● CHECK THE CAN
① TEQUILA
The category
② 100% DE AGAVE
What’s in it
③ HECHO EN MÉXICO
Where it was distilled
④ NOM 1658
Which distillery
⑤ CRT
Who certified it
Five lines, in order.
1. Tequila is legally protected. If a can says “tequila-flavored,” that’s a different product.
2. 100% de agave means blue Weber agave and nothing else.
3. Hecho en México tells you where it was distilled.
4. NOM plus four digits identifies the exact facility.
5. The CRT mark means an independent body audited that facility.
Norma Oficial Mexicana.
It’s Mexico’s official standard for tequila — NOM-006-SCFI-2012 — and the four-digit number identifies the specific distillery that produced what’s in your can. Not the brand. Not the town. The building.
The Consejo Regulador del Tequila audits raw materials, monitors production, tests product and reviews documents before a batch can be labeled or exported. A NOM makes tequila traceable in public.
Tequila’s Denomination of Origin was established.
The CRT was founded to certify producers.
Certified tequila producers.
Registered brands — far more brands than distilleries.
181 municipalities. That’s the whole map.
JALISCO
125
All municipalities
MICHOACÁN
30
TAMAULIPAS
11
NAYARIT
8
GUANAJUATO
7
This is the one that surprises people.
There are two kinds of tequila, and only one of them says so on the label.
100% DE AGAVE
WHAT WE USE
100% BLUE WEBER AGAVE
Every fermentable sugar comes from blue Weber agave. Nothing else is invited. If a label doesn’t say “100%,” it isn’t.
MIXTO
JUST LABELED “TEQUILA”
51% AGAVE
UP TO 49% OTHER
The legal minimum is 51% agave. The remaining 49% can come from cane or corn sugars. Still legally tequila — just not the same drink.
Works on ours. Works on theirs.
❶
TURN IT AROUND
Skip the front. The useful information is near the bottom, next to the CRT mark.
❷
FIND NOM + FOUR DIGITS
Nothing there? Read how the can describes itself. “Tequila-flavored” means something else.
❸
LOOK IT UP
Use the CRT or a public NOM registry to see the distillery and every brand it produces.
We’d rather say it than have you find out.
THREE THINGS IT ISN’T
✕ IT ISN’T A QUALITY GRADE. Excellent and forgettable tequilas can share a distillery.
✕ IT ISN’T EXCLUSIVE. Sharing a NOM is normal; hiding one isn’t.
✕ IT ISN’T THE WHOLE STORY. It tells you where the spirit was made, not what else went into the can afterward.
The ones we actually get.
Does every tequila have to show a NOM?
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What does NOM 1658 mean?
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Two brands share a NOM. Is one a knockoff?
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Is a tequila seltzer the same as tequila?
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How long does agave take to grow?
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What’s the CRT?
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