Don Julio Añejo

If the 1942 is the special-occasion Don Julio, this is the one you actually keep on the shelf. Don Julio's añejo spends around 18 months in American white oak, and it sits in that sweet spot where the barrel has done real work without burying the agave that started it all.

The house was founded by Don Julio González in the highlands of Los Altos, Jalisco — the same red-earth, high-altitude country that gives the fruit-forward, slightly floral style the distillery is known for. The agave is 100% Blue Weber, slow-matured before harvest, and the aim here has always been elegance over muscle.

Expect a nose of citrus — lime and mandarin — laced with caramel and vanilla. The palate is silky and rounded: wild honey, toasted oak, baked pear, a gentle knock of pepper. It finishes warm and long with cocoa and a faint line of light tobacco. There's polish everywhere, and no burn to speak of. Bottled at 38%, it's an easy, confident sipper that never asks too much of you.

This is the pour for an ordinary Tuesday that deserves better, or the añejo to hand a friend who thinks they don't like tequila. It'll change their mind.

How to Serve

Neat in a copita to appreciate the oak, or over a single large cube on a warm evening if you prefer it long and cool. Skip the lime and salt — this one's beyond that.

Where to Drink It

Soho Whisky Club for a knowledgeable, unfussy pour. Tayēr + Elementary for a modern agave-led take. Swift in Soho when the night's just getting going.

Food Pairings

Try it alongside slow-cooked short rib, or a wedge of aged Gouda with toasted almonds.