5 Unmissable Tequila Distillery Tours in the Heart of Agave Country

This article is a part of Agave Spirits Week, a week of content celebrating tequila, mezcal and other distilled spirits crafted from agave. Click here to check out the rest of our Agave Spirits Week content, which focuses on the best distilleries to visit in Mexico, the best agave spirits of the year, unique agave cocktail recipes and more.

If you’re planning a trip to Jalisco, Mexico, a stop by one (or a few) of the state’s world-famous tequila distilleries is a must. In some respects, it’s a surprisingly easy journey. There are only around 150 distilleries collectively responsible for the industry’s thousands of tequila brands, meaning that — hypothetically — you could stop by one a day for a year and have seen them all by June.

The tricky part is separating the wheat from the chaff. Tour guides and locals are apt to give you a dozen suggestions, each likely to offer a similar combination of Blue Weber agaves, steam ovens and jimadors harvesting the fields. No matter where you go, you’ll get an insightful glimpse into a rightfully beloved spirit. But some distilleries provide a better view than others. Whether they offer tastier tequila, educational insights or a roller coaster of unabashed guilty pleasures, these are the five tequila distilleries that we’d recommend to anyone dipping their toes into the great state of Jalisco.

Tequila Los Abuelos (NOM 1493)

(Photo: Los Abuelos)

Los Abuelos, better known as Fortaleza north of the border due to trademark restrictions, is considered by many to be the crème de la crème of the additive-free tequila landscape. Its distillery tour is held in equally high regard.

Located an hour’s drive west of Guadalajara, the facility is about as humble as a critically acclaimed destination can get. It’s home to a scant two ovens for cooking agaves; a small team of workers who wash, label and screen print all the brand’s bottles by hand; and a single tahona responsible for the entirety of Los Abuelos’ output. But it’s that low and slow approach that’s earned the distillery its reputation. Good tequila takes patience, and Fortaleza is (in)famous for not cutting a single corner to meet skyrocketing demand. Visitors get a behind-the-scenes peek at every step in the process, including a taste of bubbling mosto (fermented agave juice) straight from the barrel. The tour ends with a stop inside a natural cave, where guests can sample the lineup as bats flutter in and out overhead.

You’ll want to savor every last sip while you can. A vicious internet hype cycle has turned bottles of Fortaleza into collector’s items in the U.S. for all the wrong reasons. The brand’s $60 blanco is now being sold by some resellers for well over $200, all while its limited-edition Winter Blends seem to creep up by $100 or so year after year. Thankfully, the juice is a little easier to come by at the brand’s home base. You may even be lucky enough to go home with a plastic bottle filled with some never-before-seen distillate.

Fabrica La Rojeña (NOM 1122)

(Photo: Cuervo)

Some readers may scoff at the idea that the makers of Jose Cuervo and Fortaleza could be included as back-to-back entries on the same list. Yes, Cuervo is synonymous with a particular kind of drinking — dorm-room party shots, neon-green margaritas and a morning after too often filled with regrets. Few can deny, however, that the brand’s home is a Disney World of palatial spectacle.

Located smack-dab in the center of the eponymous town of Tequila, La Rojeña is widely recognized as the oldest active distillery in Latin America. Within, you’ll find an experience that has less in common with a functioning factory than it does with a museum. Paintings of scenic agave vistas dating back to the 19th century line courtyards decorated with life-sized statues of tequileros and tequileras working the field. A fleet of perfectly preserved antique cars resembles something plucked straight from a period piece. A subterranean cellar is peppered with dusty jugs and gleaming tables, the latter of which acts as a final stop for guests to indulge in overfilled glasses of Reserva de La Familia, hands down our favorite offering from the brand. This expansive distillery hosts all of that plus a 4-star hotel with 93 rooms and a boozy “Jose Cuervo Express” that runs weekly from Guadalajara to Tequila.

There’s no way to describe the breadth and depth of the tour without listing off a bucketload of shiny tricks. And perhaps that’s exactly the point. For a glimpse at everything tequila has to offer, we’d highly recommend pairing a stop by La Rojeña with a visit to at least one other distillery in the area.

Destileria El Pandillo (NOM 1579)

(Photo: El Pandillo/Facebook)

One of two brands on this list helmed by a member of the Camarena family, El Pandillo is near and dear to the hearts of many an agave lover. And not just because the distillery produces cult classics like Terralta, Volans and Don Vicente.

No, the true attraction of El Pandillo lies in the mind of its master distiller, Felipe Camarena. Often referred to as the mad scientist of tequila, Felipe has outfitted his facility with several contraptions you won’t spot anywhere else in Mexico. A 19,000-pound mechanized tahona referred to as the “Felipenstein” crushes a cascade of pinas into pulp. So the story goes, Felipe created the device using reclaimed scraps of metal gathered from nearby distilleries, and currently operates his pièce de résistance with the help of a one-horsepower engine. Nearby sits “Igor,” an agave shredder built from railroad car parts and a semi-trailer.

Against all odds, the tequila that spills from these machines is anything but monstrous. El Pandillo’s output is among the most sought-after in the globe, and its crown jewel, G4, sits atop many tequila fans’ all-time favorites lists. Though the distillery is a little choosier with its tours than others in the industry, a visit to Felipe’s laboratory is a must if the opportunity presents itself.

Tequilera Los Alambiques (NOM 1474)

For years, Tequila Ocho was produced side-by-side with El Tesoro and Tapatio at the historic La Alteña. Things took a turn in early 2023 when Ocho forged its own path and started production at Los Alambiques, a recently constructed all-in-one distillery, visitor experience and restaurant perched in the red clay highlands of Jalisco.

The star attraction is the fields. Ocho is among a small handful of brands that grow all of their agaves on site, paying close attention to differences in terroir and elevation that’ll affect the final product. Few have insight into the finer details quite like master distiller Carlos Camerena, a fifth-generation agave farmer and degreed agronomist with a fondness for flat-brimmed cowboy hats. Strolling through rows of Blue Weber planted to the horizon and beyond, Carlos displays an encyclopedic knowledge of his craft, complete with many a tangent explaining the nerdy secrets lurking within the state’s mineral-rich soil. Coa and Osha, the distillery’s unofficial dog mascots, are known to tag along for the ride.

The Ocho restaurant is a separate marvel in and of itself. There’s no better end to a distillery tour than a menu teeming with regional specialities, from which we sampled berry-and-shrimp aguachiles and towers of crunchy chicharrones on a recent trip. It’s a surprise that a brand would go through the effort of building out a top-tier food selection when the tequila is so damn delicious on its own. Nonetheless, we weren’t left with any complaints.

Tequila Siete Leguas (NOM 1120)

(Photo: Siete Leguas)

There’s a lot to love about Siete Leguas. Produced continually since 1952, the brand offers a quiet slice of history stuffed to the brim with surprising factoids.

Surprise detail No. 1: The original recipe for Patron tequila was conceived at the Siete Leguas distillery, where the now-iconic tequila was produced until the early 2000s. Siete Leguas has only produced its namesake brand ever since.

Surprise detail #2: The distillery is one of, if not the only, tequila maker that continues to use a mule-powered tahona. Pairs of mules trot out twice a day (once at 11 a.m. and once at 3 p.m.) to slowly but surely pull an enormous volcanic stone wheel in circles over a pool of mushed agave. In the hands of another distiller, it might feel like a gimmick straight out of a circus show. At Siete Leguas, it feels like tradition.

Considering those artisan roots, it’s a miracle that the brand’s tequila is as cheap, dependable and widely available as it is. At just 40 bucks, you’d be hard-pressed to find a blanco that pulls double duty as a margarita mixer and solo sipper quite like Siete Leguas. Mixologists love the brand, and — forgive the obvious pun — often describe it as a workhorse behind the bar. For an eye-opening peek at your favorite bartender’s favorite tequila, the Siete Leguas distillery tour is unrivaled.