Our story begins in 1947 when Antonio Wong, a Chinese immigrant, husband, and father to seven daughters, began constructing the 16-room Hotel California in Todos Santos, a desert oasis on the Baja peninsula of Mexico. Wanting the locals to believe he was Mexican, he renamed himself Don Antonio Tabasco. The locals didn’t buy it, and instead called him ‘El Chino.”

Like the grapes of a prized wine, the agave that tequila is made from can’t be separated from the land where it was grown. We only use organic, 100% Weber Blue Agave that has been carefully cultivated for generations in Los Altos de Jalisco (the Highlands of Jalisco). It’s at this higher elevation that warm days give way to cooler nights. Winters run colder. And each agave plant is blessed by a bounty of pure highland rain. This unique climate also means our agave takes longer to mature. And we let time take its course“ holding off on harvesting pinas until they are 8-10 years old, which produces much higher sugar content. And ultimately, that makes for tequila with smoother, more floral agave character.

Instead of commercial yeast blends engineered in a laboratory, we source our yeast straight from the agave plant itself. A level of detail not shared by other tequilas. This natural yeast requires constant supervision in the distillation process, but has an enormous impact on our tequila” resulting in a much more complex taste profile.

Hotel California Tequila goes through two distillation processes. The first is quite traditional. The second is anything but. During our Cold Distillation process, we lower the temperature to -6°C ” removing all organic impurities from the tequila. Sure, it takes longer. But theres no hurrying perfection.

To achieve the complex flavors of our Reposado and Añejo, we rest each in oak barrels formerly used to age bourbon. Then we let time take its course” allowing our Reposado to mature for a minimum of six months and our Añejo for at least 28 months, or as long as it takes to reach the perfect balance. Of course, a sip is always the best measure of maturity.

From the hand casting of our artisan-fired glass bottle, to the hand-stamped and inked labels, everything we do is for the love of craft. And when the bottle is ready, we rinse it with our tequila instead of water” ensuring nothing comes between you and the perfect tequila experience. Its a fitting tribute to the people of Mexico and an honest expression of their most celebrated spirit.

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