What’s the best agave nectar? It’s a sweet, natural-ish alternative to honey or sugar that easily dissolves into liquid, whether it’s hot or cold. And it’s the best way to sweeten a Margarita (Tommy’s Margs 4 lyfe!).
Also known as agave syrup or agave sweetener, agave nectar is, essentially, the sap of the agave plant. A lot of times, it’s specifically made from blue agave, which is the same plant used to make tequila. And there are a few different types of agave nectar: light (mildest flavor and the most filtered), amber (medium flavor), and dark (strongest flavor and the least filtered). You can also get raw agave syrup, which isn’t heated to the degree of non-raw agave nectar. And there’s also golden agave, but I can’t find any definitive explanation of it. After tasting, I think it’s just “light” agave nectar with sneaky branding.
While agave syrup brands don’t vary in flavor as much as honey brands do, there certainly are some agave syrups that are better than others. How do I know? I tasted ten different agave syrups—both straight off a spoon and dissolved into tea—in search of the best agave syrup.
None of the agave nectars I tried were necessarily bad. But a few lacked flavor. Even though agave nectar is much more neutral than honey or maple syrup (especially if it’s light agave nectar), the best agave nectar brands I had some layers of complexity. For example, Kirkland agave nectar is practically simple syrup. There’s just no flavor besides sweet. If all you care about is sheer quantity, then sure, go for it. Buy the Costco agave nectar—you get two huge bottles. But if you want the best agave nectar that actually adds something to your beverage or dish? Then read on.
Whether you’re looking for the best agave sweetener for your hot drinks or the best agave for Margaritas, you’ll find it on this list.
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- Great Value Organic Golden Blue Agave Sweetener
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Walmart’s Great Value brand agave is really good. It’s better than Costco’s Kirkland. It’s better than Whole Foods’ 365. It’s better than Kroger’s Simple Truth. The brand’s golden agave isn’t quite as good as our number one best golden agave sweetener, but it’s pretty darn good and it’s cheaper. It tastes a lot like honey—mellow and sweet and round. It’s light, for sure, but it still has enough flavor to let you know you’re using agave syrup rather than sugar syrup.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Wholesome Organic Blue Agave Nectar
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What gives this golden agave nectar the edge above Great Value? It also tastes honeyed, but it’s brighter and cleaner than Great Value. It doesn’t leave behind any aftertaste, which some of the lesser agave brands do. Plus, Wholesome is fair trade certified for a slew of things including worker well-being and responsibly managed farming and forestry practices. That’s nice! And if stuff like that matters to you, then Wholesome is the best agave nectar brand for you.
Credit: Merc / iHerb
- Great Value Organic Raw Amber Blue Agave Sweetener
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Back to Great Value! I told you it was one of the best agave syrup brands. Walmart’s raw amber agave sweetener tastes like brown sugar. And that’s delicious. It has a richer brown sugar flavor than Wholesome’s similar product. Because of that rich flavor, I think this is the best agave sweetener to use in baking. You’ll end up with a deeply flavorful treat.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Madhava Organic Amber Agave
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If you really want to treat yourself to a fancy agave, this is the best agave nectar to buy. It has a delicious, pure agave flavor, ending on what’s almost a vegetal note. But in a good way, I promise. The sweetness comes through almost like burnt sugar. It’s complex and truly delightful and definitely the best agave for Margaritas. That natural agave flavor blends so well with the agave notes of a blanco tequila. If you’re serious about your Margs, this is the best agave syrup to buy.
Credit: Merc / iHerb
- Organic Agave in the Raw
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This 100% pure blue agave nectar is so good. It has a deep, rich brown sugar flavor along with a vegetal zip to let you know you’re tasting agave rather than cane sugar. It really fills your mouth with dark, delicious flavor. It’s a bit too dark for a traditional Margarita, but if you make Margaritas with reposado tequila (which is briefly aged), then this is the best agave for the job. It’s also delicious in tea (especially if you drink chai or black tea), and it’s even good enough to serve in place of maple syrup with pancakes. It does it all. And that’s why it’s the best agave nectar.
Credit: Merc / iHerb
Best Store Brand Golden
Best Golden
Best Store Brand Raw
Best Splurge
Best of the Best
Other agave nectars we tried: Simple Truth Organic Blue Agave Light Golden Syrup, 365 Organic Light Agave Nectar, Kirkland Signature Organic Blue Agave, 365 Organic Raw Agave Nectar, Wholesome Organic Raw Blue Agave Nectar
Agave Nectar is about as natural as High Fructose Corn Syrup, comparing it to Honey is just ill informed or blatantly dishonest take your pick. agave Nectar is a process sugar alternative like High Fructose Corn Syrup.
On the note of preference I go for Madhava using it for fajitas and margaritas. It makes a solid mocktail for those who don’t drink or can’t drink. If you never had an actual margarita you probably don’t need to go with Agave Nectar and a Honey would be a bit better for you whilst giving you some sweetness without going to a simple syrup which can be a bit watery and one note. If you like Margaritas and can’t drink for whatever reason then Agave Nectar makes it taste more like the actual thing and with a little planning you can improve it by adding spices like Whiter Peppercorn to get it even closer since a lot of Tequila you buy will have notes of spices you’d miss otherwise.
If you’re making mocktails please stop using Sprite or 7-up though if you want a soda use Squirt, but if you want a good mocktail margarita use Grapefruit Juice as your base it mixes better with Lime Juice than soda’s Artificial Citrus flavorings and don’t forget the Orange Bitters at the end for the aromatics.
*If you can’t drink for medical reasons check to make sure your medication doesn’t interact with Grapefruit Juice though.