Many people have dreamed of achieving untold wealth by finding oil in their back garden, but perhaps a healthy crop of agave might be just as good.
The succulent plant, native to the more arid regions of North America, is the backbone of Tequila and there are few better businesses to be involved with right now, especially when it comes to the faltering drinks market.
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While wine, beer, whiskey and even vodka are hitting rocky stretches of road, Tequila is going from strength to strength, particularly in the US market, where it outshone all other spirits last year. US sales of Tequila went from 8 million cases a year in 2003 to 31.6m cases 20 years later. Globally, the Tequila market was worth $10.5 billion in 2023 and that is expected to grow at around 9.5 percent a year through the next five years, when the global market will be worth $19.7b.
And this isn't just people drinking cheap margaritas in seedy bars. More than 70 percent of all bottles sold in the US are sold through the off-premise channel and it's the premium and super-premium segments of the market that are driving growth. According to figures from the US Distilled Spirits Council, premium Tequila enjoyed growth of 1270 percent since 2003, while super-premium Tequilas grew by more than 1500 percent. Those are huge figures.
That leads us nicely to our list of the world's most expensive Tequilas, which has changed quite a bit in the past year, as we shall see. For this series, we've simply taken the most expensive bottles from our database and ranked them according to their global average retail price (GARP). So, let's see how the land lies this year.
Well, take a bow Clase Azul. Not only has the luxury brand increased its presence from an already-impressive seven spots on last year's list, but it has also managed to tighten its grip on the top of the list. It now holds the top five places, with three other bottlings lurking in the undergrowth.
This year also sees a rise in the number of more expensive bottlings on the list; last year there were three bottles that had five-figure global average price tags, while this year that number is five, with three more topping $9000. For context, last year's 10th-placed Tequila, Clase Azul (that name again) Edicion Especial Rosa made the list with a GARP of $3471. Even if that bottling had held its value, it would only be ranked in 15th place this year.
Overall, Tequila's price trajectory is going up. Over the past 10 years, the average price for a bottle of Tequila from Jalisco rose by about 40 percent, from $36 to $50; but the top end has seen much more humble returns.
This year's chart-topper entered the market in Febrary 2023, with a GARP just shy of $16,500; it's currently sitting at $17,238. The others have not been quite as successful, but the very fact that there are more Tequilas sitting at the $10,000-plus level tells you everything you need to know about the state of the super-premium Tequila market.
In fact, if you want a quick take on the health of the super-premium Tequila market, simply take a look at Clase Azul's line-up of offerings. Of the 30 of its Tequilas listed on our database, only nine have GARPs of less than $1000. Indeed, there is a Clase Azul Tequila on our database – the Queen Mary – that has a GARP of $25,000, but it was disallowed from our list because it only has one price offer. Hell, even the company's (now discontinued) Mezcal had a GARP of more than $4000.
Given the thirst for Tequila in the US market (and, to a lesser extent, the global market), it's a good time to be making Tequila. And if you're still cursing yourself for not converting your back garden to agave plantings, then remember one thing – to twist the old real estate truism about the best time to buy property – the best time to plant agave might have been 10 years ago, but the second best time to plant it is today.
