Can the best-selling spirit in a category really be something tasty? Or is it just swill wrapped up in an expensive marketing package? It depends on whether we’re talking about an export market or the origination market. The best-selling tequila in Mexico probably deserves a B- on the grading scale: Tequila Centenario Reposado.
With tequila, the phrase “100% blue agave” matters more than the brand name on the bottle. This is why the best-selling tequila in the USA is awful, but the best-selling tequila in Mexico is more than decent. The funny thing is, they’re both bottled by Jose Cuervo and sold by Proximo Spirits in the USA, with the same owners that are descendants of the original Cuervo family. They say this brand is still “family-owned,” but it’s a mighty big family.
In the awful not 100% agave category is what most people worldwide associate with the world’s largest tequila producer and that would be Jose Cuervo Gold. This is a prime example, like Bacardi rum for instance, where sales have no correlation to quality. That’s a “mixto” tequila where you don’t really know what’s in it and if you drink it straight you may get one of those infamous tequila hangovers many of us remember from college parties.
Gran Centenario is a different story, however, one you can drink neat without making a face or leaving your glass half-full on the table. You’ll probably feel golden the next day if you’re doing shots or sipping.
The Best-selling Tequila in Mexico…Maybe
Since we started Luxury Latin America back in the ’00s and started writing about spirits, we’ve seen three brands touted as the best-selling one in Mexico. All are certainly plausible based on supermarket shelf space, what you see available in Oxxo, and what bartenders seem to be pouring the most in cantinas and restaurants. It’s entirely possible that Jimador, Cazadoras, and now Gran Centenario tequila have all worn the crown in different years. They’re all ubiquitous throughout the country, from Baja to Quintana Roo and places in between.
I do find it interesting that two of the three are not made by Cuervo, the market leader overall, but they are all priced at a level normal people can afford, somewhere between US$12 and $22 depending on the current exchange rate. All are drinkable and you won’t be tossed out of a party for bringing any of the three.
Centenario Tequila is the most expensive of the three though, in the fanciest bottle, so I was a bit surprised to see the press releases from their distributor saying this brand is on top now. Hey, maybe the whole country is moving a bit upscale, despite the high inflation that has hit seemingly every grocery product everywhere. I just haven’t seen any independent verification from some kind of institution that would measure this sort of thing.
A Long History for Centenario Reposado
Unlike the dozens of tequila brands that have popped up in recent years, many of them better known for the celebrity owner than what’s in the bottle, this brand has a long history to point to. This is a brand with heritage, not something cooked up by committee to meet a certain demographic target. It’s been around since the late 1800s.
The founding date is listed as 1857, back in a time when a founder could call himself a “master distiller” and be the first one with that grandiose title. Lázaro Gallardo pioneered the technique of blending different tequila barrels together to get the ideal mix, for the purpose of consistent quality rather than (as some do now) to enhance the listed age of the whole batch.
Things really got rolling at the end of the century, when in 1895 the brand got the Gran Centenario name it has today and went on sale in bottles. The next big step was the bottle itself. How many brands have the same bottle design they’ve had for 100 years? Not many, but it’s because this one was ahead of its time. The founder’s son was inspired by the Art Deco movement and they produced a bottle design that took those principles to heart. It probably looked incredibly futuristic then and today it is still a unique design, easily standing apart from the other brands of tequila at this price point on the shelf.
There’s one other key element: that angel on the label. Here’s the story behind that, according to the company:
The bottle is adorned with the “The Angel of Independence,” inspired by the Mexican Centenario gold bullion coin, minted to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mexico’s independence in 1910.
Tequila Centenario Reposado Tasting Notes
I reported on my first meaningful encounters with the Centenario tequila brand back in 2010 when I first moved to Mexico. After two weekends of somebody going “I can’t believe we drank that whole bottle in one night,” I took it as a sign that I need to do a Gran Centenario tequila review. Since then, I’ve had it neat a dozen times, made cocktails with it, and enjoyed it at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico.
Although this reposado is bottled in Tequila town, it has its roots in Los Altos–the highlands–and is a sweeter, more fruity tequila than most of what comes out of the house of Cuervo. Not all the way though: that comes through more in the nose and the finish than it does when the liquor hits your tongue and moves across your taste buds.
Although it’s kind of hard to explain, to me there’s a bit of an industrial, middle-of-the-road overtone to it, like I’m tasting something clearly made in giant quantities in a big factory that will appeal to the masses. Most tequila brands you’ve heard of are made that way, of course, but perhaps in this case it’s the way they roast the tequila in stainless steel ovens and take a few modern shortcuts to bump up the production.
Gran Centenario reposado has won some blind-tasting awards here and there though, so they’re not just coasting on their reputation.
It’s a minor complaint though because this really is a solid tequila that is not going to make you wince or let you down because there are off flavors poking through to the front. It’s a well-rounded one. If someone who had never had this spirit asked, “What does tequila taste like?” you could do far worse than sticking a glass of this one in front of them. It’s a good representation of the form.
Where the tequila Centenario Reposado really shines is in cocktails since those subtle elements fall by the wayside anyway and you really just want the agave to cut through the citrus, the salt, or whatever else is mixed in. If you are in Mexico and you’re bellying up to the bar at an all-inclusive resort or grabbing something from a convenience store to make margaritas in your rental condo, this is a choice that’s going to make most people happy and it’s not at a price point where you’ll feel guilty mixing it.
What is the Cost of Gran Centenario Tequila?
If you buy this brand in Mexico, Gran Centenario tequila will normally cost less than 400 pesos for the reposado version, even less for the unaged blanco version. When the exchange rate is 20 to 1 that’s easy math, but at the time I’m writing this it comes out to a maximum of $22. You’ll usually pay less than 400 though.
Prices are more variable in the USA, where I’ve seen it as low as $26 (grab it!) to as high as $42 (pass). I haven’t tried the añejo version in a really long time so I’m not reviewing that here, but when I looked online right now I saw that for $35 at Bevmo, which is a terrific bargain. It should be a good sipper and you can’t go wrong at that price. The silver version isn’t much less than the reposado usually though, so unless you love the unaged clear version, just go with the smoother one that has spent some time in oak barrels.
If you’re willing to splurge, there is a premium version of this tequila that I’ve seen in duty-free stores and locked up behind glass in Mexican supermarkets, but I haven’t had a chance to sample it yet. That would be Gran Centenario Leyeda (legend), supposedly based on the founder’s original recipe for the special aged version he shared with close friends. It’s a darker añejo than most and comes in a much heavier bottle with the same Art Deco elements.
One thing has improved greatly since I first started writing about this brand: they now have a working website and it’s in English even. See more information here.
