VIVIR is top-shelf tequila at a middle-shelf price point. Every ingredient is sourced locally, including the water, taken from a volcanic spring on the Casa Maestri estate.
The stubby bottle ensures central placement at the bar, plus the eye-catching logo, a contemporary depiction of Quetzalcóatl, the Feathered Serpent, is a nod to tequila’s Aztec roots.
But it’s once you taste any of these fine VIVIR tequilas that you’ll appreciate that there is a wealth of substance below the style, and you’ll keep returning.
Best VIVIR Tequilas
From their award-winning blanco to their ultra-smooth Añejo, here are the best VIVIR tequilas you need to know about.
1. VIVIR Tequila Blanco
Overview
- Distiller: VIVIR
- ABV: 40% (80 Proof)
- Country: Mexico
- Colour: Clear
Review
The purest expression of VIVIR, their award-winning Blanco, is a fresh and vegetal tequila with all the nuances of nine-year-old highland Weber blue agave grown in Jalisco. Also, check out the 1800 tequila range.
On The Nose
Caramelised agave, wood char, citrus, vegetal notes, and floral aromas.
On The Palate
Light pepper and citrus lead to a smooth, gently-roasted blue Weber agave and floral heart—hints of thyme and cucumber on the crisp agave finish.
Best Served
Equally refreshing, sipped neat or as a shot with lime and salt. Also excellent in cocktails such as a Paloma or Margarita.
Pricing & Info
You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.
2. VIVIR Tequila Reposado
Overview
- Distiller: VIVIR
- ABV: 40% (80 Proof)
- Country: Mexico
- Colour: Amber
Review
Outsold only by the Añejo, VIVIR Reposado is the most accessible for those new to the spirit. It rests for 6 months in 200-litre casks previously used for Jack Daniel’s.
On The Nose
Vegetal agave, vanilla, caramel, salted butter, gentle spice.
On The Palate
Despite caramel and vanilla, this Reposado is only slightly sweet, thanks to the earthy agave with hints of wood smoke, oak, pepper, and orange peel—savoury herbs on the finish.
Best Served
Equally excellent sipped neat or mixed with a ginger ale or fresh ruby grapefruit juice. I also recommend it in tequila cocktails, such as a Tequila Sour or an El Diablo cocktail.
Pricing & Info
You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.
3. VIVIR Tequila Añejo
Overview
- Distiller: VIVIR
- ABV: 40% (80 Proof)
- Country: Mexico
- Colour: Golden brown
Review
VIVIR Tequila Añejo is a sipping tequila that begins life as Blanco and is aged for 18 months in ex-Jack Daniels casks, melting the rich agave heart into a sublime backdrop of smoky oak.
On The Nose
Aromas of toasted agave, spicy oak, banana, salted vanilla and cocoa.
On The Palate
Complex flavours of spiced orange zest, late coffee, tropical fruit, and vanilla combine with earthy agave. Vegetal agave lingers on the smooth finish.
Best Served
Sip neat to appreciate the rich depths of this spirit. This Añejo’s complexity suits it for remixing the Manhattan, French Connection, or Old Fashioned.
Pricing & Info
You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.
4. VIVIR Café VS
Overview
- Distiller: VIVIR
- ABV: 30% (60 Proof)
- Country: Mexico
- Colour: Deep Brown
Review
Café VS is a marvellous synthesis of VIVIR Tequila Blanco and locally sourced Mexican arabica coffee beans, subtly sweetened by piloncillo, a natural Mexican cane sugar.
On The Nose
Rich, roast coffee, nutty agave, and hints of berries and chocolate, wrapped in smoky sweetness.
On The Palate
This tequila liqueur opens with silky smooth yet bold roast coffee dusted with herbs and a splash of berry sweetness mid-palate. The finish is satisfying: semi-sweet agave and smoky coffee.
Best Served
Enjoy this coffee liqueur by itself or on ice. VIVIR Café VS elevates cocktails such as the Espresso Martini or Old Fashioned.
Pricing & Info
You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.
David’s Top Pick
VIVIR Tequila Reposado
My top pick is VIVIR Tequila Reposado, as this aged tequila has vanilla and gentle spicy tones yet retains much of its fresh agave roots, as every tequila should.
How Is VIVIR Tequila Made?
The agave for VIVIR tequila is grown to maturity before harvest, a full eight or nine years, on estate-owned plots, meaning it is fully traceable.
When agave plants are mature, they flower and then die. Mature agave is rich in fermentable sugars, unlike the starches in young plants.
Some plants are left to flower, sustaining populations of long-nosed agave bats that depend on agave. The bats pollinate the agave, ensuring genetic variation in the next generation, which is vital for the agave to adapt to pests, disease, and climate change.
None of the work is seasonally contracted; the local agave farmers, jimadors, and distillery staff who contribute to the making of VIVIR tequila all have job certainty with fair wages.
VIVIR’s zero-waste ethos means that all organic waste is composted and donated to local farmers to fertilise the next generation of agave. Even the bottles are fully recyclable.
The agave is slow-roasted in centuries-old brick ovens (hornos) that develop smooth, subtly smoky, rich agave notes.
Small-batch fermentation and distillation in stainless steel, using only on-site volcanic spring water, results in superb, old-fashioned artisanal tequila that harks back to the spirit’s glory days.
Neither additives nor diffusers are used, nor are they necessary; all the sugars and gloriously complex flavours result from many years developing under the Jalisco sun, anchored in the Jalisco soil, and watered by the Jalisco rain.
Also Read: 10 Awesome Tequila Distillery Tours In Mexico
History of VIVIR
Snowboarder Paul Hayes’ business selling Bircher muesli in the UK gave him experience selling a product that most people didn’t know.
His concern for responsible, traceable ingredients led him to source the ingredients from Cheshire, with the fortuitous exception of Mexican agave syrup.
Paul gained many tequila industry contacts, registration with the Tequila Regulatory Council, and appreciation for proper tequila, a spirit he thought he was allergic to: the adulterated (mixto) brands common in the UK made him break out in a rash—literally.
Back home, Paul and friend Navindh Grewal pondered the absence of premium tequila in most establishments and saw the gap in the market for VIVIR to fill.
They identified sixth-generation family-owned Casa Maestri as their preferred tequila producers in 2016, and by 2019, they were satisfied with the product. And the rest, as they say…
Conclusion
Drinking VIVIR tequila is like a healthy relationship, made to savour. Not a barrage of cheap shots, sour times, and salt in the wounds, with the inevitable pain and regret afterwards.
VIVIR is a tequila crafted by people committed to ethics and quality and made for the discerning drinker. If you know and loathe tequila but appreciate a fine single malt or rhum agricole, VIVIR is for you.
Tequila’s refinement once set it apart from all other mezcals as the premium agave spirit. And VIVIR is a proud heir to that tradition. Far from being a last gasp, this bold revival of classic tequila may prove to be the spirit’s future.
Also Read: 1800 Tequila Review: 5 Must-Try Bottles From Blanco to Añejo
Further Reading
Below are some additional articles from The Drinks Geek blog. We write articles on several fascinating areas of drinks, including different brands, drink types, cocktail recipes and more.
