New Premium Tequila Bottles Refine and Redefine Tastes

Over the past 15 years, premium tequila has gained a status in the U.S. on par with ultra-premium vodkas and single malt scotches.

29/09/07 Successful wine and spirits bottles connect with sophisticated consumers by telling an authentic story visually and verbally. The problem with the tequila category is that the brand stories could become quite similar, as most tequila comes from a relatively small region in western Mexico where there are currently over 100 distilleries making over 2,000 different brand variety names.

The finest tequilas are made from 100% blue agave plant juices. For the uninitiated, fine tequilas are best enjoyed slightly chilled, straight, and sipped, and fine tequila bottles are often hand-blown in the rich Mexican tradition. The word tequila can be considered a brand that is promoted and protected by an organization known as the CRT (Regulating Council of the Tequila, A.C.). The CRT objectives concerning packaging authenticity include registering new distilleries by assigning them a "NOM" number and making sure that all premium tequilas that claim to be 100% agave are authentic and bottled in Mexico.

Over the past 15 years, premium tequila has gained a status in the U.S. on par with ultra-premium vodkas and single malt scotches. Consumers are now looking for authentic stories behind the brands and bottles, particularly the pricier tequilas claiming premium quality and artisan traditions. The owners of the tequila brands are trying new ways to tell their stories, and ultra-premium offerings allow the most freedom to modernize tequila traditions.

The now-well-established Patrón brand set the standard in the mid-range 100% agave space for quality, consistency, and packaging in the '90s and has yet to be truly challenged. Mark Cannon, founder and owner of recommends that new tequila brands create a distinctive bottle design that reflects the core personality of the tequila brand while keeping the total price in the mid-range. "You either have a story or you don't," Cannon remarks.