Mexican Spirits Bible
A bilingual reference, A → Z

Mexican Spirits, fully explained.

Every protected denomination. Every traditional regional distillate. Every fermented ancestor. Every modern Mexican spirit. The producers, the species, the science, and the cultural context.

How to read this site

Four layers, never collapsed.

Mexican spirit names get tangled because four different kinds of information share the same words. We keep them separate.

  1. 1

    Legal category

    A protected designation under Mexican law — like Tequila, Mezcal, Raicilla, Bacanora, Sotol, Charanda, Comiteco.

  2. 2

    Traditional name

    A regional spirit that may or may not have its own DO — like Pox, Tuxca, Lechuguilla, Palmilla, Bingarrote.

  3. 3

    Production term

    A method or style — like Ensamble, Pechuga, Capón, Clay-pot still, Filipino still.

  4. 4

    Plant / local name

    A species or its local vernacular — like Tobalá (Agave potatorum), Cuixe (one form of A. karwinskii), Bilia.

Protected denominations

The seven protected DOs.

Tequila, Mezcal, Raicilla, Bacanora, Sotol, Charanda, Comiteco. Every protected category under Mexican IP law, with current regulatory state through May 2026.

Browse all spirits →
Agave spiritAgave spirits are distilled from the cooked hearts (piñas) of agave plants. The category includes tequila, mezcal, raicilla, bacanora, comiteco, and several smaller traditional spirits. Different categories use different agave species and different production rules.Protected DO (NOM)Protected by a Mexican Denomination of Origin (DO) and governed by a binding federal product norm (NOM). The DO defines the territory and the species; the NOM defines production rules and labeling. Only producers operating within the territory and following the norm may use the legal name. Example: Tequila is protected under NOM-006-SCFI-2012, mezcal under NOM-070-SCFI-2016.

Bacanora

Sonora's outlaw agave spirit. Distilled from Agave angustifolia (locally called pacífica) across 35 municipalities of the Sierra Madre Occidental in eastern Sonora, illegal from 1915 to 1992, granted a Denomination of Origin in 2000, and governed today by NOM-168-SCFI-2004 in transition to NOM-186-SCFI-2024.

High confidenceHigh confidence: the main claims on this page are backed by primary sources (regulatory documents, peer-reviewed research, or direct producer attestation) and have been verified against the editorial correction log.Sonora
Cane spiritCane spirits are distilled from sugarcane juice or cane syrup. Mexican examples include charanda (the Michoacán DO rum) and aguardiente de caña. Distinct from agave spirits in fermentable source and from rum at the regulatory level only in geography and norm.Protected DO (NOM)Protected by a Mexican Denomination of Origin (DO) and governed by a binding federal product norm (NOM). The DO defines the territory and the species; the NOM defines production rules and labeling. Only producers operating within the territory and following the norm may use the legal name. Example: Tequila is protected under NOM-006-SCFI-2012, mezcal under NOM-070-SCFI-2016.

Charanda

Mexico's protected rum. Distilled from sugarcane grown on the red volcanic soils of central Michoacán, restricted to 16 designated municipalities, governed by NOM-144-SCFI-2017 and protected as a Denomination of Origin since 2003.

High confidenceHigh confidence: the main claims on this page are backed by primary sources (regulatory documents, peer-reviewed research, or direct producer attestation) and have been verified against the editorial correction log.Michoacán
Multi-base spiritMulti-base spirits combine sugars from two or more sources during fermentation. Comiteco is the canonical Mexican example: it ferments agave aguamiel with cane piloncillo before distillation, making it categorically a hybrid rather than an agave-only or cane-only spirit.Geographical IndicationProtected by a Geographical Indication (IG), a lighter-weight Mexican geographic-protection tier than a full DO. An IG ties a product name to a region but typically without the depth of production-rule prescription a DO carries. Comiteco received IG status in September 2025; the Sotol DO is also sometimes described this way in older literature.

Comiteco

The protected spirit of Comitán, Chiapas, and the only major Mexican distillate built from a multi-base ferment of aguamiel (fresh agave sap from Agave americana) and piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar). Granted Geographical Indication status on 25 September 2025, an IG and not a full Denomination of Origin.

High confidenceHigh confidence: the main claims on this page are backed by primary sources (regulatory documents, peer-reviewed research, or direct producer attestation) and have been verified against the editorial correction log.Chiapas
Agave spiritAgave spirits are distilled from the cooked hearts (piñas) of agave plants. The category includes tequila, mezcal, raicilla, bacanora, comiteco, and several smaller traditional spirits. Different categories use different agave species and different production rules.Protected DO (NOM)Protected by a Mexican Denomination of Origin (DO) and governed by a binding federal product norm (NOM). The DO defines the territory and the species; the NOM defines production rules and labeling. Only producers operating within the territory and following the norm may use the legal name. Example: Tequila is protected under NOM-006-SCFI-2012, mezcal under NOM-070-SCFI-2016.

Mezcal

Mexico's broadest agave-spirit category. Distilled from dozens of agave species across thirteen denominated states, governed by NOM-070-SCFI-2016 and protected as a Denomination of Origin since 1994. Produced in three legal classes (Mezcal, Mezcal Artesanal, Mezcal Ancestral) and required by law to be 100% agave.

High confidenceHigh confidence: the main claims on this page are backed by primary sources (regulatory documents, peer-reviewed research, or direct producer attestation) and have been verified against the editorial correction log.Oaxaca, Guerrero…
Agave spiritAgave spirits are distilled from the cooked hearts (piñas) of agave plants. The category includes tequila, mezcal, raicilla, bacanora, comiteco, and several smaller traditional spirits. Different categories use different agave species and different production rules.Protected DO (NOM)Protected by a Mexican Denomination of Origin (DO) and governed by a binding federal product norm (NOM). The DO defines the territory and the species; the NOM defines production rules and labeling. Only producers operating within the territory and following the norm may use the legal name. Example: Tequila is protected under NOM-006-SCFI-2012, mezcal under NOM-070-SCFI-2016.

Raicilla

A western-Jalisco agave spirit, protected as a Denomination of Origin since 2019. Distilled in seventeen designated municipalities (sixteen in Jalisco plus Bahía de Banderas in Nayarit) from several permitted agave species, split into two formally recognized sub-styles: Sierra (mountain) and Costa (coastal).

High confidenceHigh confidence: the main claims on this page are backed by primary sources (regulatory documents, peer-reviewed research, or direct producer attestation) and have been verified against the editorial correction log.Jalisco, Nayarit
Dasylirion spiritDasylirion spirits are distilled from the cooked hearts of Dasylirion plants (desert shrubs, not agaves). The main protected category is sotol. Despite the similar production process, Dasylirion biology differs from agave: separate male and female plants, repeated flowering across the lifespan, and no bat pollination.Protected DO (NOM)Protected by a Mexican Denomination of Origin (DO) and governed by a binding federal product norm (NOM). The DO defines the territory and the species; the NOM defines production rules and labeling. Only producers operating within the territory and following the norm may use the legal name. Example: Tequila is protected under NOM-006-SCFI-2012, mezcal under NOM-070-SCFI-2016.

Sotol

Mexico's Chihuahuan Desert spirit, distilled not from agave but from the Dasylirion genus. Protected as a Denomination of Origin since 2002 across Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango, governed by NOM-159-SCFI-2004, and at the center of a live cross-border IP dispute with Texas producers.

High confidenceHigh confidence: the main claims on this page are backed by primary sources (regulatory documents, peer-reviewed research, or direct producer attestation) and have been verified against the editorial correction log.Chihuahua, Coahuila…
Agave spiritAgave spirits are distilled from the cooked hearts (piñas) of agave plants. The category includes tequila, mezcal, raicilla, bacanora, comiteco, and several smaller traditional spirits. Different categories use different agave species and different production rules.Protected DO (NOM)Protected by a Mexican Denomination of Origin (DO) and governed by a binding federal product norm (NOM). The DO defines the territory and the species; the NOM defines production rules and labeling. Only producers operating within the territory and following the norm may use the legal name. Example: Tequila is protected under NOM-006-SCFI-2012, mezcal under NOM-070-SCFI-2016.

Tequila

Mexico's most-recognized spirit. Distilled exclusively from Blue Weber agave across 181 specific municipalities in five denominated states, governed by NOM-006-SCFI-2012 and protected as a Denomination of Origin since 1974.

High confidenceHigh confidence: the main claims on this page are backed by primary sources (regulatory documents, peer-reviewed research, or direct producer attestation) and have been verified against the editorial correction log.Jalisco, Nayarit…
Producer landscape

Verified producers.

Tequila NOMs cross-checked against the CRT registry. Mezcal palenques with their maestro mezcaleros and family lineages.

Browse all producers →
IndustrialIndustrial: large-scale modern production. Autoclaves replace stone ovens; column distillation or large continuous stainless-steel pots replace small copper alambiques; diffusers may extract sugar directly from raw agave fiber. Efficient, consistent, and stripped of the slow flavor-building of traditional methods.

818 Tequila

The celebrity tequila brand founded in 2021 by Kendall Jenner, produced at a contract distillery in Amatitán, Jalisco; the specific facility identifier is not publicly disclosed by the brand.

Medium confidenceMedium confidence: most claims are backed by reputable secondary sources, but some details rely on inference or have not yet been verified against primary sources.Jalisco
ArtesanalArtesanal: a regulated production category (defined by NOM-070 for mezcal and used informally for tequila) that allows masonry ovens or earth pits for cooking, mechanical mills or stone tahonas for milling, and small-batch fermentation and double distillation in copper or stainless. Equipment is small-scale; the human hand of the maestro is central.

A Medios Chiles

An artisanal mezcal from San Pablo Etla, Oaxaca, made by maestro mezcalero Don Fortino Ramos in a conical earthen oven and fermented in Sabino-wood vats, with batches timed to the full moon and a wide range of cultivated and wild agaves.

Medium confidenceMedium confidence: most claims are backed by reputable secondary sources, but some details rely on inference or have not yet been verified against primary sources.Oaxaca
NOM 1146NOM (Norma Oficial Mexicana) is the Mexican federal product-standard system. On a tequila bottle the NOM number is the unique identifier of the distillery facility where the tequila was made — every drop in the bottle came from a plant operating under that NOM. Different brands made at the same NOM share a distillery. NOM 1146: La Tequileña, S.A. de C.V. (Tequila, Jalisco, Valles region). Enrique Fonseca and Sergio Mendoza. Home of Don Fulano, Fuenteseca, Tears of Llorona, and the ArteNOM Selección 1146 Añejo.ArtesanalArtesanal: a regulated production category (defined by NOM-070 for mezcal and used informally for tequila) that allows masonry ovens or earth pits for cooking, mechanical mills or stone tahonas for milling, and small-batch fermentation and double distillation in copper or stainless. Equipment is small-scale; the human hand of the maestro is central.

ArteNOM Selección 1146

The Añejo expression in Jake Lustig's curated ArteNOM Selección series, bottled from Enrique Fonseca's La Tequileña (NOM 1146) in the town of Tequila, Jalisco; an independent-bottler release rather than a single-distillery brand.

Medium confidenceMedium confidence: most claims are backed by reputable secondary sources, but some details rely on inference or have not yet been verified against primary sources.Jalisco
NOM 1414NOM (Norma Oficial Mexicana) is the Mexican federal product-standard system. On a tequila bottle the NOM number is the unique identifier of the distillery facility where the tequila was made — every drop in the bottle came from a plant operating under that NOM. Different brands made at the same NOM share a distillery. NOM 1414: Destiladora del Valle de Tequila (Tequila, Jalisco). Don Julio production after the 2018 Diageo move from NOM 1449.ArtesanalArtesanal: a regulated production category (defined by NOM-070 for mezcal and used informally for tequila) that allows masonry ovens or earth pits for cooking, mechanical mills or stone tahonas for milling, and small-batch fermentation and double distillation in copper or stainless. Equipment is small-scale; the human hand of the maestro is central.

ArteNOM Selección de 1414

The Reposado bottling in Jake Lustig's ArteNOM Selección series, a US-based independent-bottler project that releases small batches of tequila under the producing distillery's NOM number; the 1414 expression sources from a Valles-region distillery in the town of Tequila, Jalisco, the same facility that today houses Diageo's Don Julio production.

Medium confidenceMedium confidence: most claims are backed by reputable secondary sources, but some details rely on inference or have not yet been verified against primary sources.Jalisco
ArtesanalArtesanal: a regulated production category (defined by NOM-070 for mezcal and used informally for tequila) that allows masonry ovens or earth pits for cooking, mechanical mills or stone tahonas for milling, and small-batch fermentation and double distillation in copper or stainless. Equipment is small-scale; the human hand of the maestro is central.

Bozal

A curatorial mezcal brand that bottles wild and semi-wild agave releases sourced from a network of palenques across Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Durango; founded by Eli Gunst under 3 Badge Beverage, returned to Mexican ownership in November 2024 when Maguey Imports acquired the label.

High confidenceHigh confidence: the main claims on this page are backed by primary sources (regulatory documents, peer-reviewed research, or direct producer attestation) and have been verified against the editorial correction log.Oaxaca
ArtesanalArtesanal: a regulated production category (defined by NOM-070 for mezcal and used informally for tequila) that allows masonry ovens or earth pits for cooking, mechanical mills or stone tahonas for milling, and small-batch fermentation and double distillation in copper or stainless. Equipment is small-scale; the human hand of the maestro is central.

Caballito Cerrero

A Jiménez family distillery in Amatitán, Jalisco, founded in 1950 by Don Alfonso Jiménez Rosales (an earlier co-founder of Herradura) that bottles its agave spirits as destilado de agave rather than tequila so it can preserve heritage varietals and pre-DO methods the modern tequila standard discourages; the source of the "Chato" varietal that lent its name to the local-name shorthand.

Medium confidenceMedium confidence: most claims are backed by reputable secondary sources, but some details rely on inference or have not yet been verified against primary sources.Jalisco