‘Act of Treason’: How A New Generation of Australian-Made Agave Spirits Is Tackling the Tequila Market Down Under

(Photo: Top Shelf International)

Act of Treason — the latest venture from Australia’s Top Shelf International (TSI) — has finally hit the market down under. Distilled from locally grown blue weber agave, the new spirit combines everything consumers love about tequila minus the name.

Due to protected designation of origin laws, tequila cannot be called “tequila” nor mezcal “mezcal” unless it’s made in a handful of Mexican states. As distillers like Act of Treason put twists on the concept, the industry is left to wonder how foreign competition will impact Mexico’s wildly profitable agave spirits industry.

The brand’s schtick leans controversial; its logo depicts an agave plant being ripped from the ground surrounded by the tagline “Hecho En Australia” (a clear play on “Hecho En Mexico”).

However, the “treason” mentioned in its name digs a little deeper than marketing. Since 2019, TSI has been in the process of converting an ex-plantation in Ayr, North Queensland into a full-blown agave estate. To date, it has 600,000 blue weber agave plants in the ground, with a projected 1 million by the end of 2024. This makes it the single largest agave estate outside of Mexico.

Though similar upstarts in California, South Africa and Israel have taken stabs at agave spirits distillation, Act of Treason is the first with production capability to rival the real thing. TSI is even offering retail partners the chance to lease their own “Field of Treason” within the estate.

“Act of Treason has joined the new global era of agave,” says CEO Trent Fraser. “We’re approaching this as an opportunity to create something new and expand the horizons of a category that has been geographically limited for centuries. In many ways it’s no different to the evolution wine underwent three decades ago.”

Apart from its climate, Australia is uniquely suited to localize agave spirits production. Due to import logistics, tequila and mezcal are typically priced around 50% higher for consumers. The same applies to most countries outside of North America.

For the time being, however, it’s unclear what impact non-Mexican agave spirits will have on the global market.

Mexico peaked at $4.36 billion in tequila exports in 2022, a lion’s share of which went to the United States. Runner-up countries like Germany, France and the UK imported crumbs by comparison — though it’s possible they’d consume more if there was a cheap, locally-produced alternative.

The real test comes down to quality. If foreign distillers can create faux tequila just as good as (or potentially better than) the authentic product, the spirits industry is in for a reckoning.

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