Regulation: DOs, NOMs, Disputes

Overview

Mexican spirits are protected by a layered legal system that most consumers never see. A bottle of tequila, mezcal, or sotol carries claims that are policed by three intersecting regimes: a geographic-protection regime that says where the spirit may be made, a technical-standard regime that says how it must be made, and an enforcement regime that says who certifies the production and what happens to producers who break the rules. The shape of each spirit you can buy in 2026 reflects how those three regimes have negotiated with each other across roughly fifty years of regulatory practice.

This chapter is the regulatory map. It explains the two protection instruments under Mexican intellectual-property law (the stronger Denominación de Origen and the weaker Indicación Geográfica), the technical NOM standards that translate those instruments into shelf-ready production rules, the seven Mexican spirits that currently sit inside one or both regimes, and the three live disputes that will shape the regulatory landscape over the next several years: the 2024–2025 additive-free litigation that the Consejo Regulador del Tequila is fighting in US federal court, the unresolved Texas Sotol intellectual-property standoff under USMCAUnited States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, in force 1 July 2020, and the silvestre / cultivado labeling gap that NOM-070-SCFI-2016A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-070-SCFI-2016 (Mezcal). The official Mexican standard for mezcal production. Defines three production tiers (Mezcal Industrial, Mezcal Artesanal, Mezcal Ancestral) with specific equipment and method requirements for each, lists the permitted agave species and states, and governs labeling. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM). declined to fix.

Two posture notes for the reader. First, the most important corrections this chapter embeds are time-sensitive. The mezcal DO covers thirteen states as of May 2026, not twelve, and the disputed-expansion framing that appears in older trade-press accounts has been settled by the 2025 re-grants. Comiteco's Indicación Geográfica was granted in September 2025, not 2022. These are recent, primary-source facts. Second, the regulatory questions that this chapter cannot answer (the outcome of the CRT v. AFA lawsuit, whether NOM-070-SCFI-2016A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-070-SCFI-2016 (Mezcal). The official Mexican standard for mezcal production. Defines three production tiers (Mezcal Industrial, Mezcal Artesanal, Mezcal Ancestral) with specific equipment and method requirements for each, lists the permitted agave species and states, and governs labeling. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM). will be amended to require diffuser disclosure, whether the Texas Sotol dispute moves toward settlement) are flagged as live and not predicted. Treat them as in motion.

DO and IG: the two instruments

Mexican geographic-indication protection runs through two instruments codified in the Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial (2020), administered by the IMPIInstituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial, the federal industrial-property agency.

A Denominación de Origen (DO) is the stronger of the two. The 2020 statute defines a DO as a geographic name whose product characteristics are exclusively or essentially attributable to the geographic environment, including both natural factors (soil, climate, plant populations, water) and human factors (technique, knowledge, tradition). The DO is exclusive: a producer outside the territory cannot use the protected name on a comparable product, even if the product is botanically or technically similar. The territory is specifically delimited at the municipality level. Tequila (1974) and mezcal (1994) are the canonical DOs for Mexican spirits; bacanora (2000), sotol (2002), charanda (2003), and raicilla (2019) are the four newer ones.

An Indicación Geográfica (IG) is the weaker, more flexible instrument, introduced into Mexican law in 2018. The IG requires only that the product's characteristics be attributable to the geographic origin, without the exclusivity or essentiality test. An IG is faster and procedurally lighter to obtain. Comiteco (September 2025) is the only Mexican spirit currently protected under an IG; Café de Tenejapa (also Chiapas) received its own IG in the same 2025 cycle.

International recognition of Mexico's DOs runs through the WIPO Lisbon System for appellations of origin and through bilateral treaties. Tequila and mezcal are recognized in USMCAUnited States–Mexico–Canada Agreement Annex 7-B as distinctive products of Mexico; sotol is not, for political reasons covered later in this chapter. Outside its treaty framework, a Mexican DO has no extraterritorial force.

The NOM system

A NOMNorma Oficial Mexicana, a binding federal product or service standard is a binding Mexican federal product standard. A DO can exist without a category-specific NOM (the geographic-protection layer and the technical-standard layer are formally separate instruments), but in practice every protected Mexican spirit category has either a dedicated NOM or relies on the general alcoholic-beverage standard NOM-142-SSA1/SCFI-2014A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-142-SSA1/SCFI-2014 (Alcoholic beverages, general standard). The general Mexican federal standard for the hygienic specifications and labeling of alcoholic beverages. Applies as the fallback regulatory framework for any spirit category that does not yet have its own dedicated NOM, including raicilla while its draft category-specific NOM (DOF código 5650295) remains unpromulgated. as a fallback.

NOMs come in two practical flavors in the spirits world:

A regulatory-standard NOM defines the rules for an entire product category. NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT). governs tequila; NOM-070-SCFI-2016A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-070-SCFI-2016 (Mezcal). The official Mexican standard for mezcal production. Defines three production tiers (Mezcal Industrial, Mezcal Artesanal, Mezcal Ancestral) with specific equipment and method requirements for each, lists the permitted agave species and states, and governs labeling. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM). governs mezcal; NOM-159-SCFI-2004A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-159-SCFI-2004 (Sotol). The official Mexican standard for sotol production. Names only two legally permitted species (Dasylirion cedrosanum and D. duranguensis), limits production to Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango, and permits up to 49% non-Dasylirion sugar (analogous to tequila mixto). Notably excludes D. wheeleri, which is the most-distributed sotol plant in the Chihuahuan Desert; a regulatory gap. governs sotol; NOM-168-SCFI-2004A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-168-SCFI-2004 (Bacanora). The official Mexican standard for bacanora production. Restricts production to a defined area of Sonora and the pacifica variant of Agave angustifolia. Updated by NOM-186-SCFI-2024 (in transition). governs bacanora (currently transitioning to NOM-186-SCFI-2024A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-186-SCFI-2024 (Bacanora, updated). The 2024 revision of the bacanora standard, modernizing labeling requirements and production-tier definitions. Replaces NOM-168-SCFI-2004 over a transition period.); NOM-144-SCFI-2017A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-144-SCFI-2017 (Charanda). The official Mexican standard for charanda production. Restricts charanda to defined Michoacán municipalities and requires cane-derived sugar as the fermentable base. Charanda is functionally Mexico's protected rum category. governs charanda; NOM-199-SCFI-2017A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-199-SCFI-2017 (Bebidas Alcohólicas). General Mexican standard for alcoholic-beverage labeling, governing every category not covered by a category-specific NOM. Applies to liqueurs, modern Mexican spirits (rum beyond Charanda, gin, vodka, whisky, brandy), and any non-DO traditional distillate. governs general alcoholic-beverage labeling for categories that don't have their own NOM. Each of these is a multi-page technical document that specifies permitted raw materials, geographic scope, process steps, equipment, labeling rules, and analytical specifications (alcohol content, methanol, higher alcohols).

A facility NOM is a four-digit identifier of a specific distillery, issued by the CRT (for tequila) or CRM (for mezcal) under the relevant category NOM. Every bottle of tequila or mezcal in Mexico carries the facility NOM of the plant where the spirit was produced. Different brands made at the same facility share a NOM. The four-digit number is therefore the most precise sourcing claim on the label: a tequila labeled NOM 1474 was distilled at Compañía Tequilera Los Alambiques in Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco. Every drop in the bottle came from that plant.

The enforcement layer is the Consejo Regulador specific to each category. The CRT (Consejo Regulador del Tequila, founded 1994) enforces NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT).. The CRM (Consejo Regulador del Mezcal, the brand name now used by COMERCAM, the Consejo Mexicano Regulador de la Calidad del Mezcal) enforces NOM-070-SCFI-2016A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-070-SCFI-2016 (Mezcal). The official Mexican standard for mezcal production. Defines three production tiers (Mezcal Industrial, Mezcal Artesanal, Mezcal Ancestral) with specific equipment and method requirements for each, lists the permitted agave species and states, and governs labeling. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM)., alongside the more recently accredited AMMA. The CRSotol enforces NOM-159-SCFI-2004A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-159-SCFI-2004 (Sotol). The official Mexican standard for sotol production. Names only two legally permitted species (Dasylirion cedrosanum and D. duranguensis), limits production to Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango, and permits up to 49% non-Dasylirion sugar (analogous to tequila mixto). Notably excludes D. wheeleri, which is the most-distributed sotol plant in the Chihuahuan Desert; a regulatory gap.. The Consejo Sonorense Regulador del Bacanora enforces NOM-168-SCFI-2004A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-168-SCFI-2004 (Bacanora). The official Mexican standard for bacanora production. Restricts production to a defined area of Sonora and the pacifica variant of Agave angustifolia. Updated by NOM-186-SCFI-2024 (in transition).. Each council is funded by producer dues and issues the facility NOMs that appear on bottles.

The seven protected spirits

As of May 2026, seven Mexican spirits sit under either a DO or an IG.

| Spirit | Instrument | Year | Technical standard | Council | States | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Tequila | DO | 1974 (Tamaulipas 1977) | NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT). | CRT | Jalisco + 4 | | Mezcal | DO | 1994 | NOM-070-SCFI-2016A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-070-SCFI-2016 (Mezcal). The official Mexican standard for mezcal production. Defines three production tiers (Mezcal Industrial, Mezcal Artesanal, Mezcal Ancestral) with specific equipment and method requirements for each, lists the permitted agave species and states, and governs labeling. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM). | CRM / AMMA | 13 states | | Bacanora | DO | 2000 | NOM-168-SCFI-2004A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-168-SCFI-2004 (Bacanora). The official Mexican standard for bacanora production. Restricts production to a defined area of Sonora and the pacifica variant of Agave angustifolia. Updated by NOM-186-SCFI-2024 (in transition). → NOM-186-SCFI-2024A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-186-SCFI-2024 (Bacanora, updated). The 2024 revision of the bacanora standard, modernizing labeling requirements and production-tier definitions. Replaces NOM-168-SCFI-2004 over a transition period. | CSRB | Sonora | | Sotol | DO | 2002 | NOM-159-SCFI-2004A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-159-SCFI-2004 (Sotol). The official Mexican standard for sotol production. Names only two legally permitted species (Dasylirion cedrosanum and D. duranguensis), limits production to Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango, and permits up to 49% non-Dasylirion sugar (analogous to tequila mixto). Notably excludes D. wheeleri, which is the most-distributed sotol plant in the Chihuahuan Desert; a regulatory gap. | CRSotol | Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango | | Charanda | DO | 2003 | NOM-144-SCFI-2017A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-144-SCFI-2017 (Charanda). The official Mexican standard for charanda production. Restricts charanda to defined Michoacán municipalities and requires cane-derived sugar as the fermentable base. Charanda is functionally Mexico's protected rum category. | (no dedicated council; IMPI direct) | Michoacán | | Raicilla | DO | 2019 | NOM-142-SSA1/SCFI-2014A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-142-SSA1/SCFI-2014 (Alcoholic beverages, general standard). The general Mexican federal standard for the hygienic specifications and labeling of alcoholic beverages. Applies as the fallback regulatory framework for any spirit category that does not yet have its own dedicated NOM, including raicilla while its draft category-specific NOM (DOF código 5650295) remains unpromulgated. (draft NOM 5650295 pending) | Consejo Mexicano Promotor de la Raicilla | Jalisco + 1 Nayarit municipality | | Comiteco | IG | 2025 | (none yet) | (none yet) | Chiapas |

The pattern is worth pausing on. Tequila's framework was built in 1974, before the others were even recognized; the DO and the CRT and the NOM became the template for everything that followed. Mezcal copied the structure twenty years later. Bacanora, sotol, charanda, and raicilla each followed within a generation. Comiteco arrived in 2025 with the lighter IG instrument because the producer community is smaller and the formal council infrastructure is not yet in place. The chronology mirrors the political and economic weight of each category at the moment of recognition.

The mezcal DO: 13 states, settled

The single most important regulatory correction this chapter embeds is that the Mezcal DO covers thirteen states as of May 2026, and the disputed-expansion framing that dominated trade-press coverage in 2022–2024 is no longer accurate. Older accounts referring to twelve states with three contested additions reflect a regulatory snapshot that has since moved.

The arc is worth walking carefully because it is the clearest recent illustration of how Mexican geographic-indication protection actually works under contest.

The original mezcal DO was declared by IMPI on 27 November 1994 and published in the DOFDiario Oficial de la Federación, Mexico's federal official gazette the following day. The first declaration covered five states: Oaxaca, Guerrero, Durango, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas. This is the historic core. Four further states were added in uncontested expansions over the next two decades: Guanajuato (2001), Tamaulipas (2003), Michoacán (2012), and Puebla (2015). These nine states are stable; none has ever been judicially challenged.

The conflict began with three IMPI resolutions published in the DOF on 8–9 August 2018, granting the DO to partial-state territories in Aguascalientes (7 municipalities), Estado de México (15 southern municipalities), and Morelos (23 municipalities). Oaxacan producers and seventeen Oaxacan municipalities challenged the resolutions via two parallel legal vehicles: a controversia constitucional before the SCJNSuprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación, Mexico's Supreme Court and amparo proceedings in federal district courts. The SCJN dismissed the controversia in 2018–2019 on standing grounds (Mexican municipalities lack IMPI-level industrial-property authority). The amparo proceedings were more successful: in September 2023, the SCJN dismissed an IMPI appeal for "notorious lack of standing," leaving in place a lower-court amparo that invalidated the 2018 Aguascalientes grant. IMPI was ordered to remove Aguascalientes from the DO. The Morelos and Estado de México grants faced parallel amparo challenges through 2023 and into 2024.

The political response was new resolutions. In 2025, IMPI issued fresh declarations for all three states, prepared on substantively re-litigated administrative records that explicitly addressed the objections that had unwound the 2018 grants:

• Aguascalientes was re-granted on 28 April 2025 (DOF resolution 5756005), covering the same seven municipalities.
• Morelos was re-granted in mid-2025 (SIDOF 5761103), covering the same twenty-three municipalities. State announcements appeared in July 2025.
• Estado de México was re-granted on 21 November 2025, covering the same fifteen southern municipalities, protecting approximately 5,100 hectares under the institutional umbrella "Mezcal Hecho en México."

In parallel with the 2018 contest, IMPI added a tenth state, Sinaloa, on 12 October 2021 (DOF resolution 5632309), covering four southern municipalities (Mazatlán, Rosario, Concordia, San Ignacio). The Sinaloa grant has not been judicially challenged. Two Sinaloa producers have received IMPI authorization to make mezcal within the DO: Vinata Santa Clara (Los Osuna) and Visión Integral del Sur, a Grupo Patrón affiliate. The presence of a Patrón Spirits affiliate is editorially notable as the kind of industrial entry into newly added states that Oaxacan producer associations cited as the risk of unchecked expansion.

The current authoritative count: thirteen states. The arc from contested 2018 expansion to settled 2025 framework is over.

Tequila and the additive-free litigation

If the mezcal DO story is about geography, the tequila story in 2024–2025 is about labels and who gets to make claims.

NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT). remains the operative tequila standard. The norm was published in December 2012 and has not been amended; no PROY-NOMProyecto de Norma Oficial Mexicana, the official draft of a NOM published for public comment-006 has appeared in DOF public comment since. The CRT has been clear in 2024–2025 that it sees no path to a revision under current political conditions.

What changed instead is enforcement. The trigger was the additive-free certification regime built by the Tequila Matchmaker platform and its non-profit arm, the Additive Free Alliance (AFA, rebranded 2023). The certification was voluntary and market-driven: a producer could submit recipes and production records for third-party review, and on successful audit could label its bottles "additive-free." A growing list of artisan brands joined: Fortaleza, G4, Tequila Ocho, Cascahuín, Calle 23, Tapatío, Mijenta. By early 2024, the AFA list had become a meaningful market signal.

NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT). permits up to one percent combined additives in tequila by volume (caramel color, sugar-based syrup, glycerin, oak extract), including in bottles labeled "100% agave." The four-additive 1% rule is not new; it has been part of the tequila standard for decades. The AFA's argument was that the rule had become a vehicle for undisclosed flavoring, particularly in mass-premium tequila where the additive load could materially shape what the consumer tasted. Disclosure of additive use is not required under NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT).. The AFA's certification was a market response to that disclosure gap.

The CRT's position was that the AFA's framework was unauthorized: only the CRT could certify tequila label claims, and the AFA had no standing under Mexican law to administer a parallel regime. The CRT and PROFECOProcuraduría Federal del Consumidor, Mexico's federal consumer-protection agency issued a joint ruling in August 2024 holding that "additive-free" claims on tequila labels caused consumer confusion and violated NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT).. In September 2024, the CRT began sending letters to brands using the term, warning of seizure and penalties.

The action escalated in early 2025. In February 2025, the CRT briefly suspended Patrón's NOM certification for four days, blocking exports in connection with Patrón's "no secret ingredients" campaign. Certification was restored, and Patrón followed in July 2025 with a "Censored Truth" campaign that named the dispute directly. The CRT's most consequential move came on 4 March 2025, when it filed suit in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Jacksonville) against the Additive Free Alliance (a Kentucky non-profit) and S2F Online, Inc. (a Florida corporation that operates Tequila Matchmaker), alleging trademark infringement, false advertising, and unauthorized certification. The CRT seeks an injunction. The AFA publicly rejected the exclusivity claim in May 2025. The case is unresolved.

The structural question the lawsuit raises is who owns consumer information about Mexican spirits. The CRT's position is that the regulatory architecture must be unitary: only the CRT certifies, only the CRT defines, only the CRT speaks. The AFA's counter is that consumer information is not a CRT monopoly and that voluntary third-party certification is a recognized commercial practice in many regulated industries. The case will shape what comes next.

The Texas Sotol IP dispute

The Sotol DO covers Dasylirion cedrosanum, Dasylirion duranguensis, and other species in the Dasylirion genus, produced in Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango. Three Texas distilleries (Desert Door in Driftwood, Genius Liquids in Austin, Marfa Spirit Co. in Marfa) began producing and labeling Dasylirion spirits as "sotol" or "Texas Sotol" in the late 2010s, using Dasylirion texanum and D. wheeleri harvested in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. The Texas producers have three defenses: the plants are native to Texas, the TTBUS Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the federal regulator for alcohol labeling requires source-material identification on labels and "sotol" is the common name of the plant, and the US does not recognize Mexico's Sotol DO.

The decisive moment was the USMCA negotiation in 2018–2020. Original drafts of Annex 7-B included Sotol DO recognition alongside Tequila and Mezcal. The recognition was struck during final drafting at the request of Texas Senator John Cornyn, who responded to lobbying from Texas distillers (Desert Door named as the principal lobbying force). The final USMCA Annex 7-B recognizes tequila and mezcal as distinctive products of Mexico but does not recognize sotol. The US has no treaty obligation to enforce the Mexican Sotol DO; TTB continues to approve "sotol" labels for Texas-produced spirit.

As of May 2026, there is no settlement, no court ruling, and no treaty amendment that resolves the dispute. The status quo is a commercial and cultural standoff. Desert Door continues to use "Texas Sotol" on labels; the brand expanded national distribution via Southern Glazer's in 2022 and won a London Spirits Competition gold medal in 2024. Marfa Spirit Co. has adopted "Chihuahuan Desert Sotol" as a voluntary compromise that honors the cross-border desert geography; the brand imports Mexican base distillate and finishes it in Texas. Genius Liquids has begun shifting branding toward "Desert Spirit," with founder Mike Groener publicly stating he is "amenable to changing the labeling," though TTB source-material requirements still require "sotol" somewhere on the label. The CRSotol has not filed a US-court lawsuit; its president Efraín Maldonado has been publicly clear that "what is produced in the three territories can be called sotol, what is produced outside cannot," but the council's enforcement reach stops at the Mexican border absent treaty recognition.

Mexican DOs are only as enforceable as their treaty framework. Tequila and mezcal got the framework. Sotol did not. The dispute is fundamentally about the politics of treaty drafting, not about who has the better botanical claim.

The wider precedent matters beyond sotol. Champagne offers the closest analog from outside Mexico: a French appellation enforced in the US via WIPO treaty obligations, such that US producers cannot legally label sparkling wine "Champagne" if it is not from Champagne, France. The tequila precedent shows that bilateral enforcement is possible when the treaty framework reaches it. The sotol case shows that the same framework does not extend automatically to every Mexican DO. Each spirit's international enforceability is a separate political negotiation.

The silvestre / cultivado gap

NOM-070-SCFI-2016A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-070-SCFI-2016 (Mezcal). The official Mexican standard for mezcal production. Defines three production tiers (Mezcal Industrial, Mezcal Artesanal, Mezcal Ancestral) with specific equipment and method requirements for each, lists the permitted agave species and states, and governs labeling. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM). does not legally define silvestre (wild), cultivado (cultivated), or semi-silvestre (the in-between category sometimes called "managed wild" or "ranched"). The norm is silent. Producers may use these terms on labels at their discretion, subject only to general consumer-protection law.

This is a meaningful regulatory gap. Wild agave commands roughly three to ten times the wholesale price of espadín. Agave potatorum (Tobalá), A. marmorata (Tepeztate), and the A. karwinskii complex (Madrecuixe, Cuixe, Cuishe, Barril) are functionally non-renewable on the scale at which they are currently being harvested for mezcal. Tepeztate's twenty-five to thirty-five-year maturation, Tobalá's seed-only reproduction, and the karwinskii complex's slow growth all mean that what is harvested today cannot be replaced within a producer's working career. The price premium for "silvestre" labeling is therefore structural, not verified. A producer can charge silvestre prices for plants that may or may not meet a rigorous wild definition (truly seed-germinated in non-cultivated terrain versus propagated from wild stock versus left untended on producer-controlled land).

Advocates from Mezcalistas, mezcalero coalitions, and agave biologists tied to CIATEJ and CONABIO have consistently noted the gap. Three proposals have circulated:

• A three-tier silvestre / cultivado / semi-silvestre legal definition with georeferenced harvest verification, aligned with CIATEJ research.
• A separate "agave silvestre" certification mark administered by IMPI as a sub-mark of the mezcal DO.
• Mandatory genetic-diversity attestation for plants claimed as silvestre, modeled on European wild-harvest food regimes.

None has produced a formal PROY-NOM. The CRM has not adopted a public position; AMMA has been less vocal on this axis than on diffuser disclosure. Editorial guidance: treat any "silvestre" claim on a mezcal label as a producer claim, not a legal claim.

The diffuser question in mezcal

NOM-070-SCFI-2016A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-070-SCFI-2016 (Mezcal). The official Mexican standard for mezcal production. Defines three production tiers (Mezcal Industrial, Mezcal Artesanal, Mezcal Ancestral) with specific equipment and method requirements for each, lists the permitted agave species and states, and governs labeling. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM). classifies mezcal into three production tiers distinguished by the equipment a producer may use:

• Mezcal Ancestral is the most restrictive: cooking in an earthen pit oven only, milling by tahona or mallet or hand, fermentation in wood, stone, clay, animal hide, or ground pit only, distillation in a clay pot only. No yeast inoculation.
• Mezcal Artesanal permits an earthen pit oven or an above-ground stone or masonry oven with wood or charcoal fuel, milling by tahona or mallet or mechanical shredder (but not diffuser), fermentation in any traditional vessel including stainless steel, and distillation in copper or clay alembic with direct fire.
• Mezcal (industrial) permits autoclave or oven or diffuser for cooking, tahona or roller mill or diffuser for extraction, any fermentation vessel including stainless steel, and copper or stainless steel or column distillation. Yeast inoculation permitted.

All three tiers must be 100% agave; there is no mixto provision in NOM-070-SCFI-2016A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-070-SCFI-2016 (Mezcal). The official Mexican standard for mezcal production. Defines three production tiers (Mezcal Industrial, Mezcal Artesanal, Mezcal Ancestral) with specific equipment and method requirements for each, lists the permitted agave species and states, and governs labeling. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM)., unlike NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT). which permits up to 49% non-agave sugars in non-100%-agave tequila.

The contested question is disclosure. A bottle labeled simply "Mezcal" (without "Artesanal" or "Ancestral") may have been made entirely or partially in a diffuser, and NOM-070-SCFI-2016A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-070-SCFI-2016 (Mezcal). The official Mexican standard for mezcal production. Defines three production tiers (Mezcal Industrial, Mezcal Artesanal, Mezcal Ancestral) with specific equipment and method requirements for each, lists the permitted agave species and states, and governs labeling. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM). does not require the producer to declare diffuser use on the label. The class designation is the only signal a consumer gets. Advocates (Mezcalistas via Susan Coss and Max Garrone, individual Oaxacan maestros, the AMMA) have argued since the norm's 2017 publication that disclosure of diffuser use should be mandatory. The pressure has not, as of May 2026, produced a PROY-NOM-070 in DOF public comment. COMERCAM's own institutional position has been complicated by transparency issues that surfaced during the December 2021 leadership transition (the mezcalero profile database, agave maps, QR-code traceability data, and aggregate production statistics went offline during the transition and have not all returned), which has not helped the case for trusting the existing disclosure regime.

The audit posture: the norm permits diffusers in the industrial tier by name, not by silence; disclosure is not mandatory; advocacy for change is consistent but has not produced a formal draft amendment.

Comiteco: IG, not DO (Sept 2025)

The most recent correction this chapter embeds concerns comiteco. Older trade-press accounts dated the comiteco IG to 2022. The correct date is 24 September 2025.

The controlling document is IMPI resolution DG/SDSLRIG.2025.119, with the corresponding DOF publication appearing in SIDOF as document 5769331. The 2022–2024 period some accounts cite was the administrative-application period, during which the Chiapas Secretaría de Economía y del Trabajo organized producer foros and the technical file was prepared. The IG itself was not formally protected until the September 2025 declaration.

The protected zone is the Meseta Comiteca Tojolabal in southeastern Chiapas, comprising nine municipalities: Comitán de Domínguez, Las Margaritas, La Independencia, La Trinitaria, Tzimol, Socoltenango, Las Rosas, Chanal, and Amatenango del Valle. The IG's product definition is unusual among Mexican protected spirits: comiteco is "una bebida alcohólica… elaborada a partir del maguey comiteco (Agave americana L.) y azúcares de caña," an alcoholic beverage made from comiteco maguey aguamiel and cane sugars. The cane-sugar component is what makes comiteco the only Mexican protected spirit with a multi-base raw material. Aguamiel is the same agave sap that ferments into pulque; piloncillo is unrefined cane sugar. Comiteco combines both.

Whether the comiteco IG will be upgraded to a DO is unsettled. The administrative work to get the IG in place took nearly a decade; a DO upgrade would require fresh political momentum and the constitution of a Consejo Regulador with a NOM-level technical standard. As of May 2026, no such initiative is in public motion. The IG is the foundation; what gets built on top of it is a question for the next several years.

A reader's posture

The regulatory state of Mexican spirits in May 2026 has three useful pieces of structure for a reader trying to make sense of a bottle.

First, the question "is this category protected?" is answered for all seven protected spirits: tequila, mezcal, sotol, bacanora, charanda, and raicilla each have a DO; comiteco has an IG. Anything outside those seven (bingarrote, pox, tuxca, the Estado de México "Destilado de Agave" federal recognition from 2025) is in a different conversation, governed by general consumer-protection law and the NOM-142-SSA1/SCFI-2014A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-142-SSA1/SCFI-2014 (Alcoholic beverages, general standard). The general Mexican federal standard for the hygienic specifications and labeling of alcoholic beverages. Applies as the fallback regulatory framework for any spirit category that does not yet have its own dedicated NOM, including raicilla while its draft category-specific NOM (DOF código 5650295) remains unpromulgated. or NOM-199-SCFI-2017A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-199-SCFI-2017 (Bebidas Alcohólicas). General Mexican standard for alcoholic-beverage labeling, governing every category not covered by a category-specific NOM. Applies to liqueurs, modern Mexican spirits (rum beyond Charanda, gin, vodka, whisky, brandy), and any non-DO traditional distillate. fallback rather than a category-specific NOM.

Second, the question "what does the law actually require of this category?" is in motion for tequila and mezcal but stable for the others. The CRT v. AFA litigation, the diffuser-disclosure pressure, and the silvestre-cultivado gap are all live questions in the agave-spirit space. The sotol, bacanora, charanda, and comiteco frameworks are not currently being contested in court or in DOF public comment; what those NOMs say today is what they will say through the foreseeable horizon. Raicilla's draft category-specific NOM (DOF code 5650295) is on the runway but has not been promulgated; the operative framework is the general NOM-142-SSA1/SCFI-2014A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-142-SSA1/SCFI-2014 (Alcoholic beverages, general standard). The general Mexican federal standard for the hygienic specifications and labeling of alcoholic beverages. Applies as the fallback regulatory framework for any spirit category that does not yet have its own dedicated NOM, including raicilla while its draft category-specific NOM (DOF código 5650295) remains unpromulgated..

Third, the question "what can I conclude from a label?" comes down to what the protection mechanism enforces and what it leaves to the producer. The presence of a category name on the bottle (tequila, mezcal, sotol, etc.) is a strong claim, enforced through the DO and NOM. The presence of a facility NOM number is a precise sourcing claim. The class tier on a mezcal label (Ancestral, Artesanal, Mezcal) is a process claim about equipment, not a quality grade. The presence of words like silvestre, additive-free, or single-village is a producer claim, not a legal claim, and should be read in that lighter weight. Where this site cites a brand-specific claim above confidence low, the source is in the page's source list and the claim's confidence is flagged inline.

The regulatory landscape is going to keep moving. The CRT v. AFA case is unresolved. The mezcal diffuser-disclosure debate is not formally closed. The Texas Sotol standoff is in commercial flux. The comiteco IG-to-DO question is open. This chapter is dated May 2026; the reader's prudent posture is to treat every regulatory specific in it as authoritative for that moment and worth re-verifying for any reading dated later than mid-2026.