By Alexandra Harper 
Tequila is a very popular drinking drink all over the world. Some of the best hotels and restaurants in Europe and the mountains of Jalisco, Mexico, serve tequila. You can find it behind almost every bar, everyplace. You won’t just find one type; there are different kinds of tequila, like blanco and reposado.
You may have noticed that the different tequila bottles behind a bar are not all the same color. They range from clear to pale yellow to dark gold. The tastes are also different, just like the colors.
Not sure which one to pick the next time you want a drink?
Here are some notes on how to taste blanco tequila and how it tastes when aged.
Tequila tastes get better over time.
It helps to know how tequila is made in order to understand why blanco and reposado tequila taste so different. People love tequila, but the process is long and complicated. To make this popular Mexican drink, you only need three things: Blue Weber agave, water, and yeast.
Some people think that making tequila is a long and complicated process, but all it takes are three things:
- The Blue Weber agave
- Water
- Yeast
So why do blanco and reposado look and taste so different?
Because of how old they are.
Once the distillation process is done, the tequila is ready to be put into bottles. Blancos don’t need to be aged, so they can be put in bottles right away. Barrel-aged reposado is kept for up to eleven months. When it sits in the barrel for a longer time, it gets darker and tastes more like the barrel.
This piece from Cierto goes into more detail about how tequila is made and how the taste changes so much with age.
What does Blanco Tequila taste like?
Blanco is clear. It is also known as plata or silver. It’s the best form of tequila because it hasn’t been aged, so it tastes most like agave. It tastes like pure agave because nothing has changed the way it tastes. Since age makes the spirit smoother, blanco is more crisp and sharp than reposado, añejo, or extra añejo tequilas.
Blanco has a fresh taste with strong lemon and flower notes. Because it has a sharp bite, it goes well with many foods, such as
- Shrimp on the grill
- Oysters
- Sushi
- Cheeses that are young
Blanco has a very different taste when drunk straight up, and it goes great with fresh, citrus-based drinks. This article tells you which brands of blanco tequila are the best.
What does Reposado Tequila taste like?
Reposado tequila is exactly what it sounds like: rested. However, it is not a drink. Reposado is aged in wood barrels for at least two months and up to eleven months after it has been distilled.
It gets more like the barrels it was kept in as it ages. It also gets a light yellow color. It makes a spirit that is smooth and refined, and it often has light butterscotch, caramel, and cinnamon notes. Because of these tastes, it goes well with:
- Beef
- Pork
- Meat that has been cured and dried
- Cheeses that have been aged
Many of the natural tastes of the agave are still in reposado because it has been aged for less than a year. If you’ve never tried tequila before, reposado is the best way to get started. It’s a little smoother than blanco but not as complex as añejo, which is kept for up to three years.
How to get the most out of Blanco and Reposado tequila
Tequila lovers agree that drinking it straight up or on the rocks is the best way to enjoy it. Because it doesn’t need mixers, you can enjoy all of its real, unique flavors. But besides that, it tastes great mixed into a lot of different drinks.
Blanco is the most common type of tequila used in drinks. The natural agave can be tasted in crisp and refreshing mixed drinks like the paloma, margarita, and ranch water. This makes for a light and refreshing alcoholic drink.
With its pale gold color, reposado is the best choice for Mexican mules and espresso martinis made with tequila. If you like how smooth reposado is instead of how crisp blanco is, you can use it in hot margaritas and palomas with grapefruit juice and fresh lime just as well.
Choose an additive-free tequila when you’re shopping.
Blue Weber agave, yeast, and water are the three main things that make up all tequila. There are brands that only use these three ingredients, but most brands also have additives. Often, glycerin, sugar-based syrups, caramel coloring, and oak extract are added to tequila to make it taste better and look darker, as if it had been aged longer.
According to experts, the best tequila is always the one that doesn’t have any additives. Find a full list of brands that are certified to not contain any additives here.
That being said
There are people who like blanco and people who like reposado. Some people like to drink their favorite spirit straight up, while others like it made into a cocktail.
There is no best or worst way to drink tequila or say something. It depends on what you like, and the only way to know which one you like best is to try a lot of them.