For millions of Americans who enjoy a smooth pour after a long day or raise a glass with buddies on the weekend, Costco’s Kirkland Signature tequila has become a go-to choice. Big bottles, fair prices, and that “100% agave” promise on the label made it feel like a smart buy – the kind of deal that lets a working man stock the bar without breaking the bank. But a new federal lawsuit filed in Seattle claims a lot of those bottles aren’t what they say they are, and a bunch of regular guys who just wanted honest tequila are now fighting back.
Thirteen plaintiffs from Washington state and eight other states say independent lab tests show some Kirkland tequilas contain far more cheap filler alcohol than the law – or the label – allows. In some cases, the suit claims, the stuff inside wouldn’t even qualify as tequila if it tried to cross the Mexican border.
Take the Kirkland Signature Blanco, the clear one you probably reach for when mixing margaritas for the game. It’s priced at $31.39 for a hefty 1.75-liter bottle on Costco’s website and carries the words “100% de Agave” right on the front. According to tests cited in the lawsuit, that bottle can contain up to 40 percent alcohol that didn’t come from blue agave at all.
Then there’s the Kirkland Reposado, the lightly aged golden one that costs $18.69 for a liter and proudly declares: “This very special Reposado tequila is a blend of tequila rested in American & French oak using 100% Blue Agave. Salud!” The lab results tell a different story – up to 95 percent non-agave alcohol, the lawsuit says. That’s enough to make a grown man choke on his sip.
The complaint also names the Kirkland Añejo (around $26.99 a liter), the Extra Añejo (closing in on $55 a liter), and the Cristalino Añejo, which was listed as out of stock the day the suit dropped. All of them, the plaintiffs say, promised 100 percent agave and delivered something else.
Under Mexican law, real tequila has to be at least 51 percent agave. Anything with less isn’t tequila – it’s something else. But the premium bottles, the ones that cost more and taste cleaner, are supposed to be 100 percent pure agave juice. That’s what American buyers have been paying for, and that’s what the Kirkland labels promised.
The lawsuit, filed by the Seattle firm Hagens Berman, calls it straight: “This case exposes a high-stakes deception at the heart of the growing and increasingly popular premium tequila market.”
Costco, based just outside Seattle in Issaquah, hadn’t responded to questions by late Friday afternoon when the suit hit the court docket.
This isn’t the first time big tequila claims have come under fire. Back in January, agave farmers in Mexico took to the streets, blocking roads and dumping truckloads of cane stalks in protest. They were furious that some distilleries were allegedly sneaking cheap cane sugar and corn syrup into bottles still labeled as premium 100 percent agave. Those farmers spend seven to ten years growing each blue agave plant by hand in rocky red dirt under a brutal sun. When distilleries cut corners, the price of agave crashes and the people who actually grow the stuff get squeezed.
Years ago, Mexico required every drop of tequila to come from agave. Shortages in the 1960s forced a change, and the rules eventually slid to the current 51 percent minimum. Anything with sugar added has to be labeled “mixto.” The problem, according to the farmers and now these American plaintiffs, is that some companies slap a “100% agave” label on bottles that are anything but.
Guys who know their tequila say the difference isn’t just paperwork. Pure agave tequila tends to go down smoother and leave you clearer the next morning. Load it with cane or corn sugars and you get a thicker mouthfeel, a harsher bite, and – ask any man who’s woken up regretting life choices – a nastier hangover.
This same law firm went after Diageo earlier in the year in a New York case, claiming some of the giant’s big-name tequilas were also mislabeled. Diageo pushed back hard on the testing methods, but the fight is still playing out.
The Costco case is filed as a class action, meaning any American who bought these Kirkland tequilas could end up part of it. The plaintiffs are invoking heavy-duty laws, including the federal RICO statute usually reserved for organized-crime cases, plus consumer-protection laws in multiple states.
For now, the bottles are still on the shelves (when they’re in stock), and plenty of members will keep grabbing them because the price is right and the pour is convenient. But a lot of loyal Costco shoppers – the same guys who trust the Kirkland brand for everything from motor oil to steak – are left wondering whether the tequila they’ve been proudly serving friends and family is the genuine article or just a clever knock-off wearing a premium label.
One thing’s for sure: the next time a man lifts a glass of Kirkland tequila and says “Salud!”, he might pause a second and ask exactly what he’s toasting.
