🥃 Tequila blanco
Clear tequila class under NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (blanco, plata, Silver for export): no softening additives, under two months in oak; 35–55% ABV.
Tequila blanco, also called plata (silver), is the clear class of tequila under the Mexican standard NOM-006-SCFI-2012. After distillation the spirit is only diluted with water to bottling strength, with no softening additives. Blanco may rest in oak for less than two months. Like all tequila classes, its strength ranges from 35 to 55% ABV.
What the standard says. Blanco is a product that is “clear, but not necessarily colourless” and “without abocado”. That means no caramel colouring, oak extract, glycerine or sugar syrup is added. For the international market the class may be labelled Silver. Blanco exists in two categories: “Tequila”, where at least 51% of the sugars come from blue agave, and “100% de agave”.
Taste and use. According to VinePair, blanco is the most direct expression of agave: herbal, mineral and citrus notes without wood. That is why it is most often used in cocktails such as the Margarita, although some enthusiasts also drink blanco neat. Difford's Guide adds that such a tequila is usually colourless.
The border with other classes. If blanco is blended with aged tequila or softened with additives, it becomes joven. If it spends two months or more in direct contact with oak, it is already reposado. The fashionable cristalino is something else: an aged tequila decolourised with charcoal, not a blanco. All classes are made only in the designated origin area, in 181 municipalities in five Mexican states.
Why this matters to you. Blanco is the only class where softening is prohibited, so the taste is not masked by caramel or syrup. But “blanco” says nothing about the share of agave: look for the additional “100% de agave” mark. Strength goes up to 55% ABV. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.
Facts
| Legal basis | NOM-006-SCFI-2012, item 4.36.1; Silver for export (item 5.2.2) |
|---|---|
| Minimum maturation | no minimum; in oak under 2 months |
| Raw material | Agave tequilana Weber, azul variety: ≥ 51% sugars or 100% (“100% de agave”) |
| Alcohol (% vol.) | 35–55% ABV at 20 °C |
How it connects to Spirits
🥃 Tequila blanco → affects → 🍷 Alcohol and health ← affects ← 🥃 Spirits
Links
- Made from
- 🥃 Blue agave
- What it affects
- 🍷 Alcohol and health, 🍷 Drunk driving
- Related to
- 🥃 Margarita
- Traditions
- 🧑🤝🧑 Mexicans
- Part of
- 🥃 Tequila classes, 🌵 Tequila
- Similar and different
- 🥃 Tequila 100% agave (100% de agave), 🥃 1800 Cristalino, 🥃 Tequila joven, 🥃 Tequila joven, 🥃 Tequila reposado, 🥃 Tequila reposado, 🥃 Tequila añejo, 🥃 Tequila añejo, 🥃 Tequila extra añejo, 🥃 Tequila extra añejo
Frequently asked questions
Are Silver and blanco two different tequilas?
No. Silver is the name of the blanco (plata) class that NOM-006 allows for the international market; it is the same class.
Can tequila blanco be aged in oak?
Briefly, yes: the standard allows less than two months in oak. After two months of direct wood contact the tequila becomes reposado.
Is caramel added to blanco?
No. Blanco is the class “without abocado”: caramel colouring, oak extract, glycerine and sugar syrup are prohibited for it; only dilution with water is allowed.
What strength is tequila blanco?
From 35 to 55% ABV at 20 °C, like the other tequila classes.
How does blanco differ from cristalino?
Cristalino is an aged tequila (usually añejo or extra añejo) decolourised by filtering through charcoal; the CRT does not recognise it as a separate class. Blanco is unaged.
What to read next
- 🍷 Alcohol and health — Alcohol in any drink is harmful in large amounts, and the risks grow with the quantity.
- 🥃 Tequila 100% agave (100% de agave) — Tequila made only from sugars of blue agave from the area of origin, unlike the “Tequila” category, where other sugars may make up to 49%.
- 🧑🤝🧑 Mexicans — People of Mexico; Oaxaca cheese is the country's best-selling cheese, cajeta is made from goat's milk, and 2023 milk output topped 13 billion litres.
- 🥃 1800 Cristalino — Clear aged 1800 Tequila: oak barrels, a finish in port casks, charcoal filtering; añejo class according to Difford's Guide.
- 🍷 Drunk driving — Never drive after drinking wine: alcohol slows your reactions.
Similar
🥃 Tequila extra añejo · 🥃 Tequila joven · 🥃 Tequila reposado · 🥃 Tequila añejo · 🥃 Mezcal with worm (con gusano) · 🥃 Mezcal artesanal and ancestral
⚠️ Spirit drinks contain alcohol and are for adults only. Alcohol harms health. Do not drink during pregnancy or before driving; check the label for ingredients and possible allergens.
Sources
- NOM-006-SCFI-2012, Bebidas alcohólicas — Tequila — Especificaciones (DOF 13.12.2012): 4.1 abocado (caramel colour, natural oak extract, glycerine, sugar syrup); 4.36.1–4.36.5 classes blanco/plata, joven/oro, reposado (≥ 2 months, direct contact with oak), añejo (≥ 1 year, ≤ 600 l), extra añejo (≥ 3 years, ≤ 600 l); mixing rules; 5.2.2 export names Silver, Gold, Aged, Extra aged, Ultra aged; 6.1.1 35–55 % vol.; 6.1.1.1 abocantes ≤ 1 % of weight; ≤ 75 g/l sugars with additives
- Difford's Guide: Tequila classifications — blanco 0–59 days, joven/oro usually unaged with caramel, reposado from 60 days (term introduced 1968), añejo from one year in casks up to 600 l, extra añejo from three years (introduced March 2006), cristalino (2011), mixto ≥ 51 % agave sugars
- VinePair (25.02.2022): A Guide to the 5 Different Types of Tequila (and Cristalino) — flavour and use of each class; reposado 2–12 months, often ex-American whiskey barrels, pipones up to 10,000 l; añejo 1–3 years, often 200 l ex-bourbon; extra añejo recognised 2006; cristalino not a CRT category
- Consejo Regulador del Tequila: Denominación de Origen Tequila — 181 municipalities in 5 states; declaration published in DOF on 09.12.1974, Mexico's first appellation of origin
- WHO/Europe: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (04.01.2023)