There are no fireworks this year, but the signs point to greater upcoming competition between mainstream and premium brands.

Although tequila has been one of the spirits industry’s success stories this decade, its Millionaires’ Club performances have been generally steady, indicating any growth might be diffused across a number of smaller brands rather than concentrated at the top of the category. Among the millionaire tequila brands, combined volumes increased only slightly, from 32.1 million to 32.3 million cases.

Jose Cuervo remains the largest tequila in the ranking, though it declined 3.9% to 7.3 million cases. Don Julio, by contrast, continued to edge forward, rising 2% to 4.5 million. The movement between those two brands reflects a wider category tension between large mainstream volume and premium-led momentum.

Several established brands softened. 1800 Tequila fell 3.4% to 2.8 million cases, Patrón declined 3.6% to 2.7 million, and Hornitos also slipped, down 5.6% to 1.7 million, its lowest performance since 2021.

Perhaps the biggest story here is Casamigos dropping 20.2% to 1.9 million cases, its lowest performance since it entered the ranking in 2020 and an indication that celebrity-backed brands don’t have the same pull that they had a few years ago.

At the other end of the spectrum is Heaven Hill’s Lunazul. Having broken into the ranking in 2023, it’s consistently shown year-on-year growth and, in this edition, rose 35.3% to 2.3 million cases.

While it had appeared destined for the drop, Olmeca managed to reverse its fortunes to grow 50% to 1.5 million.

Tequila is still adding volume, but not with the broad momentum seen in earlier boom years. The category’s next phase looks likely to be more competitive, with value, mainstream and premium brands each fighting for space in a more crowded global market.

Read the full ranking and all other category analyses in The Millionaires’ Club 2026.