This Is the Best Tequila of 2025, According to the London Spirits Competition

Earlier this spring, the London Spirits Competition (LSC) convened a panel of prestigious judges for a multi-day tasting in the heart of its namesake city. Their expert palates encountered thousands of liquids across every significant category of liquor, evaluating each based on quality both inside and outside the bottle. And that’s not an accident. In the crowded realm of professional booze judging, LSC stands apart as one that accounts for value and packaging aesthetics in its overall scores; numbers which range from 0–100. 

When it comes to agave spirit, the big winner in London was also a big surprise. The judges reserved their highest marks for Tequila Gran Orendain Reposado. It’s a relatively obscure bottling that remains largely unknown to American drinkers. But not anymore. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 Tequila of the Year. 

Gran Orendain is the eponymous label of Tequila Orendain de Jalisco, a 95-year-old distillery situated in the region’s fertile Lowlands, or “El Valle.” It operates just west of the actual town of tequila. The facility currently produces over a dozen labels. The most famous examples here in the United States include Komos, Flecha Azul, and Cutwater — widely beloved liquids, to be sure. Clearly, the hardworking artisans here know something about crafting consistent quality.

And the judges at the London Spirits Competition obviously agree. In awarding Gran Orendain Reposado a best-in-show 96 points, they provided the following by way of tasting notes: “Subtle minerality and a light floral touch on the nose give way to a peppery palate, finishing short but clean with faint cereal warmth and crisp simplicity.” 

Generally speaking, these observations are right in line with what we’d expect from a Lowland tequila. Built from 100% blue weber agave grown in soils rich with volcanic earth, they are typically generous with vegetal, peppery, and mineral-forward harmonies. Overall, they offer drinkers a drier, spicier sip than their fruitier, more floral counterparts culled from the Highlands (Los Altos) of Jalisco. 

But Gran Orendain Reposado leans into these tonalities with unabashed glee. It could reasonably be argued that it’s a prototypical example of Lowland tequila. And, indeed, it’s produced in a markedly traditional fashion: its piñas were cooked in autoclaves and extracted using roller mills, prior to a double distillation in stainless pot stills, with copper coils. 

Straightforward techniques, employed with expertise, often result in a spirit that comes off as “crisp” and “clean.” Nevertheless, aficionados who are unimpressed by the expression complain of a slight smokiness to the sip. They’re also quick to point to its pronounced oaky notes — not necessarily a bad thing, but something you wouldn’t normally suspect from the reposado category, since it legally can’t spend more than a year maturing in oak barrels. 

You can’t please everyone, of course. Winning over a panel of expert palates is an enviable place to start and one that will likely amplify Gran Orendain’s presence on liquor shelves. It’s by no means ubiquitous here in the States, but you can easily order a bottle online for around $40. At that price, it’s worth experimenting with, even if only to see what those judges in London found so singularly sensational. After all, there are only half a dozen tequilas in total that they deemed worthy of a gold medal in 2025. You can check out the complete list of winners here.