Smoky Sipping Tequilas

Peated whisky fans will find plenty to like in smoky tequilas

June 10, 2026 –––––– Danny Brandon, , , ,

Whether you’re talking about peat bombs with major maritime notes or subtler drams that remind you of barbecue, smoke is a flavor that attracts countless whisky lovers. If you’re a fan of smoky whisky and you’re looking to venture into the world of agave, the most common option is mezcal rather than tequila. Traditional mezcals are distilled from agave hearts, usually other than blue Weber, called piñas, and cooked in earthen ovens or pits using coal or wood fires that confer vegetal smoke notes. By contrast, most tequilas use agave that’s cooked in brick ovens or industrial autoclaves using steam, which is a more flavor-neutral process.

But exploring mezcal can come with some challenges. Quality expressions can be hard to find in certain parts of the country—volume-wise, mezcal sales in the U.S. are tiny compared to tequila—and some of mezcal’s more unusual flavors, reminiscent of burning rubber or creosote, will captivate only the most ardent smoky whisky fans. The good news is that there’s now a growing number of “smoked tequilas” on the market, which provide an interesting choice for agave-curious whisky drinkers.

These smoked expressions take inspiration from mezcal by using agave cooked with mesquite or other woody fuel sources that lend campfire and barbecue-like notes. To whisky lovers, that process may sound very similar to how whisky distillers use peat smoke to flavor their grain during malting. But a closer comparison lies in American single malts from Whiskey Del Bac, Santa Fe Spirits, Andalusia Whiskey Co., and others who smoke their grain with mesquite and/or fruitwood prior to distillation. But it isn’t just the process that’s similar: Many of these smoked tequilas also have notes that whisky fans will find familiar and attractive.

Reaching for the Past

By most accounts, the first modern tequila producer to dabble in smoke was Maestro Dobel, which released Humito (Spanish for “little smoke”) in 2016. According to master distiller Alex Coronado, the aim was to give modern drinkers an opportunity to see how tequila made centuries ago would taste.

“Our goal was to replicate the flavor profile of tequilas from the 17th century,” says Coronado. “From the start, we wanted the essence of fresh-cut mesquite wood to shine through, but it was just as important to us to achieve the right balance between that smokiness and the natural agave character.”

He accomplished that goal by first cooking the agave in masonry ovens loaded with mesquite wood for several hours. After the wood had burned out and the desired level of smoke had been achieved, he finished cooking the agave using steam just like his other tequilas. “We learned that by combining our cooking process with mesquite wood and steam, the generation of aromatic compounds during the process is quite unique,” he explained. The finished product earned a 94-point rating from our tasting panelists, who were entranced by the tequila’s sense of balance between meaty smokiness and minty herbaceousness.

Maestro Dobel master distiller Alex Coronado created Humito, intended to replicate 17th-century tequilas. CASON LATIMER PHOTOGRAPHY

High-End Smoke

Arguably, the most prolific player in the smoky space is Patrón. In 2018, just a couple of years after Humito hit the scene, Patrón unveiled its first smoked tequila, Gran Patrón Smoky. This expression was distilled from piñas that were roasted in underground stone pits using mesquite wood. The pit-roasting process was far slower than Patrón’s usual steam-heated brick-oven method, spanning seven days compared to the average of three days used for its other tequilas. After that, the agaves were crushed using a traditional stone tahona wheel (Patrón usually uses a modern roller mill alongside its tahona), fermented in pine vats, and distilled twice in a copper pot still.

Five years later, Patrón took another stab at making smoked tequila with the launch of the Ahumado (“smoked”) line: a blanco and a reposado, retailing at $70 and $80 respectively, intended to be a bit more accessible than their Gran Patrón predecessor. From a production standpoint, they were made using a virtually identical method to Smoky—including a seven-day smoking period using mesquite charcoal—but the key difference was that the newcomers were lower proof (40% ABV) and the reposado was aged for at least 2 months. Another difference was how they tasted. According to the brand, Smoky had more notes of barbecue and grapefruit, while Ahumado silver is more peppery and agave-centric, and Ahumado reposado is generally sweeter.

A Modern Edge

Perhaps the most intriguing smoked tequila out there comes from Heaven Hill’s Lunazul label. Its Humoso (“the smoked one”) expression saw a very limited launch some years ago, but last year it was taken nationwide with greater availability as part of the brand’s premium-tier Primero Collection. Humoso is distilled from a mix of mesquite-smoked and unsmoked agave that were cooked in earthen pits. But unlike many other smoked tequilas that adhere to traditional production methods, the rest of Humoso’s production process is starkly modern. The agave was crushed using a roller mill rather than a traditional tahona, then fermented in stainless steel tanks and distilled in a stainless-steel pot still with copper coils.

Humoso scored 95 points from our tasting panel for its delicious flavors of orange peel, green pepper, wood, and campfire. Our panelists noted that the smoke is subtle and gentle—don’t go into it expecting an Islay peat bomb—but it accentuates the more traditional agave flavors in a way that is truly remarkable.