The world of ultra-luxury spirits has long since stopped being reserved exclusively for decades-old whiskies and rare cognacs.
Tequila is increasingly entering a territory where the liquid inside the bottle represents only one part of the story, while art, design, provenance and extremely limited production determine its collectible value. The new 1800 Colección Tequila Mono Laberinto Doble may be one of the finest examples of this trend.
The price? An impressive $11,000.
Only 50 sets will be offered, and at the heart of the entire project is an extra añejo tequila aged for at least three years and presented in a striking collectible nickel decanter designed by the late Mexican artist Pedro Friedeberg.
It is precisely this combination of tequila and art object that is key to understanding the release. For $11,000, buyers are not simply purchasing a spirit – they are acquiring one of the final projects by an artist whose distinctive Surrealist visual language spent decades combining architecture, geometry, fantasy and Mexican artistic tradition.
Extra Añejo Aged for at Least Three Years
Mono Laberinto Doble is the latest addition to the prestigious 1800 Colección Tequila series, but it differs significantly from the brand’s standard offerings.
This is an extra añejo tequila, a category that requires a minimum of three years of aging. According to the producer, the agave was slowly cooked in traditional masonry ovens before the spirit underwent a complex maturation process in several different types of barrels.
These included new American oak barrels with medium and heavy char levels, as well as French oak barrels previously used to age Amarone wine.
The combination is intended to unite the character of cooked agave with the richer influences of wood and wine.
According to the official tasting notes, the palate reveals oak, cooked agave, honey, dried plum and subtle vanilla, creating a profile considerably removed from the fresh character typically associated with younger blanco tequilas.
The Decanter Is the Real Star of the Release
However, extended aging alone would hardly justify an $11,000 price tag. The real reason Mono Laberinto Doble enters the realm of collectible objects can be found around the tequila itself.
The nickel decanter was designed by Pedro Friedeberg, one of the most recognizable Mexican artists of the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries.
Its form was inspired by the artist’s early encounters with architecture, resulting in an object that appears to combine sculpture, architectural fantasy and luxury packaging.
Friedeberg first collaborated with 1800 Tequila in 2017 on the 1800 Milenio Artist Series project in Mexico. Mono Laberinto Doble became particularly significant because it was among the final projects he worked on before his death in the spring of 2026.
That gives the release a dimension that conventional luxury packaging could hardly achieve – the decanter becomes part of the artist’s final creative period.
More Art Object Than Tequila Bottle
Patrick Charpenel, executive director of El Museo del Barrio, described the project as something more than a collectible – a tribute to Friedeberg’s legacy and to the longstanding relationship between 1800 Tequila and Mexican art.
And that is precisely where the logic behind its exceptionally high price becomes clearer.
There are extra añejo tequilas of similar or even greater age on the market that cost considerably less. With Mono Laberinto Doble, however, the value does not come exclusively from the spirit, but from the combination of just 50 sets produced, the artistic decanter and Friedeberg’s authorship.
It is the same principle increasingly seen among the world’s most expensive whisky, cognac and wine releases – the bottle ceases to be merely packaging and becomes an artwork intended for collectors.
In this case, the distinction is even less clear. Once the tequila has been consumed, what remains is a sculptural object designed by one of Mexico’s most celebrated artists.
A Brand With More Than Half a Century of History
The story of 1800 Tequila began in the late 1960s, when the Beckmann family, also associated with names such as Jose Cuervo and Maestro Dobel, introduced the original añejo expression under the name Cuervo 1800 Tequila.
Today, the brand’s portfolio spans several categories, including blanco, reposado and cristalino expressions, while Colección represents its considerably more exclusive side.
Mono Laberinto Doble takes that philosophy to the extreme, shifting the focus from the spirit category itself toward collecting, art and Mexican cultural identity.
Only 50 Collectors Will Be Able to Own One
The launch of this edition coincides with the release of The Art of Tequila: Spirit of Mexico, published by Assouline, which explores the culture, tradition and aesthetics surrounding one of Mexico’s most famous spirits.
Mono Laberinto Doble is currently available for pre-order, but with only 50 sets intended for the entire market, it is clear that this is not a tequila designed for the shelves of an ordinary liquor store.
Even among ultra-premium tequilas, $11,000 for a single bottle is a figure that is difficult to ignore. However, 1800 Tequila is not really trying to sell only an exceptionally aged spirit here.
It is selling one of just 50 editions combining extra añejo tequila, Mexican art and one of Pedro Friedeberg’s final projects.
And for collectors who value exclusivity more than a rational relationship between price and what is actually inside the bottle, the fact that almost nobody else will own the same object may ultimately be its most important ingredient.
