The New York World Spirits Competition takes place every year in the heart of its namesake city–a global cultural capital. So it’s only fitting that the judging, originally launched in 2018, has rapidly risen in stature to become one of the premiere global events in the entirety of the beverage industry. Its reputation and sway extends well beyond the Big Apple, and it didn’t achieve this status by chance.
NYWSC is operated by the Tasting Alliance, the same organization responsible for the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Along with Singapore, the three events make up a triple crown of booze tastings; the largest in the industry, evaluated by the most prestigious judges, with a history for independence and integrity stretching back to 1980.
All this is to say, you should be taking your own notes on the winners. Because some of these bottles could soon become the most prized selections at your local liquor store. That’s certainly bound to be the case with the 2025 “Best In Show” for tequila. The top-scoring expression was crafted by a newcomer in an increasingly crowded category: Tequila Poderrosa Blanco.
Poderrosa is a barely a year-old. The brand was founded by native Mexican Lizbeth Ramírez as a way to celebrate “authenticity and inspire others.” According to her website, she “noticed how tequila brands used women as models for marketing but didn’t cater to us as consumers. Poderrosa was created to fill this gap.”
All liquid in the bottle was produced at Destileria El Magnifico in the lowlands of Jalisco (Los Valles), using traditional tequilero techniques and avoiding all additives. In claiming the crown at New York World Spirits, the judges were enamored by its sophisticated evolution on the palate. Here are the official tasting notes:
“This elegant Blanco tequila opens with layered aromas of black pepper, roasted agave, and a touch of vanilla custard alongside coffee bean nuances, leading to a beautifully balanced palate of crisp green pepper, fresh agave, red apple, and subtle menthol with grassy-sweet undertones, all culminating in a long, peppery finish that lingers with refined complexity.”
The liquid is currently sitting on shelf for a suggested retail price of $50 per bottle. That’s enough to qualify it as an ultra-premium offering. But it now holds the hardware to justify such an ask. And according to the latest economic report from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, premium expressions continue to play a key role in driving the agave sector’s meteoric sales. In 2024, those numbers reached $6.7 billion in revenue, a 2% increase year-over-year.
As an explosive upstart, Poderrosa hopes to add to the 32.2 million nine-liter cases of agave spirit that sold stateside in 2024. But it’ll have to be in earnest. As of now, it’s available only in the Chicago area. The Blanco is joined by a special edition Plata Rosa, which wears a slightly pink tinge thanks to a brief aging in ex-red wine barrels.
The website makes it clear that releases of a reposado, añejo and extra añejo are imminent. Based on the response we’ve seen from the Blanco – which also took home a bronze medal at this year’s Bartender Spirits Awards – we’re eager to taste what they can do with aged releases.
In the meantime, there’s plenty more mature liquids to consider from the competition this year. Other standout agave spirits taking home medals at this year’s NYWSC include the following labels:
