Cazcanes Released the Strongest Extra Añejo Tequila You Can Buy

Cazcanes has been one of the leaders in tequila innovation over the past few years, releasing high-proof expressions, experimental single barrels, a Nuestras Raíces agave spirit, and one of our favorite wine-barrel-aged bottles in recent memory. The brand just leaned into the high-proof world again with what it is calling the strongest extra añejo currently available in the U.S., a claim that seems to be true.

Cazcanes has been around for more than a decade, having been founded in 2015 by a group of entrepreneurs. Today, the tequila is made at NOM 1614 TTAP, where production is led by master distiller Francisco “Don Chico” Jiménez Lazcarro (the same distillery that produces a few other brands, including the Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul-backed Dos Hombres). We’ve reported on some of the aforementioned innovations, including the single barrels aged in Mirabelle plum eau de vie and apricot brandy barrels, and the excellent Rosa Añejo made this year’s Best of the Best list.

The new tequila, which is called Extra Añejo No. 10 Tributo Edition, was released to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the brand distilling its first batch of tequila. This is the first still-strength expression in the brand’s aged lineup, a non-official term that refers to tequila that is bottled at the strength it came off of the still (or very close to it). In this case, that is 108 proof (54 percent ABV), which is just under the maximum 110 proof established by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT), the group that regulates tequila production in Mexico. Before bottling, the tequila was aged for a minimum of three years in de-charred and re-charred ex-whiskey barrels.

This is, of course, not the only high-proof tequila on the market. Another new entry is the 2026 High Proof from Lalo, a blanco that was bottled at 48 percent ABV (96 proof). Way back in 2013, Tapatio released a still-strength blanco that matched the 110 proof of this new Cazcanes expression, but of course that was an un-aged tequila. The same goes for Tequila Ocho, which released Plata Puntas, a blanco bottled at 108 proof, as well as a single-barrel añejo at 105 proof. Barrel aging can either increase or decrease proof, depending on the climate, so the trick is to carefully manage maturation to either not let the ABV dip too much, or dilute it once it goes above 110 proof (remember, this is still strength, not cask strength).

We did not get to try Cazcanes Extra Añejo No. 10 Tributo Edition, but the official tasting notes describe caramel, vanilla, butter, baked agave, honey, coffee, cooked banana, ripe melon, and warm baking spices on the palate. It is being released in a limited run of just 3,650 bottles, each with a hefty price tag of $500, but that includes a collectible coin and set of tequila flutes to enjoy this well-aged, high-proof new spirit.