Aged to Perfection: 5 Best Extra Añejo Tequilas Worth the Splurge in 2025

This article is a part of Agave Spirits Week, a week of content celebrating tequila, mezcal and other distilled spirits crafted from agave. Click here to check out the rest of our Agave Spirits Week content, which focuses on the best distilleries to visit in Mexico, the best agave spirits of the year, unique agave cocktail recipes and more.

Tequila is a spirit defined first and foremost by the unaged blanco. And for good reason. There’s no better place to find all those signature flavors of agave, citrus, tilled earth and herbs under the same roof, especially if you’re unwilling to splurge on the kinds of ultra-aged spirits that bourbon and scotch whisky are renowned for.

But let’s say — hypothetically — that you’ve got some money to spend. Times have been good and you’re looking for a splashy gift that’s sure to impress. Or, better yet, your liquor collection needs a new centerpiece. What does agave have to offer?

We’ve compiled a list of five spectacular extra añejos (aged a minimum of three years) that are well worth their steep asking price. All are confirmed additive-free, and all trace their lineage to fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation distillers that have been working in the industry since the early 1900s. Though seniority isn’t always the hallmark of a quality spirit, it definitely is here.

Don Fulano Imperial

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The Fonseca family is the undisputed champ of all things extra añejo. Operating out of the Tequileña distillery in the valleys of Jalisco, the clan has toiled endlessly to perfect their craft, at one point releasing the oldest tequila ever known to market through Fuenteseca. The Fonsecas are also responsible for the budget-friendly Cimarron, the much-loved ArteNOM Seleccion de 1446 and, today’s topic of interest, Don Fulano.

The brand’s Imperial is bottled from reserves aged between five and 12 years in dark European oak before finishing in Oloroso sherry casks. It’s an influence you can spot at first whiff. The aroma is dominated by a formidable roasted sugar note that combines with hints of herbs and lemon zest. It’s sweet, but not saccharine; potent but none too overwhelming. The palate takes things a step further with flavors of brown butter, pepper, bread crumbs and cocoa nibs, followed by a drawn-out finish defined by agave and the lightest hint of funkiness.

There’s a level of complexity here that most extra añejos can only dream of. Yet, it’s paired with incredibly accessible base flavors that should be right at home for any kind of drinker. The dark-blue decanter costs around $170.

Taptio Excelencia

(Photo: Tapatio)

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Tapatio is a classic for good reason. Launched in 1937 by the Camarena family, the brand has endured over the decades with a lean portfolio that epitomizes the best of what additive-free tequila has to offer. Tapatio 110 is hands down one of our favorite high-proof blancos, simmering with a potent mix of plum, blueberry, black pepper and salinity. Tapatio Excelencia, meanwhile, is easily one of our favorite extra añejos.

Aged five years in deeply charred American oak barrels before resting an additional 10 years in glass, Excelencia provides a flavor bomb of everything ultra-aged. Aromas of prickly pear, tobacco, vanilla and sour grapes kick things off with an unexpectedly light and fruity touch. But the flavor and finish are anything but, honing in on heady flavors of roasted agave, butterscotch, dark chocolate and pastries. A smoky note introduces a vibe not entirely unlike mezcal, lingering on the finish alongside a healthy serving of cloves and cinnamon.

For whatever reason, prices for Tapatio Excelencia vary wildly, ranging from $170 on the low end up all the way up to $650. We’d say it’s worth the splurge anywhere under $200.

Cierto Tequila Private Collection Extra Añejo

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In the tequila world, you’ll sometimes find a bottle so tall that it struggles to fit into a horizontal photo. Amid a sea of ludicrously large, occasionally ostentatious decanters, none takes the cake quite like Cierto.

This one-and-a-half-foot skyscraper of agave is among the latest launches from Tequileña, the distillery responsible for three of the five extra añejos mentioned on this list. Clearly, they’ve got a type. And no one can deny they’ve perfected it. Cierto Private Collection Extra Añejo is aged 48 months in French Limousin oak, resting a full two years longer than the brand’s añejo, which we were also quite a fan of.

The tequila opens with lovely aromas of fresh-baked bread, honey, lime zest and brulée that signal many of the flavors to come. On the palate, an experience equal parts peppery and tropical, defined by flashes of bold agave, clay, slate, papaya and oozing caramel. The finish introduces a potent brown sugar note alongside unexpected vibes of sesame oil and fresh ginger. The season in mind? Late winter. The occasion? Just cashed your Christmas bonus. Cierto Private Collection Extra Añejo clocks in at a mighty $180.

Tears of Llorona Extra Añejo

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Tears of Llorona is the rare tequila brand synonymous with a single expression. Packed inside every 1-liter bottle is one of the finest extra añejos that money can buy, aged in a combination of scotch, sherry and brandy oak casks for a minimum of five years before being blended by maestro tequilero Germán González Gorrochotegui. The process has a lot more in common with conventional whiskey than an agave spirit, as is Tears of Llorona’s pleasantly high alcohol content of 43% ABV.

It’s a tequila that fires on all cylinders. Aromas of sweet orange, baking spice, pear and barrel char give way to a powerfully rich palate brimming with cloves, fuji apple, cinnamon and oak. Were you to attach a maple syrup tapper onto a heaping pile of roasted agave, it’d probably taste something like this. The finish rounds out the experience with a dry, tannic touch, adding gobs more of that oak influence peppered all across the nose and palate.

Prices for Tears of Llorona hover around $250. Lowering the bar of entry, if only slightly, the brand also offers a 375-milliliter version that costs $160.

El Tequileño Limited Edition Extra Añejo

(Photo: El Tequileno)

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Last year, El Tequileño toasted its 65th anniversary with the release of a limited edition extra añejo. Crafted under the guidance of father and son duo Juan Antonio Salles and Jorge Antonio “Tony” Salles, this is another tequila that takes not-so-subtle inspiration from scotch whisky blending. The distillate inside each decanter was split between three cask types before bottling: one matured for four years and nine months in ex-Jack Daniel’s barrels, another aged three years in French Oak casks that previously held El Tequileño reserves and a third aged four years in one month in unused French oak.

Now, to address the elephant in the room. Though this celebratory release may have been limited in quantity (a slim 1,000 bottles), it certainly wasn’t limited in price (a minimum of $700 if your local retailer is forgiving). Our eyebrows raised a few inches upon hearing the news. Especially given that El Tequileño is a brand best known for its $20 Blanco.

Lo and behold, we had a chance to try this at release and were wildly impressed. Far from overoaked, the extra añejo opened with soothing aromas of buttercream, apricot and caramel reminiscent of a lightly aged reposado. The palate, meanwhile, opened with a wallop of roasted agave and orange rind, eventually giving way to hints of vanilla, honey, tilled earth and macadamia nuttiness. Crème brulée takes charge on the backend, once again subduing the “extra” you might expect from an extra añejo.