How Much Is Don Julio 1942?

Don Julio 1942 is the añejo tequila in the tall, slim bottle, and it is one of the most searched-for bottles we sell. Two questions come up about it more than any others: what it costs, and whether it is worth it. Here is the straight answer to both, plus what is actually in the bottle.

How much is Don Julio 1942?

It sits at the top of the standard Don Julio range and in the upper tier of añejo tequila generally, priced above most of the shelf and below true collector’s bottles. We do not print a dollar figure here because the price changes by state, by retailer and over time; the current price for a 750 mL bottle in your area is on Saucey’s Don Julio page once you enter your address. Delivery fees, if any, are shown before you order.

What it is

Don Julio 1942 was released in 2002 to mark the 60th anniversary of the year Don Julio González started distilling in Atotonilco el Alto, in the highlands of Jalisco. It is made from 100% blue Weber agave, distilled at the La Primavera distillery, and aged for at least two and a half years in American white oak, which is about a year longer than the legal minimum for an añejo. It is bottled at 40% ABV. The brand has been owned by Diageo since 2014.

The aging gives it a deep amber color and a flavor built around caramel, vanilla, warm oak and roasted agave, with a long, sweet finish. It is a soft, dessert-leaning style of tequila rather than a sharp, peppery one.

Is it worth it?

That depends on how you drink tequila. Don Julio 1942 is made to be sipped neat or over a single large ice cube, the way you would drink an aged whiskey or a cognac; that is where the oak, caramel and vanilla show up. Used in a margarita or a mixed drink, most of what you are paying for disappears behind the lime and the mixer, and Don Julio Blanco or Reposado will serve you better for a lot less. If you want an aged tequila to drink on its own, or to give to someone who does, it is a well-made example of the style and a bottle most people recognize.

As a gift

It is one of the most-gifted tequilas in the country, in part because of the bottle. It tends to sell out in the run-up to the holidays, so if you need one for December, order early.

How the rest of the range compares

• Don Julio Blanco: unaged, crisp, citrus and pepper. The one for margaritas and palomas.
• Don Julio Reposado: eight months in oak. Light gold, a little vanilla, still bright enough to mix.
• Don Julio Añejo: 18 months in oak. Fuller and rounder; sips well and holds up in an old fashioned.
• Don Julio 70: an añejo filtered back to clear, aged 18 months. Oak flavor without the color.
• Don Julio 1942: at least two and a half years in oak. Neat or on a big cube.
• Don Julio Real and Ultima Reserva: extra añejo bottlings aged three to five years, priced well above 1942.

For brand-to-brand comparisons, see Casamigos vs Don Julio and Patrón vs Don Julio.

Getting it delivered

Enter your address on the Saucey app or at saucey.com, add Don Julio 1942 to your cart and check out. We deliver in as fast as 25 mins in the cities we serve.