Tequila help, difference is silver, gold, anejo..?

Question

How long is it aged for it to be anejo?

Answer 1

Whiskeyman is pretty much right on, but I gotta point out a couple things.

There are no limits to length of aging on reposado or anejo.

Reposado is aged at least 2 months

Anejo is aged at least a year

A few tequila distilleries actually age their reposados longer than their anejo, such as Don Julio.

PS - Pleas don't ever buy "Gold" tequila. All it is is Blanco with caramel coloring and extra c**p added into it to make it look aged. Metabolizing all that extra c**p gives your body too much to do while it's trying to process the alcohol and BOOM, you're hovering over the toilet.

Most people can trace their worst alcohol experiences back to 3 types of alcohol - Cuervo Gold, Bacardi Gold, and Capt Morgan

Answer 2

There are only 3 main categories in Mexico, no matter what Wikipedia says:

Blanco (because it's totally clear) - no aging. Sometimes called silver or white in the US.

Reposado - minimally aged at least 2 months, but can be up to 1 year. Sometimes called gold in the US.

Anejo - heavily aged, minimally 1 year but less than 3 years.

There are some anejos that are aged longer than that, such as Don Julio Real or Herradura Selecion Suprema, and yes, in the US those are sometimes labeled Extra Anejo.

Notice the wide variance in the minimum and maximum aging lengths.  That can affect the flavor considerably.  A tequila such as Dos Lunas, for instance, always ages theirs to the maximum.

To get the correct tequila experience, don't drink anything that doesn't say 100% agave (like junk like regular Cuervo or Sauza). These are cheap poorly made tequilas designed to sell to college kids to get drunk. They are only 51% real tequila, and the rest are fillers like corn syrup and grain alcohol (and thus the hangover the next day is born).

Also consider how you're going to drink it.

Slammed shots - go for a blanco. Anything else is a waste of flavor and $$

Sipped shots (how I recommend it) - go for anejo only and savor with no salt and a squeeze of lime. Chilled or on the rocks is good as is straight.

Margarita - anejo is a waste, especially if the place isn't using fresh squeezed lime juice. Go for blanco or reposado.

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sleeepybb - I think you're right about the limits on anejo, but everything I have ever read does put a limit on reposado, unless that has changed recently and of course logically it makes sense that if they age it beyond 11 months they would just call it anejo so they could charge more.

Answer 3

basically blanco (unaged), reposado (1-6 months) anejo (over 6 months)

they each have their own merits ... remember only 100% de agave is real tequila.

Answer 4

IDK but Patron silver is bomb!

Answer 5

It all tastes the same after 2 shots so don't worry about it...

Answer 6

Tequila is usually bottled in one of five categories:[5]

-blanco ("white") or plata ("silver") – white spirit, un-aged and bottled or stored immediately after distillation, or aged less than two months in oak barrels;[14]

-oro ("gold") – un-aged "blanco" tequila, blended with rested or aged tequilas, and often with caramel coloring, sugar-based syrup, glycerin, and/or oak extract added so as to resemble aged tequila;

-reposado ("rested") – aged a minimum of two months, but less than a year in oak barrels;

-añejo ("aged" or "vintage") – aged a minimum of one year, but less than 3 years in oak barrels;

-extra añejo ("extra aged" or "ultra aged") – aged a minimum of three years in oak barrels.