The Silver Bullet

Transparent yet complex, the latest blanco tequilas are going platinum.

Conventional tequila wisdom has always had it that blanco tequilas were only good for mixing into cocktails, while the aged versions—reposado and anejo—were the ones meant for sipping. Basic, clear tequila was at the bottom rung of a ladder that, when ascended, took you to wood-aged versions, which were smoother, mellower, sweeter—and the most expensive.

While tequila brands continue to tout their new, spendy “ultra-aged” concoctions, they are simultaneously making a subtle case for clear tequilas, both in price and in quality, that they’ve never made before. Of course, they don’t call them blanco anymore, instead preferring such terms as plata (silver) and platino (platinum).

According to Jake Lustig, tequila specialist for distributor Southern Wine and Spirits, the rise of silver tequila comes down to basically one brand: You guessed it—Patrón. Patrón made inroads into celebrity culture on the back of the popularity of vodka in the ’80s and ’90s, and during a time when Latin culture was getting hip—think Miami Vice—it became the go-to tequila, a reputation the brand still enjoys today. Clear spirits also have an aura of purity and healthfulness that brown spirits don’t benefit from, and are easily mixable. “It can almost be said that Patrón owns the blanco segment by nurturing that marriage of European sophistication and health with something that’s quintessentially New World and exotic,” Lustig says. “It’s baffled the industry. Nobody can remember a brand doing as well. They’ve almost doubled their business in the last five years.”

But now other brands are trying to get in on the action. Last fall, Jose Cuervo released its Platino, which retails for more than $50. Other high-quality blancos, such as El Tesoro and 4 Copas, have gotten nearly as expensive. And Patrón has even upped its own game by creating Gran Patrón Platinum, which sells for $200 a bottle.

Are these high prices for unaged tequila worth paying? Of course, it depends on which brands you’re talking about, but in many cases, they are—especially if the tequila comes from the Tequila highlands in Mexico, where agave is harder to grow but produces more flavorful and complex tequilas. (The Tequila zone is basically divided between the highlands and the lowlands; the difference in quality is analogous to wine grapes from rocky, hillside vineyards and deep, rich valley-floor ones.) “Cuervo is a lowland producer,” Lustig told me, “but for the Platino, they sourced only highland agave.”

We’ll be seeing more of this trend. The benefits of highland agave can be compounded by using a very specific portion of the distillate—going for quality over quantity—and discarding the rest. This is also what makes certain brands pricey. But the proof is in the bottle. The best blancos have complex, peppery, floral aromatics and a pronounced, lengthy finish—they’re tequilas you can sip. 

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