Tequilas del Señor: Distillery Tour

In September I attended The World International Tequila Conference and Distillery Tour. It was packed with amazing experiences, starting with the very first day when we were greeted by mariachis at the Tequilas del Señor distillery in Tlaquepaque. This is where Herencia de Plata, Herencia Historico, and Dos Lunas are made.

The Tequilas del Señor staff is friendly, and they welcomed us with extremely tasty margaritas. We toured their distillery and ended up in their tasting room, with more mariachi and traditional Mexican dancers.

The incredible Herencia Historico tequila being poured for our group during a tour of Tequilas del Señor in Tlaquepaque, Mexico.
The incredible Herencia Historico tequila being poured for our group during a tour of Tequilas del Señor in Tlaquepaque, Mexico. This is the same distillery that produced the Dos Lunas line of high-quality tequilas.

But they really went above-and-beyond when they let us taste all of their tequilas – including the Herencia Historico, which was absolutely incredible. The staff told me that this 12-year old bottle of tequila (aged for 5 years in sherry barrels) sells for about $250/bottle in the United States. (They began aging it May 27th, 1997, when the European Union officially recognized Tequila as a “Denomination of Origin”.)

The nose on this tequila is extremely strong, and the taste is like a wonderfully smooth, rich ride through tequila heaven with its vanilla and caramel flavors. Its dark color hints at how it actually tastes: complex, full bodied, warm, and instantly relaxing – as you would expect any tequila aged this long would be, yet surprisingly it was not too sweet.

It’s not easy to find, but it seems you can buy Herencia Historico for about $190/bottle in the USA at TheCellarOnline.com.

After the tasting was done, we were treated to some incredible Mexican food, and more margaritas.

All tequilas produced here are run through the lab at Tequilas del Señor, including this bottle of Dos Lunas Silver.
All tequilas produced here are run through the lab at Tequilas del Señor, including this bottle of Dos Lunas Silver.

Tequilas del Señor is located in Tlaquepaque, a charming pueblo just outside of Guadalajara – a 15-minute taxi ride from the center of the city. They recently opened their distillery for tours, and the experience is pleasantly in-depth without being confusing.

It begins with a video presentation about the growing and harvesting of the blue agave, the plant used to make tequila. A short question and answer session follows, and then they take you through the various parts of the distillery, including where the agave are “cooked” or steamed, where they extract the sugary liquid from the plants, where they ferment and distill and bottle the tequila, and even the laboratory where they are constantly testing their products for purity and standards.

The tequilas made here are of extremely high quality. Dos Lunas Añejo, in fact, sits at the top of our favorite tequila list.

If you are looking to do a bit of tequila tourism yourself, you should definitely consider staying in Tlaquepaque (the Quinta Don Jose Boutique Hotel is our favorite place to stay). The Tequilas del Señor distillery is a leisurely walk from the hotel (or a 2 minute taxi ride), and you can visit without a tour guide and still have a great experience.

To schedule a time for a tour, you should contact them – and tell them we sent you!