What's The Best-Selling Tequila Brand?
Tequila can be enjoyed responsibly on the rocks, with club soda, or in a more fruity and refreshing drink like a Paloma or a cantarito. It comes from the agave plant, which gives it a hint of sweetness, and is one of the lowest-calorie spirits on the market.
Depending on metrics, it's a toss-up between Jose Cuervo and Don Julio. Drinks International crowned Don Julio the tequila champion in the publication's 2025 bestselling brands report, but that title came from data from some of the world's best bars. The Spirits Business looked at the total sales volume from many spirits companies, crowning Jose Cuervo as the overall bestselling tequila. According to the latter data, Jose Cuervo remained in a strong first place for tequila sales for five straight years. In 2023 alone, Jose Cuervo shipped 9.5 million 9-liter cases of the drink.
Jose Cuervo might sell the most, but Don Julio is more popular among the best bars
When it comes to crowning the best tequila, sales volume from the brands would make the most sense; in that case, Jose Cuervo is at the top. But it appears Don Julio is more popular among the best bars. It was the bestselling tequila in 17% of the bars surveyed and was among the three bestselling tequila products in 45% of the establishments. Drinks International pulled its data from a sample of 100 bars that have either made the World's Best list or have won national or regional awards in different parts of the world, meaning you could infer that Don Julio is the most popular tequila for a high-quality drink or among those looking for something closer to top-shelf tequila.
There could be a difference between tequila preferences at a high-end bar versus a standard bar; Don Julio is much more expensive than Jose Cuervo. A 750-milliliter bottle of Don Julio costs around $40 at the time of writing, while the same size Jose Cuervo silver bottle costs less than half that price. Ultimately, based on overall sales, Jose Cuervo should be crowned the winner. But Don Julio is clearly the preference when it comes to higher-end tequila, so if you're using this data to decide which one will make the best-quality drinks to pair with your favorite foods, you might want to purchase the Don Julio.