Tequila is NOT stronger than other alcohol. It’s typically 80 proof – 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) – just like most spirits.

Yes! Cuervo is an 11th-generation, Mexican family-owned tequila company, and is proud to be the only Mexican-owned multinational spirits company.

• The Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM) is an administrative entity connected to a tequila producer with a single or multiple distilleries, and it does not necessarily represent the distillery where it is produced. It helps indicate who makes the tequila. For example, Cuervo uses one NOM on its labels (NOM 1122) that encompasses all four of our distilleries and five tequila brands. This number is not attached to one independent facility.
• In 2006, to further establish standards, production regulations and defined product styles, Cuervo worked with the CRT to create the Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM). We have always been committed to consumer transparency – every bottle of Cuervo tequila also includes the distillery address where it was made.

No, there are never worms in any true tequila. The worm-in-the-bottle myth actually comes from mezcal, a different agave spirit primarily made in Oaxaca. Some mezcal producers began adding a worm as a marketing gimmick in the 1940s and ’50s, but it has never been part of traditional tequila-making. Tequila is made only from Blue Weber agave and must come from specific regions in Mexico, primarily Jalisco—where quality and regulations are strictly enforced.

• For some, the appeal lies in exploring tequilas aged in unique barrels, like new American oak or even barrels previously used for Irish single malt whiskey. Each tequila has a unique barrel story, but all of our aged tequilas at Cuervo are first aged in either new American or French oak barrels.

• Each year, the Cuervo family also commissions a well-known Mexico-based artist to create a special edition design for its Reserva de la Familia by Jose Cuervo Extra Añejo expression, adorned on the wooden gift box in which each hand-numbered and wrapped bottle is placed. Only a limited quantity of Reserva de la Familia Extra Añejo is produced each year, making each box a special collector’s item only available for a limited time. Learn more about the 2025 Artist box, celebrating Reserva’s 30th anniversary.

The Cuervo Tradicional line is 100% Blue weber agave, and the Cuervo Especial line is a tequila made with 51% Blue weber agave and 49% sugar sourced from cane and grain.

• A diffuser is a machine that uses just hot water and steam to pressure wash shredded agave fibers to remove the sugary liquid from the fibers. That liquid is then cooked via steam to separate the compounds for the fermentation process.
• Diffusers are an efficient production method designed to help lower energy consumption and increase yield from every agave plant. They reduce water usage by more than 50%, use 46% less energy and 20% less agave. Diffusers are utilized for some, but not all of our tequilas and are a critical method in differentiating our production cycle to meet consumer demand and find more sustainable solutions to produce our tequilas.
• Cuervo Especial and Cuervo Authentics uses a diffuser in its extraction and cooking of the agave sugars, whereas Cuervo Tradicional and Reserva de la Familia use traditional brick ovens to cook the agave. 

• As a category leader, Cuervo has an outsized responsibility to protect the environment and the future of the plant and our surrounding community. For decades, we’ve used agave byproduct for compost in our fields, and we give that compost to third parties for free for them to start new businesses.
• In 2019, we established ‘The Agave Project’ to create a circular economy, and maintain a long-standing commitment to the land and people of Tequila and Mexico by repurposing or recycling 100% of bagasse. You can learn more about Cuervo’s tequila sustainability practices by checking out The Agave Project.
• Treating water stillage from the production of tequila is critical in order to keep the surrounding environment safe from pollution. We are one of the few distilleries that have invested in a stillage treatment plants on site, which allows us to process about 2 million liters of stillage per day and make it safe to return to the water system. The majority of tequila producers are polluting our waterways making this a huge environmental issue. Our treated wastewater is used for the steam ovens and within the stillage treatment plant creating a circular process and allowing Cuervo to be more sustainable.

• As the oldest tequila company and first farmers of agave, Cuervo is deeply committed to protecting the tequila industry, preserving the environment, and supporting the Mexican communities that are its foundation.
• We provide our agave farmers with industry-leading wages and long-term contracts—commitments we maintain regardless of broader industry shifts, such as agave shortages or surplus years.
• Cuervo actively advocates for these workers at the governmental and industry levels, working to ensure their protection and to secure the long-term health of the agave industry. This includes promoting responsible farming practices and investing in sustainability initiatives that safeguard agave for future generations.
• As we look toward the future, we remain focused on finding innovative, sustainable ways to produce our tequila, while continuing to prioritize the well-being and livelihoods of the people who make it possible.

The most common additives, or enhancers, used in both tequila and across almost all spirits are caramel extract for color standardization, oak extract for flavor standardization, glycerin for mouthfeel, and Jarabes or sweeteners for flavor. As a regulated industry, Tequila is only allowed to include up to 1% of additives in 100% agave tequila. They are not unhealthy, and this regulated process has shared the same standard across other spirits categories for decades, including wine, Rum, Vodka, Cognac, and Scotch. 

Any time an aged tequila touches a barrel as part of production, it may include compounds that can be imparted through the wood – for example, an ex-wine or Bourbon cask will have remnants of the spirit it housed and will show up as an additive in a lab test. This makes the ‘no additive tequila’ or ‘additive free’ claim impossible to certify. There could also be the need to add additives for color correction, flavor standardization or mouthfeel, and the permitted use of these can vary from batch to batch. Flavored tequilas will use additives to create the flavor profile.

No. There is a current misperception that additives reduce the quality of the product, are unhealthy and are changing the flavor of tequila, which is unequivocally false. Additives are used as enhancers that create consistency and standardization in the tequila production process. They are not unhealthy, and this regulated process has shared the same standard across other spirits categories for decades, including wine, Rum, Vodka, Cognac and Scotch.

Additive-free tequilas, or no-additive tequilas, are not recognized as an official segment in the category, nor is there an official additive-free certification put in place by regulators because no formal testing has taken place with any producers. Tequilas that describe their product as “Additive-Free” or as “Pure Tequila With No Additives” do not use any enhancers in their production process; however, they may use barrels for their aged tequilas that will contain compounds and additives.

Climate change presents a significant challenge for tequila production, because agave is sensitive to weather patterns. Changes in rainfall, temperature, or extreme weather events can affect harvest years down the line.

Water is another concern facing the industry. Cuervo is one of the few distilleries that has a water stillage treatment plant on site, which allows us to process wastewater byproduct. Very few distilleries have this environmental necessity in place.

As the first tequila producers and agave farmers, we know more than anyone the present challenges in the production cycle and are committed to protecting Mexico’s national spirit for generations to come. These efforts include the use of stillage treatment plants in all distilleries and production methods, like using diffusers, to save water and energy.

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Tequila has changed a lot over the past few hundred years. The spirit used to be much more rustic and varied. In 1795, when Cuervo received the first official license to commercially produce tequila, it was technically called “vino mezcal” at the time. Back then, there wasn’t the same consistency we have today because every batch was made with whatever equipment was available. Those early tequilas had a stronger, more earthy flavor.

Over time, with technological advances and more knowledge of fermentation and distillation, tequila producers were able to create a more consistent product to bring us to the tequila we know today. Our proprietary yeast strains create more consistent flavors than the wild yeasts used centuries ago. Modern temperature controls and improved aging techniques help create more refined flavors. Cuervo still uses many of the traditional methods today – our agave piñas are cooked in the same brick ovens at La Rojeña that were built in 1812.

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There are only five States of Mexico where tequila can be made and be labelled as Tequila: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas. Before 1978, tequila was unregulated and produced all around the world at varying levels of quality. In 1978, leading tequila companies worked to establish a globally-recognized appellation of origin (a D.O.) that legally ensures the entire tequila production process occurs within the defined region, and that its ingredients and characteristics are exclusively shaped by its natural environment. 

Other products that are protected by a D.O. include Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Champagne wine. Tequila was the first Mexican food or beverage protected and recognized as a D.O.

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As an 11th generation, family-owned Mexican company, Cuervo was the first to farm agave for tequila production and the first to perform intensive cultivation. Jose Antonio de Cuervo founded the family business in 1758 when he bought land around Tequila and named it Solar de las Animas. The Cuervo family was granted the first license to distill by the King of Spain in 1795. Cuervo Tequila is the oldest tequila brand and one of the oldest spirits brands in the world, with the oldest distillery in the Americas called La Rojeña. That distillery is still operating and producing tequila, in the town of Tequila, Jalisco.

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