Lalo Tequila: The Ultimate Bottle Guide

Eduardo "Lalo" González entered the tequila market with his spirit, Lalo Tequila, without knowing what awaited him on the other end. Stepping into a realm fairly saturated with blanco tequilas like Casamigos, Patrón, and even Don Julio, Lalo Tequila was sure to meet some steep competition. Launched in 2019 in Texas, the brand has joined a movement of brands and distilleries who are pushing for additive-free products. Lalo uses only three ingredients: agave, champagne yeast, and water.

A 750-milliliter bottle of this Mexican-owned tequila is 80 proof with a 40% alcohol by volume, and it has a crisp, sharp finish. The company, which has become a top-selling tequila, has gotten some of its support from patrons wanting to test the legacy of its owner, who is the grandson of the legendary Don Julio. So what makes Lalo Tequila a different kind of additive-free spirit?

Whether you are a tequila fanatic or you're new to drinking tequila, you may be interested in taste-testing this tequila. As such, this article will take you on a deep dive into what is really going on inside a bottle of Lalo Tequila.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Since launching in 2019, Lalo Tequila has seen a rise in support for the brand, much of which arose in 2023, the year the tequila launched in New York. Jim McDermott, the CEO of Lalo Tequila, told The Business Journals that the company consistently doubles its sales and production each year since its launch.

This was an impact born of a family history in tequila making, according to the co-founder and chief product officer, Eduardo "Lalo" Gonzalez. Gonzalez's family has been in the tequila-making industry for over a century, beginning with his grandfather, who purchased a distillery at the age of 17. A significant portion of Gonzalez's childhood was spent in agave fields, and according to Gonzalez, "My appreciation for tequila deepened as I learned the meticulous craftsmanship involved in producing it."

For Gonzalez and his co-founder, David R. Carballido, Lalo Tequila is about honoring the heritages and histories that they come from. With Lalo, the pair pays tribute to their families and their home country, Mexico.

Lalo tequila utilizes well water from Jalisco's Mexican soil and Highland agave in its tequila. The process of making a bottle of Lalo begins with harvesting the agave — it must be six or seven years old before it is harvested from the Highlands. Seven-year-old agave is used in most tequilas, as that is when the plant is most mature. After harvesting the agave, the team cooks the agave in brick steam ovens for at least 20 hours, but no more than 32, and the agave is put to rest for 18 hours.

Once the agave juices are ready to be cooked out, the brand uses a roller mill to extract the sweet juices from the cooked agave. This juice is what gets fermented; also being fermented is the Champagne yeast, which takes about three to four days to ferment. When ready, the brand uses a slow distillation process that requires it to distill the liquid twice.

When asked about this process and how it changes over time, Gonzalez noted that processes are evolving constantly, because the region is changing as well. Changes in weather and landscape result in changes in the soil, the water, the agave, etc., which will impact the tequila's taste. In this case, the care with which the agaves are picked contribute to Lalo Tequila presenting an agave-first taste.

The scent of Lalo Tequila is pungent as soon as you pop open the bottle — it is a strong, almost smoky aroma that is alcohol-forward with no subtlety. The smoky aroma is surprising, given that this tequila lacks the common additive that is oak extract, which normally adds a spicy, smoky element to tequila. Because Lalo Tequila is made with only three ingredients, the tequila has nowhere to hide, which may explain the smoky aroma. 

Still, the most poignant flavor of this tequila is the agave, which may be a testament to the fully matured agave plants the brand uses in this tequila. With this flavoring, the tequila has a gentle sweetness to counteract the smokiness, and it is less earthy than other blanco tequilas on the market.

On the initial sip, Lalo Tequila burns as it goes down, so it is not necessarily a smooth spirit. This is where the additive-free nature of the tequila comes through. Glycerin is a common additive in tequila, the lack of which is contributing to the lack of smoothness in Lalo. But as you drink it more, it becomes more palatable, especially because of the sweetness from the agave. So, this might be the perfect tequila to stick with on a night out or for a long dinner. The brand's goal for this tequila was to highlight the flavors of agave, and if nothing else, that goal is well established.

Like many of the curators and founders of popular tequila companies, Eduardo Gonzalez believes tequila is all about fun and celebration, and Lalo Tequila should be enjoyed with these principles in mind. Although there is no right way to drink tequila, enjoying this tequila neat and at room temperature is the best way to immerse yourself in the flavors and aromas that Lalo has to offer. While it may be difficult on the initial sip to get through the sharpness in the taste of Lalo, subsequent drinks allow you to savor the simplicity that contributes to Lalo's fresh, crisp taste.

But many consumers love to enjoy tequila in a mixed drink, and Lalo Tequila is versatile enough for everyone to enjoy in the way that works for them. To complement the refreshing and simplistic taste of Lalo, you can try making a mix of a mojito and a margarita using Lalo tequila. The drink calls for lime juice, simple syrup, mineral water, mint, and cucumber, and it is an earthy, refreshing cocktail that works well with the subtle sweetness in Lalo.

You can also keep your cocktails simple by sticking with the classic Bloody Maria — a Bloody Mary that uses tequila rather than vodka. Given that Lalo Tequila is agave-forward and would best pair with aromatic, citrusy flavors, a vegetable-forward cocktail is the perfect place to try Lalo. If you like your citrus more from food, try drinking Lalo neat alongside a classic ceviche.

The 750-milliliter bottle of Lalo Tequila retails at $49.99 on the company's website, which is on par with similar tequilas on the market. Brands like Casamigos retail a 750-milliliter bottle for around the $50 price range, as does Patrón, where other brands like Espolòn and Jose Cuervo sit on the lower price range at around $20-$30. Compared to the tequila namesake of his grandfather, the brand Gonzalez has curated sits at a lower price point, as Don Julio's blanco tequila retails for up to $60, depending on your location.

Lalo Tequila is sold directly on the brand's website, with a spirit subscription option that could save you money and give you more bang for your buck. Lalo is also sold in various liquor stores and available on Uber Eats and GoPuff for delivery. Lalo's price point is a comfortable middle ground in the blanco tequila market, but the tequila does not earn its $50 price point and could sit on the lower end of the market.

Although Lalo and Don Julio tequilas have the same familial background, these two spirits are quite different. While Lalo has a crisp, pungent flavor profile, Don Julio is more smooth, earthy, and refreshing. Lalo's simplicity in ingredients contributes to the tequila's simplicity in flavor, as agave is the most prominent taste. Don Julio, however, is more complex; it has the smokiness of a mezcal, which adds to the smooth texture that constitutes every sip. In Lalo, the agave improves smoothness, but that smoothness does not come through on the very first sip, as it does in Don Julio. 

While Lalo is good if you are going to be drinking it the whole night, Don Julio is a better overall contender in the tequila market. Don Julio tequila tastes as though it may have glycerin (for smoothness) and hints of a vanilla additive in it — although it's hard to say, as brands are only required to disclose the additives on the label if they constitute more than 1% of the tequila. Further, Don Julio allows its agave to age for 7 to 15 years, which may explain its more complex flavor profile, as Lalo has its agave age for just 6 to 7 years.

Don Julio is considered a luxury premium tequila, whereas Lalo aims to put purity, tradition, and appreciation for culture at the forefront of its mission. It is the differentiation in the brands' outlooks that may explain the difference in their flavors.

The creation of Lalo Tequila was all about family and heritage for Eduardo Gonzalez, the co-founder and chief product officer, and David R. Carballido, the co-founder and chief brand officer. Together the two decided to create a bottle that exemplified the heritage that they hold deep in their hearts — and the design of the bottle does exactly that.

Lalo Tequila has a necker on the bottle that is blue and gold, which represents the colors of the flag of Jalisco, Gonzalez and Carballido's home state in Mexico. Jalisco is the birthplace of tequila, and it is also where most tequilas are produced, or at least where many companies source their agave. The circular icon on the bottle's label is representative of the church of Don Julio's hometown, Atotonilco. According to Gonzalez, "In Mexico, communities, whether in small towns or big cities, typically grow around the main square where the church is situated, symbolizing Lalo and Mexico as a community."

The heritage in this tequila is even shown in its name, as "Lalo" is a nickname for "Eduardo" in Mexico, according to Gonzalez himself. He and his father are both named Eduardo. "[Lalo] is about honoring my father's legacy by putting his name on the bottle," Gonzalez said. In this way, Lalo Tequila honors the Mexican heritage that both of its founders come from.

Although he came from a family of tequila makers, Gonzalez did not always know that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of the generations before him. What fuels him, he says, is honoring Mexico — both its people and its beauty. "Continuing the work of my late father brings me immense joy and fulfillment," Gonzalez said. Still, Gonzalez wasn't always sure that working in this business would be for him.

Whereas his grandfather had so much passion he is said to have treated his agave crops like his children, Gonzalez was hesitant to begin this career at first. "You don't know if you are passionate about something until you are doing it from the ground up," Gonzalez said. What he did know was that he always wanted to give tequila making a chance, being that his background is so heavily interspersed with it.

This journey of Lalo's founder isn't unlike other tequila makers' journeys into the industry. George Clooney founded Casamigos with a couple of his friends and a love of tequila, without ever thinking it would be sold to the public. The distiller of Espolòn, Cirilo Oropeza, was studying distillation science before stepping into the passion of the tequila-making world. One thing these founders all have in common is that they now exemplify the age-old adage, "If you do the thing you love, you'll never work a day in your life."

Although Eduardo Gonzalez has no involvement with Don Julio brand now, given that the brand was sold to Jose Cuervo in 2003 and then back to parent company Diageo in 2015, Gonzalez expressed a respect and admiration for the brand's continued work in supporting the legacy of both his father and his grandfather. Still, he considers the Lalo brand as part of their story, too. "The spirit of my grandfather and father is reflected in the deep love, passion, and admiration for tequila that they nurtured in me," Gonzalez said. 

Many tequila companies honor substantive figures in both bottle design and the spirit itself. For example, in 2024, Gran Centenario Tequila launched Gran Centenario Gallardo, a small-batch tequila to honor Don Làzaro Gallardo, its founder. The tequila's flavor profile paid homage to the innovative spirit that Gallardo is said to have embodied. Also, Gonzalez's own grandfather's namesake, Don Julio, launched a new ad campaign in 2022 that would cinematically honor its founder. 

Tequila making is a profession rooted in love and passion for the craft, and many companies, including Lalo, find ways to memorialize the tequila-making culture in the final tequila product. For Gonzalez, saluting his family starts with Lalo.

For Lalo Tequila co-founder Eduardo Gonzalez, family is involved in so many parts of the process. Even the height of the Lalo Tequila bottle pays homage to Gonzalez's father and grandfather. 

"My father once advised me, saying, 'Lalo, if you ever launch a tequila, use a short bottle because they are typically placed in front of a bar and are easier for bartenders to grab,'" Gonzalez said of his late father. Some of the most iconic bottles in the tequila world run contrary to this rule — including Clase Azul and Don Julio's own 1942. In a crowded market, taller bottles can be strategic; they're more likely to be put on the top shelf, reinforcing the idea that they are of higher quality. 

As it turns out, the small bottle advice comes from Gonzalez grandfather as well, who insisted that a tequila bottle be short in order to avoid interrupting the eye contact of guests across the dinner table. Today, most of Don Julio's most common tequilas — its blanco, reposado, añejo, and cristalino — all come in a short bottle. Since Don Julio did it in the 1960s, many tequila brands have followed suit and use variations on Don Julio's bottle design, including Lalo. It's a business decision that runs in the family; Gonzalez's goal for Lalo is timeless packaging, and this special piece of advice is a key to that.