Tequila is sold in five legal age classes, blanco, joven, reposado, añejo and extra añejo, plus cristalino, which is a filtration treatment rather than a class. The classes are defined by minimum time in oak under Mexico’s tequila standard, NOM-006, and that is the difference between them.
This page used to carry flavour notes, price ranges and quotes from bartenders describing each type. We sell these bottles, so describing them is advertising rather than information, and prices go stale. Both are gone, along with the quotes. What is left is the rulebook, which is the part you can verify on the label.
Tequila Types at a Glance
| Type | Legal ageing requirement | Colour | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blanco (Silver / Plata) | Unaged, or less than 2 months in oak | Clear | Margarita, Paloma, most cocktails |
| Joven (Gold / Oro) | Blanco blended with aged tequila, or blanco with permitted colouring and flavouring | Light gold | Cocktails |
| Reposado | At least 2 months and less than 1 year in oak, any barrel size | Straw to light gold | Cocktails or neat |
| Añejo | At least 1 year and less than 3 in oak barrels of 600 L or less | Amber | Neat, or in whiskey-style cocktails |
| Extra Añejo | At least 3 years in oak barrels of 600 L or less | Deep amber | Neat |
| Cristalino | Any aged class, then charcoal-filtered to remove colour; labelled by its underlying class | Clear | Neat or on ice |
The standard permits caramel colouring, oak extract, glycerine and sugar syrup in small amounts in most classes, so colour alone does not prove time in wood. “100% de agave” on the label means no non-agave sugars were used in fermentation; plain “tequila” can use up to 49% other sugars.
Blanco (Silver / Plata) Tequila
Bottled directly after distillation, or rested in steel or in oak for under two months. Because it has had no meaningful contact with wood, blanco is the class where the agave, the cooking method and the still are the only variables, and it is the base for nearly every tequila cocktail: the Margarita, the Paloma, the Ranch Water. How tequila is made covers those variables.
Joven (Gold / Oro) Tequila
Joven is made one of two ways, and the label does not have to say which. Either a blanco is blended with a reposado or añejo, or a blanco has permitted colouring and flavouring added to give it a gold colour. A joven labelled “100% de agave” is the blended kind; a joven without that phrase is usually a mixto with additives. The gold vs silver page covers this in more detail. Historically the class most used for shots and the Tequila Sunrise.
Reposado Tequila
“Rested.” At least two months and less than a year in oak. The standard sets no barrel size limit for reposado, so producers use anything from used American whiskey barrels to large vats, and the effect of two months in a 200 L bourbon barrel and eleven months in a 20,000 L vat is not the same thing even though both are legally reposado. Producers who want you to know the difference say so on their site.
Añejo Tequila
“Aged.” At least one year and less than three, in oak barrels no larger than 600 litres. The barrel-size cap matters: it guarantees a minimum ratio of wood surface to liquid, which is why añejo picks up colour and wood character in a way that a large-vat reposado does not. Añejo is sometimes used in place of bourbon in an Old Fashioned, and the substitution works because both spirits have spent years in oak.
Extra Añejo Tequila
Added to the standard in 2006. At least three years in oak barrels of 600 L or less, with no maximum. This is generally the most expensive class, and the reason is inventory: three or more years of barrels sitting in a warehouse losing volume to evaporation before anything can be sold. That is a cost, not a claim about what is in the glass. Don Julio 1942 is the most widely stocked example; more on how that bottle came to be here.
Cristalino Tequila
Not a legal class. A cristalino is an aged tequila, usually añejo or extra añejo, filtered through activated charcoal to strip out the colour and some of the tannin picked up from the barrel. The bottle must still carry its underlying class on the label. The category is recent, commercially led, and debated within the industry, since the filtration removes some of what the ageing added. Whether that trade is worth the price is a question the label cannot answer for you.
A note on strength
Age class does not change the alcohol. Tequila is bottled between 35% and 55% ABV, and nearly everything sold in the US is 40%, blanco and extra añejo alike. A 1.5 oz pour of any of them is one US standard drink. A Margarita with 2 oz of tequila and 1 oz of orange liqueur is close to two.
The fine print
What’s available depends on your address. Enter it and we’ll show you what’s in stock nearby at saucey.com/tequila-mezcal. Delivery is $4.99, plus applicable taxes and fees, shown before you order, as fast as 25 minutes in the best case. Alcohol is 21 and up. ID at the door, every time, no exceptions and no negotiating with the driver.
