Siembra Azul Blanco tequila. Happy Cinco De Mayo and #DrinkoDeMayo! While you’re enjoying your margaritas and tequila shots, here’s some info to hopefully help you find better and tastier tequila to drink.

First, some basics: tequila is the spirit that is distilled from cooked agave plants. Agave nectar is about 50% sweeter than cane sugar, and it’s the sugars from agave that are converted into alcohols during fermentation to create tequila. Although there are many varieties of agave (some which are used to make mezcal, to be classified as tequila, it must specifically be made from the blue agave species grown in (mostly) the Jalisco state of Mexico.

So how can this info help you drink better tequila? Well, there are two main types of tequila on the market – pure 100% agave (“puro”) and mixed (“mixto”). Mixto (most famous being Jose Cuervo) is cheaper because it’s only required to contain 51% agave, with the remaining filled with other non-agave sugars. Given that tequila is defined as a spirit made from agave, a mixto is pretty much just cutting corners and keeping you away from maximum agave deliciousness.

Knowing this, it also means that bottle labels proclaiming “made using blue agave” or “with real blue agave!” are utterly meaningless, since blue agave is the ONLY type of agave allowed for tequila production and if doesn’t contain any agave, it’s not tequila and pretty much just vodka.

So takeaway is: look for “puro” or “100% de agave” on the label when purchasing – mixtos usually are just labeled “tequila” and don’t call out that it’s a mixto. I haven’t tried a TON of different tequilas, but would recommend this Siembra Azul, Herencia, and Cazadores. Have also heard great things about Siete Leguas and Cimarron. Cheers!