Why Bartenders Are Divided on the Clear Aged Spirit

Cristalino is a style of tequila where an aged tequila is filtered through charcoal. The result is a clear spirit that looks like a blanco but began its life resting in oak barrels. It’s not yet recognized as an official category by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT), but there are parameters in place. Namely, it must come from aged tequila that have been in oak barrels for at least 12 months. 

But cristalino isn’t without controversy.  From a limited-edition experiment, it’s one of the fastest-rising styles on back bars and retail shelves. The global cristalino market was valued at $1.2 billion in 2024, and it’s forecasted to hit $3.8 billion by 2033. There are projections that it could account for up to 7% of the tequila market by 2028. It’s also a style that inspires strong opinions among some of the industry’s most passionate agave advocates.

A brief history of cristalino

Don Julio is credited with launching the first cristalino as a limited-edition release in 2012 to celebrate founder Don Julio Gonzalez’s 70th anniversary of tequila-making. “Don Julio was the first,” says Audrey Formisano, a tequilera at Marriott Resort Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa. “At the beginning, it was supposed to be a limited edition for a couple of months, and now it’s one of their best-selling products.”

What began as a one-off has since turned into a broader movement. “There has been an exciting recent burst of cristalino tequilas launching onto the U.S. market,” says Charlotte Voisey, executive director of the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. “We have seen this through the inclusion of cristalino bottlings from some of our key partners at headlining events during Tales of the Cocktail over the last two to three years. Trends that debut at Tales often continue through to menus and offerings in bars around the country. The use of cristalino tequila is certainly a good example.”

At resorts and nightlife venues, demand has increased. “At the resort, guests in general are asking more and more about cristalino as it has become the trend of the moment,” says Formisano. “Don Julio is the most popular, but 1800 is also requested, to name a couple.”

How cristalino is made

Cristalino begins as an aged tequila. After maturation in oak barrels imparts color and flavor, the liquid is filtered to remove the amber hue. Voisey says it creates a clear spirit that can be mixed in cocktails or enjoyed neat.

The key, she adds, is that the underlying tequila still matters. “As always with tequila, the quality of the base agave spirit is the key to making great quality expressions.”

Not everyone is convinced that the filtration process enhances what’s there. “The critique is fair because stripping away character is exactly the point,” says Max Reis, beverage director at Mírate and Daisy Margarita Bar in Los Angeles. “Charcoal filtration is marketed as removing barrel color, but it inevitably removes much of the flavor that comes with aging as well. In practice, it often goes further by pulling flavor not only from the barrel influence but from the base tequila itself.”

Reis questions the logic of aging tequila, only to then filter it. “Agave takes roughly five years to mature, and diminishing its expression in this way feels counterintuitive,” he says. “I tend to think of blanco tequila as the art, and barrel aging as the frame. Why frame something thoughtfully, only to remove it from the frame and assume that something meaningful will remain?”

What it tastes like

Cristalino often presents itself as smooth, polished, and subtly sweet. Ivy Mix, owner of Whoopsie Daisy Bar in New York City and author of Spirits of Latin America, says the most noticeable characteristic is its texture and approachability. Mix says that while she hates the word “smoother,” to some, it may very well impart a smoother flavor profile.

“I wish people understood just what this spirit is: an aged tequila that has been filtered to remove any color, and some taste,” she says. She says that some may enjoy it because it can have vanilla notes from the barrel, which can make it somewhat of a novelty. 

“In my view, cristalino offers very little beyond a flavor profile that is usually driven by additives,” he says. “The process of adding wood influence and then stripping it away most commonly results in a flavor I associate with a vanilla-frosting–like sweetness.” Mix agrees. “Cristalinos are particularly prone to additive use,” she adds. 

Formisano often introduces it simply. “I like to present it straight up or even cold — it surprises [consumers] a lot,” she says.

Still, misconceptions persist. “Guests think it is a premium tequila, and in fact it’s an añejo which has been filtered,” says Formisano.

“I don’t think the average consumer knows what a cristalino is,” says Mix. “I think there is a general mass-market assumption that tequila is somehow good for you, or that brown spirits are in some way more caloric. By filtering out color but having the edges taken off by aging, it’s theoretically an easier-to-drink blanco.”

A bridge or a detour?

Part of cristalino’s commercial appeal lies in its positioning. Clear spirits often signal lightness and mixability, while aged spirits are associated with depth and luxury. Cristalino promises both.

“When it comes to cristalino tequila, we have heard that bartenders enjoy mixing with a white spirit that has the added complexity of an aged spirit,” says Voisey. “It adds a new layer of depth to a cocktail.”

In many bars, however, the reality is more pragmatic. “Most bartenders use cristalino because it sells, often regardless of flavor,” says Reis. “Very commonly, it’s positioned as a ‘smooth’ tequila for sipping or shooting.”

For some tequila professionals in Mexico, the style feels disconnected from tradition. 

“Locals who grew up around tequila culture tend to prefer blancos, and increasingly still-strength expressions, because they showcase the agave in its purest form,” says Alejandra Aguinaga, bartender and beverage expert at award-winning bar El Gallo Altanero in Guadalajara. “You’re far more likely to find multiple cristalino options in nightclubs, which are largely driven by younger consumers.”

“I don’t necessarily believe cristalino represents the direction tequila needs to move in,” she says. “Tequila is deeply tied to our social and cultural identity. It deserves respect, not to be disguised, softened, or masked. Traditionally, we drink it as it is.”

Mix echoes that sentiment. “It is a step away from tradition to the highest degree,” she says. “It is a marketing experiment that caught on.”

Marketing or not, people are buying it

Whether cristalino is a passing phase or a lasting substyle remains to be seen. “I think people are certainly interested in the category,” says Mix.

But its long-term credibility may hinge on transparency. Mix says that it’s important to seek additive-free bottles when possible. 

Reis sees its presence in a portfolio as telling. “Its presence often makes it clearer whether a producer is responding primarily to market demand, or continuing the traditions and production values their family legacy has historically stood for,” he says.

For consumers curious about cristalino, Aguinaga suggests a simple test. “I would recommend tasting it side by side with a well-made blanco,” she says. “That comparison makes the differences immediately clear.”

Cristalino may be clear in the glass, but what it represents depends on who you ask. Is it a product of innovation? Marketing savvy? A dilution of tradition? Or is it simply another way to experience agave? As with any tequila, the base spirit matters. The rest is up to the drinker.