Our logic is simple. To create an exceptional tequila you must perfect and cherish every aspect of each step along the way: from the cultivation of the agave plant to the barrels the tequila is aged in. It is not a process that can be performed by machines. It is a precise balance of art and science that requires the skilled and practiced hands of people with a passion for tequila.
Tequila starts with the soil. True tequila, like champagne, can only come from a specific part of the world. In the case of tequila, that place is central Mexico. In the case of Tequila Don Julio, we begin in the fields surrounding the tiny town of Atotonilco.
The soul of tequila is the agave plant. How the agave is cultivated and cared for determines the quality of the tequila. Since large mature plants produce a richer, more seasoned flavor we make sure that each plant has plenty of room to grow and do not harvest any plants before they are ready. Sometimes we wait as long as thirteen years.
At harvest time, the “jimadores” pull each plant from the ground by hand. The leaves are shaved off leaving the core of the plant, which we call the “piña” for its resemblance to a pineapple. The piñas are then transported to our distillery in the heart of Atotonilco.
There, they are cut into smaller pieces. The bitter parts of the piña are removed and the most flavorful parts are loaded into ovens. After steam cooking for seventy-two hours the piñas are sent though a series of grinders and presses. A precise amount of water is added and the mixture is sent to the fermenting tanks.
The fermentation relies upon a proprietary yeast that is delicately maintained to make sure that fermentation happens exactly as it should. Once the juice has been properly fermented it is ready to be distilled.
Each of our varieties is distilled twice. Impure elements are extracted and a smooth and refined spirit is left behind. To produce the superior flavors of 1942 and Real we reserve a special still for the second distillation. It may sound simple but distillation is a science that is mastered by only a very few. Our Master Distiller controls every aspect of the process himself, leaving nothing to chance. At the end of distillation we are left with a tequila that is one hundred percent blue agave. We add no other ingredients.
The final step is aging. Achieving the distinctive flavors of each Don Julio variety requires different lengths of time. Our Blanco is bottled immediately after distillation. Reposado is aged for eight months, Añejo about eighteen months, 1942 at least two and a half years and Real is aged for three to five years.
We painstakingly age our tequila in barrels crafted from American white oak. In our aging facility, we closely control both humidity and temperature to insure consistency with every barrel. The only way to know if a tequila lives up to the Don Julio name is by tasting it. Once it has passed our rigorous testing for quality and flavor, the tequila is bottled. It is then carried on from Atotonilco to an ever-growing number of countries around the world.