Clase Azul Unveils Smoked ‘Ahumado’ Tequila, Taking a Page from Mezcal Production

(Photo: Clase Azul)

The undisputed champ of glitzy tequila decanters is reinventing its recipe for a new release.

On Tuesday, Clase Azul unveiled its Blanco Ahumado, which trades the steam ovens of traditional tequila production for an underground pit lit with a combination of firewood and volcanic rock. If that sounds familiar, you’ve probably already acquired a taste for mezcal. The technique pays clear homage to the historic spirit that predates tequila by centuries. In its finer details, however, Ahumado sticks by Clase Azul’s usual playbook — Blue Weber agaves, shredded via roller mill and double distilled in copper pots.

Ahumado will become the sixth permanent addition to Clase Azul’s tequila portfolio alongside its Plata, Gold, Añejo, Ultra and iconic blue-and-white Reposado. Similar to those offerings, Ahumado is delivered in a show-stopping bottle and a well-above-average entry fee. The expression is bottled at 45% ABV and hosts a suggested retail price of $250. No doubt that liquor stores will double the figure in weeks and months to come.

Master distiller Viridiana Tinoco says to expect flavors of fresh plum, red apple, lemon and minerality underpinned by smoke.

“Looking to achieve a smoky profile for this tequila, I set out to capture the essence of traditional mezcal-making, reinterpreting each stage of the process to elevate the unique character of the blue agave, but this time through a deliberate act,” Tinoco added in a statement.

Clase Azul isn’t the first brand to invent a smoked tequila, though it may very well spark the resurgence of a trend.

Following the mezcal boom of the early 2020s, tequila distillers were eager to incorporate the smoky, fashionable flavors of the agave scene’s latest upstart. The quickest route was to replace steam ovens with underground pits. Jose Cuervo’s Maestro Dobel took a stab at the concept with its smoked Humito Silver, Cenote debuted a similarly ashy Ahumado and Patron uncorked not one but two takes on the concept.

In our opinion, most of these options were middling at best. Rather than home in on a best of both worlds, it felt like distillers were experimenting with a technique that fell far outside their wheelhouse. These expressions didn’t find many ways to shine outside of their trademark smoke — the same criticism we often find ourselves leveling at bottom-shelf mezcal. Either for a lack of demand or lack of expertise, the trend emerged and vanished within the span of a few years.

Flash forward to 2025, and Ahumado is back on the menu. Last week, Luxco debuted Cortada, a spin-off tequila brand that steams its agaves before smoking them with a combination of Mesquite and Mexican oak. The brand is backed by whiskey powerhouse MGP, so it’s more than likely to get its fair share of attention in a crowded market. We recently received samples in the mail and are eager to see how this reinvention of the technique worked out.

Now that Clase Azul is getting in on the game as well, it’s easy to imagine that other distillers are perking up their ears and jotting down notes.