Best in Show Winner

In addition, as a Tasting Panel member John has over 400 reviews on Tequila MatchMaker as well as being highly trusted in the agave spirit community, having strong relationships with social media content creators, brand ambassadors, importers and tequila producers.

John has a passion for conveying this knowledge through agave spirit tastings, food and cigar parings at restaurants and cigar shops.

Currently at one of the highest volume liquor stores in the US, John is the tequila and agave spirits advisor, provides staff product knowledge, conducts spirit tastings and is a member of the barrel select tasting panel.

While spending time in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Mireille received her certification in Tequila Culture from the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT). It was during this immersive experience that she discovered just how extraordinary tequila and other agave spirits can be when crafted with quality ingredients and traditional methods. From that moment on, she felt a deep passion for sharing this knowledge with others beginning their own agave journey. In May 2021, she launched @La.Tequilana, a series of social media platforms dedicated to celebrating and educating others about agave culture.

His career began over 20 years ago as a line cook, working in some of the city’s most notable restaurants while putting himself through college at DePaul University. After being rejected from every PhD program he applied to, Kamin (quite literally) embraced alcohol—turning his focus to wine, bar management, and, most importantly, whiskey. In 2018, an unexpected opportunity arose to purchase a small liquor store, which he cheekily named Off Premise. Originally, the plan was simple: keep all the best allocated wine and spirits for himself. However, the store quickly gained national recognition, building a loyal neighborhood following and attracting collectors from across the country. Now deeply entrenched in the world of investment-grade wines and spirits, Kamin devotes much of his time to agricultural tourism—traveling to vineyards and distilleries worldwide to hunt down the next great bottle for his clients.

A seasoned gourmet chef and culinary educator, he has traveled Mexico’s tequila regions as well as participating in numerous blind tastings. His extensive knowledge is backed by professional training, a deep passion for the craft and the production of many tequila paired dinners. As a panelist, Chef Don brings a trained palate, blending culinary artistry with the spirit of tequila to elevate every tasting experience.

Known for her quips and short-form content, Marissa aims to make tequila education memorable and fun. Certified in Professionalization of Tequila Culture by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila, Marissa is also a Tequila Matchmaker panelist, Member of the Board of the Tequila That Cares Foundation (TTCF), and spirits competition judge. You can find Marissa every Tuesday at 9pm ET on Instagram Live, where she co-hosts The TequiLadies, a weekly live show featuring tequila experts, insiders, and enthusiasts. Marissa and her 600+ bottle tequila collection are based out of the NYC area.

Her three most cherished tequila bottles are: a 100ml Ultimo Agave blanco with the Carrera del Agave 10K race label that was given to participants at the finish line; a 375ml Bad Hombre reposado that was given to her by Jason, the founder of TTCF, on the day they met; and a half-full 100ml sample bottle labeled “K” containing an unreleased 63.1% Fuenteseca extra añejo signed by Sergio Mendoza

She has traveled extensively throughout Mexico to learn about agave spirits from the families and communities that produce them, and has dedicated a good deal of her professional life to fostering respect and appreciation for what is first and foremost an extension of culture. Known for her sharp palate, in addition to educational writings and events, she is a wine and spirits judge, and author of The Essential Tequila & Mezcal Companion.

He's traveled extensively throughout Mexico and other international spirits hubs, eager to spotlight up-and-coming brands and established distillers alike. Currently works alongside Arte Agave, a celebration of fine agave spirits, cocktails, art, music, and food that touches down in cities across the U.S. every year.

He is a frequent traveler to Mexico and has visited over 20 distilleries, learning the nuts and bolts of production, and learning from industry insiders along the way. His enthusiasm for the category is contagious. He has trained his palate over thousands of sips and is recognized as a talented taster.

President of the North Texas Tequila Club, Fernando is also an engineer. Follow him @agave.journey.

He holds an MBA from IPADE School of Business and is a certified Maestro Tequilero by CITEMATEQ. He has participated in the creation and operations management of 20+ agave spirits products.

In May 2015, Ivy opened three time James Beard nominated Leyenda, Brooklyn’s agave forward cocktail darling, which has garnered many awards and has been recognized as one of the best bars in America by Eater, GQ, Thrillist, and more.

She also conceptualized and co-founded Speed Rack, the women+, high-speed bartending competition that raises money for breast cancer research.

Over the tenure of her career, Ivy has been recognized within the culinary and cocktail industry as one of the best bartenders in the country. She was named “American Bartender of the Year” at Tales of the Cocktail’s 2015 Spirited Awards and “Mixologist of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast in 2016. Her work with Lynnette Marrero garnered the pair the honor of two Tales of the Cocktail 2019 Spirited Awards: “Philanthropy” and “World’s Best Bar Mentors.”

In Spring 2020, Ivy published her award-winning cocktail book, Spirits of Latin America, and most recently co-authored A Quick Drink: The Speed Rack Guide to Winning Cocktails for Any Mood with Lynnette Marrero and Megan Krigbaum, which was published in April 2024.

In March 2021, Ivy joined forces with wine expert Conor McKee and beverage director Piper Kristensen to open FIASCO! Wine and Spirits. An Imbibe 75 “Place to Watch,” FIASCO! is a wine and spirits shop focused on small and independent producers in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood. Exactly three years later and less than a block away, the team welcomed Whoopsie Daisy, a natural and biodynamic wine bar that also was named an Imbibe 75 “Place to Watch” in 2025.

I’m certified by the CRT in Tequila Culture and I have a certificate in Tequila from the International Tequila Academy. I’m a Spirits Judge and a Tequila educator who appreciates all agave spirits.

and today runs the popular tequila education channel Tequila Jay Baer. He is also the Executive Director of slingshot, a strategy collective of craft tequila brands. Jay is the author of 7 best-selling business books, and when not talking tequila, is a keynote speaker at 50 conferences per year on the topics of marketing and customer experience.

A couple years later they launched the Tequila Matchmaker mobile app and website, building what is now the largest database of information and ratings on tequila.

She discovered the pleasure of drinking tequila while working as a journalist in Mexico City and has been enjoying and evangelizing the merits of agave ever since.

Scarlet has received formal “catador” training in the production processes and evaluation of tequila from Ana Maria Romero Mena and the Academia Mexicana del Tequila, A.C.. She serves as “Chief Tasting Officer” for Tequila Matchmaker.

who has written about agave spirits for outlets including The New York Times, PUNCH, Imbibe Magazine, Eater, Good Beer Hunting, and more. The recipient of two James Beard Foundation awards and two Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, she is the author of Mezcal: The History, Craft & Cocktails of the World’s Ultimate Artisanal Spirit, and co-author of three other cocktail books written with industry luminaries including Julia Momosé, Toby Maloney, and Jim Meehan. She currently serves as the Midwest Academy Chair for The World’s 50 Best Bars, an agave spirits judge for the New Orleans Spirits Competition and the John Barleycorn Awards, and has been included in the Drinks International Bar World 100, an annual list of the industry’s most influential people, since 2023.