Premium Tequila: Luxury Sipping or Marketing Ploy?

Premium tequila has taken the industry by storm. But is it a mark of true quality or yet another marketing buzzword? (Photo: Clase Azul)

The tequila industry has witnessed an enormous shift over the past decade.

Tequila supplier revenue in the United States skyrocketed from $1.068 billion in 2004 to $5.162 billion as of 2021, overtaking bourbon, rum, and most recently whiskey to become the second most valuable spirits category in the nation.

As tequila’s status has risen, we’ve seen droves of celebrities and international investors piling into the lucrative world of agave spirits, bringing with them the obligatory assortment of high-profile endorsements and product placements.

Amidst tequila’s increasing marketability, the industry has become dominated by one vaguely defined term: the so-called “premium.”

The language of premiumization is everywhere; from Casamigos to Don Julio to Clase Azul, high-end brands are taking the premium tequila designation in stride. Seemingly, the only time a new brand will pass on this terminology is if they want to describe themselves as an “ultra-premium” instead.

So what does it really mean?

The Rise of Premium

(Photo: Shutterstock/The Image Party)

Above all else, “premium” represents a change in public perception.

For decades, tequila was associated with the college dorm room; more likely than not, a low-quality mixto tequila shot slurped up with a slice of lime and a deafening amount of salt. It’s an experience that leaves many swearing off tequila for the rest of their life.

This is not the image that we see portrayed of tequila today.

Within the language of premiumization, tequila can now be marketed on the top shelf, usually sporting a hundred-plus dollar price tag to boot.

Of course, not all top-shelf tequila is made the same.

Legacy brands that have enamored tequila enthusiasts for decades like Fortaleza, El Tesoro and El Tequileno rarely if ever use the language of premiumization.

Rather, it’s typically new brands — ones without a foothold in the market but with plenty of money to spend — who use the language of “premium” to justify their exorbitant cost.

The Premium Look

Tequila Herradura’s first premium expression, Herradura Legend. (Photo: Herradura)

For many, premiumization is also a look. Specifically, the elusive club tequila look.

Club-friendly tequila has long been dominated by two brands in particular, Don Julio 1942 and Clase Azul. These tall, flashy bottles are a ubiquitous sight behind the counter at nightclubs and high-end bars no matter where you go.

These are the kinds of bottles you might blow a little too much money on during a night out. In the best-case scenario, they’ll even be presented to you with sparklers on top.

The desirability of this premium look has led several old-generation tequila brands to try out new ideas.

In the past few months, Herradura and Patron each debuted their first $150+ premium expressions. These new releases, Herradura Legend and Patron El Alto, look nothing like the short and stout bottles that the brands are best known for.

Rather, they come inside slender decanters decorated with gold highlights, taking obvious design inspiration from the likes of Clase Azul.

Patron has been pushing Patron El Alto extensively through celebrity endorsements, complete with a high-profile fashion statement from Doja Cat at the Valentino Haute Couture fashion show.

In the recently released music video for the “El Alto-inspired” song 2 Live, Offset and Hit Boy are even featured at the club enjoying this newest tequila in all its glory.

Tequila is no longer the “spirit of the party”; in the right bottle, premium tequila serves as a status symbol, one reinforced by the dozens of celebrity-backed brands that have undeniably made the spirit so popular in recent years.

Is Premium Worth the Price?

There are many fantastic tequilas classified under the premium category. There also happen to be a lot of lackluster ones.

Most importantly, “premium” should be understood as an idea, an image of the industry’s intentions, rather than a mark of quality.

Next time you’re looking for a good sipping tequila, feel free to ignore a brand’s look and spend a few minutes looking up their credentials.

Here at The Daily Pour, we do more than write about current events in spirit. We are the only media property reviewing spirits and aggregating the scores and reviews of other significant voices in the spirit world in one place. If you’re interested in getting a shot of spirit in your morning email, sign up for our Whiskey Deal of the Day Newsletter