Prousaefs, bar manager and assistant general manager of Los Mochis restaurant in London’s Notting Hill, and Chris Tanner, bar manager at Milroy’s. Melita Kiely, editor of The Spirits Business, chaired the panel.That concluded the Tequila segment of the competition. The tasting then focused its efforts on the spirit’s up‐and‐coming cousin, mezcal. Aged for at least two months, up to one year, here the colour changes to more gold and amber tones. You should find a more well-rounded flavour and smoother finish with sweeter vanilla and oak notes. Anejo Our panel – made up of 10-accredited spirits experts and tequila-loving consumers – put 27 blanco, reposado and anejo tequilas to the test. Each has different characteristics, ranging from the fresh and citrusy (there’s a reason you shot with lime and salt), to the more complex styles that display caramel and oak. Broadly speaking, blanco is for shots, anejo is strictly for sipping (like you would with whisky), and reposado is a good option for either. How we test tequila

The blue agave starts life as one hell of a sexy succulent, but it’s the piña at the heart of the plant that is needed to make tequila. The juice of the piña is fermented, then aged in oak for various lengths of time, to become blanco (unaged), reposado (aged for two months up to a year) or anejo (one to three years). Each was tried neat and blind, to avoid brand bias, allowing the full flavours — fresh citrus to warming oak — to shine through. They were on the lookout for smooth, easy-drinking styles, with well-balanced sweetness and added complexity. We really thought about it and wanted to be different whilst keeping something of tradition. For example, the Blanco bottle is the colour of the agave; it’s also meant to look like ceramics so that a nod to tradition. Our logo is Quetzalcóatl, the Aztec god who agave supposedly came from. We’ve also included details of the NOM, which is a four-digit number found on every bottle. This gives us visibility of the producer, so you can see just how many brands they’re responsible for — because can you really claim to be an artisanal tequila with hundreds of brands under the same roof? Not on our watch. What are the different types of tequila?A Silver medal was given to coffee‐flavoured Sierra Milenario Tequila Cafè. Two more Silver medals were hailed in the Tequila Liqueur round. El Sueño Watermelon Liqueur pleasantly surprised the judges with its “fresh watermelon notes” and some “light earthiness”. Silver winner Horus was likened to a “very well done chocolate cream”. Mijenta Reposado also scooped a Master, praised for its “lovely long finish with oak and earthy, smoky notes lingering for ages”. Like champagne, tequila production is a closely guarded secret and must be made and bottled within a specific area in Mexico. It can only be made from blue agave (unlike smoky mezcal which can be created from over 30 different varieties). Five or 10 years ago, nobody would put investment into research and development for Tequila, but now producers are in a position to start messing around a bit more, which means they must have confidence in the consumer.”