Our Process

For over 250 years, our family has brought a fierce determination to crafting some of Mexico’s smoothest tequila. And the key, learned over many generations, is to keep things simple. Use only the finest 100% blue agave to create a hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind product. That’s how we make a tequila of rare quality, one that you can enjoy wherever life takes you.

The Agave Lifecycle

Growing Stage

After the young agave are planted, they soak up the sun and rich volcanic soil before reaching maturity.

maturing of the plant

The agave plants are ready to be harvested when the leaves begin to turn brown and the agave honey begins to flow from the center, or the piña.

the next generation

After harvest, the offspring of the mother agave are planted as new crops, maintaining a botanical lineage that has lasted for eight generations.

How do we make an exceptional tequila?

Growing & Harvesting

Our tequilas begin in the agave fields. We care for each Weber Blue Agave plant as they mature. Once ripe, our Jimadors (Agave harvesters) cut away the leaves of the plant to reveal the pina, the heart of the plant.

Slow Cooking

The Agave Pinas are slow cooked to produce sugars that create rich, clean flavors and aroma of Lunazul Tequila.

Shredding & Milling

Once cooked, the agave is shredded and rinsed, leaving only the pure agave sugar which is then prepped for fermenting.

Fermentation

The agave sugars are combined with our one-of-a-kind yeast, a family strain used for generations that comes directly from the agave plants and soil on our estate. The yeast consumes the sugars, converting the agave syrup into a young tequila.

Distillation

Our facilities are designed to focus on simple techniques that produce high quality tequilas, crafted with consistency. Each batch is distilled twice in custom cognac stills, where our Master Distiller crafts each batch to create a smooth and pure flavor.

Bourbon Barrel Aging

Our tequilas are then aged in Bourbon barrels to add a rich depth of flavor. Aging times vary by tequila - Blanco is unaged, Reposado is ‘rested’ for six months, and Añejo and Primero are aged for a full twelve to eighteen months.

Hand Labeling

The final step is to label our tequilas by hand. This last step adds a final handmade touch to our process; a care you can taste in every sip.

The History of Lunazul

Lunazul’s history is rooted in the earliest years of tequila itself, and we’ve been setting standards ever since.

In 1700, the technique for distilling tequila, originally known as “mezcal wine” was brought to Mexico by the Spanish. Shortly after, Jose Antonio Cuervo founded the first tequila distillery in Mexico. Almost 40 years later, Jose Antonio’s son, Jose Guadalupe Cuervo, received the first rights, from King Charles IV, to commercially produce tequila.

In 1861, the civil war caused a shortage of whiskey and moonshine. Mexican vendors crossed the border to sell mezcal wine to soldiers, taking back whiskey barrels to store their product. By 1873, the mezcal wine made in Tequila, Jalisco would officially be known as “Tequila” differentiating it from other mezcal wines made in Southern Mexico.

Due to prohibition, Americans began crossing the border in 1919 to buy lower-priced “Mexican Whiskey.” Once prohibition ended and sales decreased, Juan Beckmann Gallardo, descendant of Jose Antonio and sole administrator of Cuervo Distillery, began working to promote the spread of Tequila. Juan Beckmann passed away in 1972, leaving the company to his four children, Juan, Francisco, Federico, and Brunhi. In 1992, Francisco Beckmann sold his stake of the Cuervo Distillery, but kept his share of agave fields to establish a business for himself and his sons.

In 2004, Francisco began to pursue his vision for the finest tequila in the world. He established Tierra de Agaves Distillery, home of Lunazul Tequila.