tequila mixto

Tequila mixto is generic for a tequila comprised of a blend of at least 51% blue agave distillate and the rest being some other (generally neutral) distillate, most commonly produced from fermented sugar syrup. It is also permitted to add caramel color, glycerin, sugar-based sweeteners and even oak extract to mixtos. Tequila mixto makes up a large portion of the tequila on the market and nearly the entirety of the inexpensive end of the market. Mixto is a way of stretching limited supplies of blue agave distillate to yield larger amounts of product and provide tequila at lower price points in the market. It’s important to keep in mind that tequila mixto is not inherently “poor quality”, although some of it certainly is. As of this writing, the biggest problem with Tequila mixto is that its distribution, marketing and labeling is opaque and arguably deceptive. For example, a large portion of mixtos are aged (if at all), blended and bottled in the United States from imported bulk tequila distillate. In other words, a lot of mixto product is of murky provenance. Moreover, there is some doubt whether much of this US-bottled mixto on the market even meets official minimum requirement of 51% blue agave distillate by volume. Caveat emptor. You are unlikely to encounter a tequila actually labeled as “mixto”. The indication that a tequila is NOT a mixto is that the label indicates “100% blue agave”, “100% puro de agave” or “100% de agave”. If the label clearly states it’s 100% agave, then—unless blatant fraud is involved—the contents should be “Tequila agave” and contain nothing other than fermented blue agave distillate (and water).