Polling Reveals Top 10 Tequila Brands Among Agave Spirits Experts

A first-of-its-kind survey has gotten to the bottom of the demographics, preferences and buying behaviors of America's most involved tequila lovers. The findings were put together by Slingshot, a craft tequila collective spearheaded by social media content creators Jay Baer and Maddie Jager. Described as a "group of like-minded brands trying to make great tequila," the invitation-only membership team includes a smorgasbord of distillers including Alma del Jaguar, El Ateo, La Pulga, Siempre and Tierra de Ensueño. Rather than poll for general preferences, Slingshot honed in on what it calls "tequila seekers" — defined as consumers with at least four bottles in their home collection. Though that may sound like a broad net, the criteria attracted a very specific demographic. According to Slingshot, the average "seeker" is an affluent man aged 40-59 with a household income over $170,000. The majority are concentrated in California, Texas and Florida, where they typically buy bottles from their local liquor store and prioritize confirmed additive-free brands above all else. Common sense tells us that this description probably doesn't fit all Americans with at least four bottles on their bar cart. But survey respondents speak to a type of consumer in and of themselves. These are drinkers chronically involved in online spirits circles — the kind of people who'd probably describe themselves as a hobbyist, enthusiast or otherwise aspiring expert. They talk at length in Reddit and Twitter threads about their favorite and least favorite brands, showing off coveted bottles and the occasional dusty unearthed from an estate sale. This is the vocal subset of tequila drinkers that not only defines the trends, but can perhaps predict them. Most importantly, these are people who have a strong opinion on all the new, talked-about brands, in part because they have enough spending money to sample them all. According to 1,244 respondents across 50 states, the top 10 tequilas among this demographic are: 10. Don Fulano 9. Mijenta 8. Cazcanes 7. Cascahuin 6. Siete Leguas 5. El Tesoro 4. G4 3. LALO 2. Tequila Ocho 1. Fortaleza All the above brands fit within a precise subgenre. Though their founding dates range from 1904 all the way up to 2019, the basic details are similar. These are the confirmed additive-free tequilas that most benefited from the agave influencer boom of the early 2020s, bottles that regularly rank in the upper echelon of sites like Tequila Matchmaker. Prices range quite a bit within this category, with a handful of brands costing no more than $40 a pop and others (particularly Fortaleza and Cascahuin) already approaching that unattainable "unicorn" status. Interestingly, ownership and ethos were non-factors for the majority of respondents. 38% said they cared if a brand was certified organic, while 52% said they cared if a brand was environmentally sustainable. 46% indicated that Mexican brand ownership was important, 11% indicated that female ownership was important and a slim-to-none 2% indicated that celebrity ownership was important. In sharp contrast, 95% said that additive-free tequila was non-negotiable. If nowhere else, this is where the dissonance between quote-unquote "seekers" and everyday consumers is most apparent. The vast majority of best-selling brands contain some form of additives; though it's not a selling point, per se, it is a desirable flavor profile for many consumers. On the other hand, we'd be willing to bet that a fair number of drinkers have a positive opinion of organic, Mexican-owned and women-led brands. However, finding comparative statistics is near-impossible, in part because tequila ownership skews male and corporate. One thing we can probably all agree on is the potential impact of inflation and tariffs. While only 19% of respondents said they'd buy less tequila if prices increased by $5 per bottle, 51% said they'd buy less or "much less" if prices increased by $10. The industry will see whether or not that statistic remains the case in months and years to come. For more insights, we'd highly recommend diving into the full survey results here. If you're interested in learning more about some of the above brands, check out our behind-the-scenes tours of the Tequila Ocho and El Tesoro distilleries. For a better understanding of the additive-free movement, find our interview with LALO Tequila founder Eduardo González. [callout-app-promo]