The best tequilas for Cinco de Mayo, from the luxe Tears of Llorona to a Western wear's debut

Christian D'Andrea, For The WinTue, May 5, 2026 at 11:03 AM UTC

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Cinco de Mayo isn't just an excuse to drink tequila. It also serves as an unofficial opener to the summer -- a time where, coincidentally, the weather aligns with light tequila cocktails.

Thus, FTW's 2026 tequila guide isn't just viable for one Tuesday this year. It's the backdrop to a couple seasons worth of complex-but-smooth drinks that dig deeper into the spirit of Mexico. We're in a golden age of tequila, which means a glut of bottles at your local shop. Some exceed their price point. Others fall short.

All of them... well, look pretty similar if you don't know what you're looking for.

That means some bottles are there to peacock their way off bar backsplashes and into too-expensive cocktails. Others try to copy the simpler designs of the good tequilas that have been around forever without copying the ingredients and effort it takes to make a spirit that lasts decades. It's an intimidating landscape out there. Let's talk about the stuff I drank the past year that stood out the most -- and that deserves a place in your liquor cabinet even if it's kinda expensive.

Best tequila made by a Western wear brand: Kemo Sabe Original Grit reposado

Tequila. Good tequila.

It pours a lightly weathered gold. The smell off the top is rich and complex. The anejo is in the center of a whirlpool that brings sugary caramel, tart citrus and some pie crust around it. Butter, honey, all that good stuff.

It hits your tongue smooth and sweet. But while it's sugary, it's also well tempered with that warm agave, juuuuuust a little bit of salt and pepper and those pie vibes. That sweetness lingers long after the sip has left your tongue, giving you something to think on -- and something to bring you back for more.

That's going to define how you feel about this tequila. If you're looking for spicier, woodier, or dry, that steady, gentle current of sugar and herbal notes may not be for you. But this is a home run for me, a truly easy to sip spirit that brings a little more to the table each time you bring it to your lips.

It's incredibly smooth, with no burn to speak of. It's got a little bit of Auntie Anne pretzel to it the way it marries that sweetness with just enough salty brine to pull off a lovely balance.

I was skeptical about a spirit from a clothing brand. Aspen, Colorado does not sound like the genesis of a quality tequila but one meant to cater to rich dorks. Still, this exceeds expectations and lives up to its $80 price tag. I wouldn't spend that much on tequila often, but the next time I splurge I'm going to keep Original Grit in mind.

Best slightly underwhelming, but still solid organic tequila: Casa Azul Reposado

Tequila. Good tequila.

This organic reposado pours a light, grayish yellow. The smell off the top is brine, a little caramel and orange and, of course, warm agave.

It's sweet and vanilla up front before that brine and agave clock in. The finish is dry along those lines, leaving you a tequila that would work wonders with citrus. It's a little bit caught between worlds, but the balance between sweet and salt is handled well enough to keep you coming back.

As a result, you feel the influence from the bourbon barrels in both the vanilla of the oak and the slightly spicy ending. It's smooth, sippable and layered. At the same time, you kinda want more from a $70 bottle. Adding a little ice brings out the floral flavors a bit more, a little butterscotch and cinnamon as well.

Best middle-of-the-road tequila that looks like a cheaper tequila: Dama Fortuna Blanco

Dama Fortuna tequila

Dama Fortuna brings a certain rural casino vibe to it with the playing card theme and relatively simple bottle. In a world where tequila brands are falling over themselves to chase trends and make something that will attract social media attention, it's refreshing. And it makes me curious about the spirit within.

The pour smells like warm, buttery bread and agave. The first sip is instead heavy on wintergreen and cinnamon, floating on a current of cooked agave. I'm still getting my sea legs when it comes to tequila, but this tastes like a much more expensive spirit than it looks (or, at about $35 to $40 per fifth, costs). It's sweet, smooth and easy to sip, finishing with warm, complex flavors that run deep.

Each sip uncovers some new layers -- mostly sweet, but generally rewarding. You get a little chocolate, some citrus and more of that cinnamon as you go. It's really a nice dram that goes above and beyond what you'd expect. You can get something different out of it each time you press it to your lips. That's a wonderful thing at about 40 bucks.

Best combination of solid tequila and gorgeous presentation: Volcan B.T. Blanco

Volcan tequila

It pours the expected clear and is lighter off the top than the reposado, though it shares some of those earthy, lactic smells wafting from the glass. You get some cinnamon, vanilla, citrus and a little boozy burn from that nose, inviting you in for a sip.

That first sip is absolutely lovely. There's just enough sweet vanilla and orange to give you a really gentle, but complex, profile. It's very smooth -- no burn to speak of -- with warm agave giving you a baked good current on which each sip floats along. Each of those sips snaps off with a little sweet salt that snaps off everything effectively.

It's not as complex as the reposado, but it makes up for that by being supremely drinkable. Slightly salty and sweet with a little bit of citrus, this has cocktail qualities on its own.

Best high proof tequila: Cazcanes Nuestra Raices Still Strength

Cazcanes Tequila

Interestingly, the still strength tequila here is a little less potent than the No. 9. But this came in a fortress of corrugated cardboard I'd never seen before. Did I think the drink itself was encased in paper rather than a glass bottle? Listen, don't worry about it.

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It pours crystal clear. It smells almost identical to the No. 9, though with just a little bit more fruit -- some honeydew melon, maybe? -- to it. There's an extra layer to the first sip. The agave and salt are there, but you get a little more floral fruit influence that leaves you with fresh, spicy flavors that feel like a mix between the pepper of the No. 9, mint and cinnamon.

There's also just a little bit of oak and smoke in here. It's nothing you'd mistake for a Scotch, but gives you just a little more oomph on that post-sip exhale. That's the extent of the heat. It's another remarkably smooth spirit.

Those are the organic, herbal notes I was missing in the blanco. They shine here, leaving you with a really nice sipper that stands up on its own and finishes dryly enough to keep you coming back.

Best ultra-luxe tequila: Tears of Llorona Extra Anejo

Tequila. Good tequila.

It pours a richer, deeper mahogany than any tequila I've had. Which, admittedly, is still a growing portfolio, but it's still impressive. The smell off the pour is sweet caramel and sugar on top of warm agave and some barrel staves. You get some of that woody sweetness and vanilla that comes with the extra time spent aging.

The sweetness carries you from start to finish of each sip, but there's a lovely bouquet of flavors. Agave, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, a little citrus. It's a lot in a very rewarding way. The caramel wafting off the top persists with a dulce de leche feel against some slightly lactic vibes. It braids through each sip and touches on all the best parts of a good tequila. It's a wonderful sipper which, yeah, at $270 per bottle, it damn well better be.

So, you're left with a really nice spirit that might not be worth the price but only because, whoooo, it's so much money. If you're willing to spend that much on a bottle of tequila, then yeah, it's absolutely worthwhile. It's a good looking bottle that eschews the ornate, over-the-top plug-and-play stupid-expensive tequilas dotting other top shelves. The liquid inside is better than most of those but, again, generally more expensive.

What you're left with is a rich, deep tequila that brings you some warm whiskey vibes within that sweet, but balanced dram. It's lovely. And pricy.

Best celebrity pre-made cocktail that spent big to sponsor the World Cup: Casamigos margaritas

Casamigos

Is Casamigos worth its lofty, George Clooney-backed reputation? I'm not sure -- I've got to give it a proper try. In the meantime, however, the brand has a couple of pre-made margaritas linked into the 2026 World Cup in a sponsorship that won't do anything to bring bottle prices down. The cocktails themselves, however are solid enough.

Classic lime margarita:

It pours a light green and smells more like sweet lime than tequila. There's more than just lime here; you get some orange like there's a bit of Grand Marnier involved. Instead, it's just "orange liqueur" but it comes through nicely.

Each sip is light and brings just enough tequila to give you a "just made" cocktail feel. It could use a little salt to snap off each pull a bit more dryly, but that's easy to fix at home -- get that rim nice and crumbly. All in all, it's a nice cocktail for a lazy man like me, who has never remembered once to actually buy limes at the store.

Spicy margarita:

This promises more orange liqueur and... uh, I'm not sure. There's no ingredient list for what's making this one spicy, but I'm gonna assume it's a standard jalapeno mix. The smell off the top suggests as much, bringing a little familiar pepper to the mix.

That jalapeno(?) is front and center, then fades into the lime, then lingers in the aftertaste. It's dominant, so if you're not into that it's going to mar things for you. Then again, "spicy" is right there on the label, It's a bit messy, but enough of a change to be a useful alternative from the traditional cocktail.

Best tequila drink that isn't actually tequila but THC: 1777 by Senorita

Tequila. Good tequila.

There's a wide range of tequila-ish cocktails to be made here, but we're trying this neat. Is that because I perpetually forget to buy limes at the grocery store? Don't worry about it.

The smell off a light milky pour is lime Skittles. In the best way. There's little sign of any THC lingering within, which is a nice change from the other cannabis-based non-spirits out there.

The taste... yep, those are lime Skittles. That's a complimentary thing. At 1.5 ounces at a time, it's awesome. There's no dry cannabis taste to linger at the back of your throat. Adding it to a little tonic water spreads it out for a tasty, fizzy cocktail. There isn't much more to it than that, but it's sweet and pleasant and way more fun than some THC drinks that feel like a chore to gulp down.

The effects take about 40 minutes to kick in. And an hour to hit full strength. It's a calm buzz, enough to keep my attention span tuned to the quiet channel. That's enough for me to get some sleep and, yep, that's exactly what I want from my THC cocktail.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Cinco de Mayo 2025: Best tequilas we drank this year

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