Jose Cuervo

Jose Antonio de Cuervo and Valdez received land from the Spanish king in 1758 and began producing tequila. This happened even before Mexico became an independent republic. In 1795, his son Jose Maria Guadalupe de Cuervo began selling the first Vino Mezcal de Tequila de Jose Cuervo after receiving the first official charter from the King of Spain for the production of tequila.

According to the Declaration on the Protection of the Denomination of Origin (Mexican law that controls and protects the production of authentic tequila) only alcoholic beverages produced from blue agave or agave azul (blue variety Agave Tequilana Weber) and grown in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit Guanajuato and Tamaulipas can be labeled as tequila. No agave from another region, including other countries, may be used for products labeled as 'tequila'.

Tequila received a certificate of origin in 1974. The principle is similar to the names for Bordeaux, Bourbon or cognac. The Mexican federal government has set strict requirements to regulate tequila production.

Real tequila is made from the Blue Agave plant. Only the Agave Azul Tequilana Weber variety can be used for tequila. Classified by the German botanist F. Weber in 1905, the blue agave is often confused with the cactus, but is actually descended from the amaryllis family. Blue Agave is also found as maguey, mexic, pita and teomet.

Pine (Spanish word for pineapple) is the fruit or "heart" of agave, from which sugars are extracted and tequila is made. The word pine is used the core of the agave plant resembling a pineapple. Blue agave grows between 6 and 12 years. Each plant is harvested only once, and then more agave must be planted to continue the production process.

The production process begins in the fields with blue agave at the foot of the volcano Tequila. After seven years of growth and maturation, the plants are harvested and their cores are sent to the La Rojeña distillery, where they are baked, ground and strained. The resulting blue agave extract is placed in fermentation tanks. After distillation, the tequila is left to mature in smoked barrels.

Jose Cuervo produces tequila with an alcohol content between 38% and 40%, as do most spirits. However, tequila has a characteristic strong taste and is drunk in shots. This intense taste experience leads people to mistakenly think that tequila is "stronger" than standard alcoholic beverages.