Is a new boom for collectible Tequila on the cards?
With tequila hitting a new world auction record in recent weeks, and WineFi offering irs first premium tequila investment barrels, is the agave spirit set for a new boom? Arabella Mileham reports.
The latest data put the global tequila market’s worth at around US$12.6bn, but according to analysis from Grand View Research it is set to grow by 9% between 2026 and 2033 to reach US$21.6bn by 2033.
According to WineFi, much of the growth is being driven by a younger demographic of consumers who are trading up into premium and super-premium expressions.
As Winefi states, “the investment case is straightforward. Demand for ultra-premium tequila is growing, while the supply of properly aged liquid remains constrained by regulation, agricultural lead times and the time required for maturation.”
As a result it has launched a fund for 50 barrels of premium tequila barrels, which will be held in Jalisco, Mexicom as they mature.
It takes three years for tequila to reach Extra Añejo, the most mature category in terms of ageing, but Winefi is recommending holding the investment for up to ten years. It cites historic rate of return for “comparable aged tequila assets” at around 15–35%. “As an investment, we believe tequila is where whisky was 15 years ago,” it said.
New world record
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This comes hard on the heels of Sotheby’s setting a new auction record for Tequila, after a bottle of Clase Azul Tequila Dia de Muertos sold for US$35,000 last month (30 June), nearly three times its high estimate (US$8,000–12,000). Not only is it the most valuable tequila ever sold at auction – beating the US$24,265 paid for a bottle of Jose Cuervo ‘Rolling Stones Edition’ 250th Anniversary Extra Añejo Tequila in February 2023 – but it is also the first time a bottle of tequila has been the top lot in a Sotheby’s spirits auction – an interesting development.
Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s global head of spirits said that while Tequila’s secondary market activity is still very much in its infancy, this was “the first big result” for one of the industry’s most iconic brands. As such, it “could mark the dawn of a new boom for collectible Tequila,” he said.
He added that it was an interesting time for tequila and mezcal, which have seen “huge growth in recent years – and anecdotally I have noticed many Whiskey drinkers in America turning to Agave spirits,” he said.
Sotheby’s whiskey specialist Forrest Price said the “staggering demand” for the inaugural release in Clase Azul’s Dia de Muertos series, a “piece of art”, reflected the “growing appetite for bottles that tell important stories.”
“The strongest auction results are driven by rarity, provenance and significance, of which this clay bottle marries all three,” he said.
The 1 Litre bottle from 2017 came from the inaugural edition of Clase Azul’s Dia de Muertos series, which comprised just 300 bottles. There originally retailed for US$250 but were only available from one retail location in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, making it one of the rarest Clase Azul releases ever produced.
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