NOM 1579

NOM 1579 - Destilería El Pandillo

At 6,788 feet above sea level in the remote mountain town of Jesús María, Felipe Camarena masterfully crafts this bright, aromatic Blanco Clásico tequila from stressed hillside agave plants grown in tequila’s highest-altitude agave region.

Felipe’s Destilería El Pandillo is arguably one of the business's most forward-thinking, innovative, and sustainable distilleries. After select harvesting, the agave plants are slowly roasted in brick ovens and macerated intact with their fibers for a richer, fuller flavor.

Following fermentation with rainwater, Felipe slowly distills this selección in small copper pot stills and aerates the spirit before bottling.

El Pandillo is run by Felipe Camarena, whose great-great-grandfather was among the first to start farming blue agave in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, in the 1800s. He is the third generation, and his sons are the fourth generation of distilling some of Mexico's best and most authentic craft tequila.

Felipe is on a quest to protect the traditional process of making tequila that he has practiced and studied his entire life. He has also built upon these traditional practices by adding his unique twists – such as specially modified copper stills, stone ovens, “Frankenstein” the tahona, “igor” the agave shredder, and he uses harvested rainwater.

Want to learn more about El Pandillo Tequila Distillery? Read this great article by Bone Garden Cantina: “El Pandillo Tequila Distillery is Pure Genius.”