The World’s 4 Best Tequilas, According To Top Shelf 2025

There are many spirits competitions out there, but those with a reputation strong enough to change the trajectory of a brand that wins an award are few and far between.

The Tasting Alliancefounded in 1980, hosts many of the most well-known and respected spirits and ready-to-drink blind tasting competitions worldwide, including in Asia, Latin America, and New York. Its most prominent competition — and one of the most prestigious globally — is the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC). The Alliance’s annual Top Shelf Awards honor the winners of SFWSC and the San Francisco Ready-to-Drink Competition (SFRTDC) with a weekend of tastings and educational sessions in San Francisco, culminating in a grand gala where the winners are revealed.

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The 2025 Top Shelf Awards recognized tequilas in the blanco, reposado, añejo, and extra añejo categories. The prize-winning white, from Volcano of my Earthalso earned the Best Overall Tequila award. It’s distilled at the Hacienda la Gavilana, located beneath the Tequila Volcano. The Gallardo family, which has lived there since 1774, has grown agave and produced mezcal and tequila for five generations.

However, Volcan de mi Tierra is a relatively new brand, launched by the family and its parent company, LVMH, in 2019.Volcan uses a blend of agaves from the Lowlands and Highlands of Jalisco to create the distinctive flavor of the blanco, which Volcan describes as spicy, citric, and herbal, with fruit-forward notes of cherry and pear. The tequila is made without additives, using only yeast, water, and agave for the blanco variant.

The award for best reposado tequila (meaning it has been barrel-aged for up to 12 months) went to Aguasoldistilled at Cascahuín Distillery in northwestern Jalisco. Tequilas from Cascahuin are known for their minerality, and Aguasol Reposado is no exception. Aged for three months in ex-bourbon barrels, it also features subtle agave notes, hints of caramel, and influence from the barrel, according to the brand.

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Taking home the award for best añejo tequila (barrel-aged for 1-3 years) was Certain’s Private Collection vintage. Cierto claims to be the world’s most awarded tequila, with than 1,100 awards to date, even though it’s only been available in America for a couple of years. Crafted by master distillers Enrique Fonseca and Sergio Mendoza, it’s made with estate-grown agave from the Highlands of Jalisco, which is double-distilled in both pot and column stills and then aged for 18 months in French Limousin oak.

The casks in which it’s matured have previously held Cognac, fine wine, and Armagnac. The brand describes the añejo as elegantly smooth, with deep notes of French oak, coffee, and Burgundy.

Enrique Fonseca and Sergio Mendoza also have a hand in the winning extra añejo tequila (barrel-aged for three years or longer): Don Fulano Imperial. Don Fulano’s history dates back than 140 years, when the Fonseca family first began cultivating agave, but the brand itself was established in 2002, when Enrique started distilling at the former La Tequileña distillery, which the family had acquired. Don Fulano Imperial, distilled by Fonseca and blended by Mendoza, is matured in French Limousin oak and ex-sherry casks for at least five years. Don Fulano describes it as exceptionally rich, with notes of dried black cherries, apricots, sweet brown spices, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper.

The winning tequilas were chosen from several hundred entries at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The field was narrowed down to 19 Double Gold medal winners, from which the four Top Shelf winners were selected.

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