Fortaleza Tequila Anejo

Its Origins

The drawing on the label represents the traditional method of production, a Tahona or stone mill, with a horse pulling it as it was done over a century ago. The house is located in the town of Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, first populated in the 1530’s by Spanish forefathers, nestled in rich valley at 4,000 feet of altitude, in the foothills of the 9,560-foot tall, Volcan de Tequila. Here blue agaves grow for seven to eight years, caressed with the warmth of the Mexican sun, nourished by the summer rains, and protected from the harsh and cold winter winds. The Tequila is produced entirely within the walls of our estate, using centuries old, traditional methods, which are very labor intensive but create a tequila unequaled in taste and smoothness. Using the age-old brick oven, with its meter thick walls, the agave is cooked for thirty six hours. Then it is crushed or milled , as it was 135 years ago, in the stone mill called the Tahona. The crushed agave is then washed with the pure mountain water from the Volcan de Tequila to separate the pulp from the woody fibers to create an agave juice called mosto. The woody fibers of the agave, called bagazo, are removed at this time, and taken to the fields to use as compost. The agave mosto is then naturally fermented for five days in small wood vats, and then double distilled using small, labor-intensive copper pot stills. The glass bottle is hand-blown in Tonala, Jalisco by artisan glassmakers and the bottle tops are artisan designed to represent the harvest agave, or Pina, and are hand-made by our workers.