Our TequilaJourney
Learn about the history and craft involved in making Don Julio tequila
Don Julio González didn't think of his agave as a crop, he considered them his children. And through his extraordinary devotion to making exceptional tequila, his legend lives on today.
Born Por Amor, for love, Don Julio embodiesthe spirit of Mexico’s Tequila culture. Aproduct of the people, of the passion andspirit, that our country has in abundance.
This is not just a drink,but a love letter to Mexico.
Our Home: La PrimaveraOur Home: La Primavera
5200 feet above sea level, in the highlands of Jalisco is where it all began. It's in this extreme climate, surrounded by rich volcanic soil, where in 1942 the legendary distillery of La Primavera was founded and Tequila Don Julio was born. The devotion brand founder Don Julio González had to his craft truly knew no limits. The Jaliscan Highland's warm days, cool nights, and rich clay soil create the perfect microclimate for the cultivation of blue agave.
Julio González’s passion and hardworking dedication was unheard of and the myth of the father of Mexican tequila grew. He became Don Julio, a figurehead of tequila and an icon of Mexico. His passion and unrelenting drive for excellence inspired the creation of Mexico's original luxury craft tequila.
Each day, Jimadors wake up early to walk along the agave fields, cutting the grass around each individual plant to protect it. Using a razor-sharp paddle on a long wooden handle, called coa, they cut leaves closer to the heart of fully matured agaves, extracting maximum sweetness of each plant.
Our Harvesting Craft
Our Harvesting Craft
It’s a unique harvesting method showcasing our love for tequila craftsmanship. Jimadors, painstakingly harvest plant by plant, expertly assessing the age and health of every agave: handpicking and handcutting the agave pencas (leaves) from the piña.
The Heart of Tequila
The soul of any exceptional tequila is the Blue Weber agave plant. It is a variety native to Mexico which thrives in the mineral-rich volcanic soil of Jalisco and other regions within the Designation of Origin. This unique environment imbues the agave with distinct flavours and characteristics, resulting in a tequila that is as complex as it is smooth
To make tequila it takes time and love. An Agave takes from 5 to 7 years to mature and it’s the plant’s heart – the piña – that holds the power to make the exceptional Tequila Don Julio. One single piña can provide approximately 3 to 5 liters of 100% Blue Weber agave tequila at 55% alcohol by volume.
The piñas' journey continues as they are cut into smaller fragments and placed in traditional masonry ovens, or hornos. Here, they are slowly steamed and cooked for about 48 hours, a process that allows the complex sugars within the agave to transform into glucose and fructose, creating the rich, unique flavours that serve as the foundation of Tequila Don Julio.
Steamed to Perfection
Steamed to Perfection
Fermented in TraditionFermented in Tradition
The softened piñas are crushed in a milling process to extract the sweet agave juice, or “mosto”. This liquid is ready for the next stage: fermentation and distillation. When it embarks on its transformative journey in the fermentation tanks, water and a unique yeast strain developed by Don Julio Gonzalez himself many years ago are introduced, converting the sugars in the mosto into alcohol over 26 hours.
Like Don Julio González himself, this process is attentively and closely monitored today to ensure the development of the desired flavours and aromas.
Twice Distilled, Twice As Smooth
Twice Distilled, Twice As Smooth
The fermented mosto is double distilled in stainless steel pot stills with the presence of copper. The first distillation, known as the "Destrozado," eliminates impurities and separates the alcohol from the water. The second distillation, or "rectification," refines the spirit even further, producing a crystal-clear tequila with a smooth and rich taste profile. But even now, the possibilities of what can be are just being realized.
Barrel Room Magic
With time and dedication come rewards: a transformative moment where the aging barrels infuse flavour into the purest expression of tequila to create something that can feel more like mysticism than science
Over three generations of the Jimador families have workedwith Tequila Don Julio. Like Don Julio González himself,their passion for the process and methods of the art oftequila-making is unmatched and their mastery in planting,farming and harvesting agave have been passed on forgenerations.
Let us raise a glass to them.