Editing Tequila (section)

==History==

===Early history===
{{Main|Mezcal#History}}
[[File:Tequila oven.jpg|thumb|upright|A distillery oven loaded with agave ''piñas'' or "pineapples", the first step in the production of tequila post harvest]]
Before the production of tequila or mezcal, [[pulque]] had been brewed from agave sap for thousands of years. Pulque is fermented, not distilled.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fV6nSXZ0KS8C&q=pulque%20thousands%20of%20years&pg=PA48 | title=Coping with Alcohol and Drug Problems: The Experiences of Family Members in Three Contrasting Cultures | year=2005 | pages=48 | quote=One of the most traditional drinks is pulque, fermented from the [[Agave americana|maguey]] cactus, and produced in the region for thousands of years. | isbn=9781134702732 | last1=Orford | first1=Jim | last2=Natera | first2=Guillermina | last3=Copello | first3=Alex | last4=Atkinson | first4=Carol | last5=Mora | first5=Jazmin | last6=Velleman | first6=Richard | last7=Crundall | first7=Ian | last8=Tiburcio | first8=Marcela | last9=Templeton | first9=Lorna | last10=Walley | first10=Gwen | publisher=Routledge | access-date=2023-03-24 | archive-date=2023-03-24 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324153124/https://books.google.com/books?id=fV6nSXZ0KS8C&q=pulque%20thousands%20of%20years&pg=PA48 | url-status=live }}</ref> The distillation technology to produce [[mezcal]] from agave heart juice was first introduced by [[Filipino people|Filipino]] [[Asian Mexicans#Filipinos|sailors and migrants]] into the coastal regions of what was then [[Nueva Galicia]] (present-day [[Aguascalientes]], [[Colima]], [[Guanajuato]], [[Jalisco]], [[Nayarit]], and [[Zacatecas]]). Mezcal distillation spread into the highland valleys of [[Amatitán]], [[Tequila, Jalisco|Tequila]], [[Magdalena, Jalisco|Magdalena]], and [[El Arenal, Jalisco|El Arenal]] in the mid-1700s. The distinctive mezcal produced in these regions became known as "tequila".<ref name="Zizumbo-Villarreal">{{cite journal |last1=Zizumbo-Villarreal |first1=Daniel |last2=Colunga-GarcíaMarín |first2=Patricia |title=Early coconut distillation and the origins of mezcal and tequila spirits in west-central Mexico |journal=Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution |date=June 2008 |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=493–510 |doi=10.1007/s10722-007-9255-0|s2cid=33594723 }}</ref><ref name="Luna-Zamora">{{cite book |last1=Luna-Zamora |first1=Rogelio |title=La historia del Tequila, de sus regiones y sus hombres |date=1999 |publisher=CONACULTA |isbn=9789701823552}}</ref>

In 1595, King [[Philip II of Spain]] banned the planting of new vineyards in Mexico and other Spanish colonies to boost exports and tax revenues on [[Spanish wine]]. The Marquis of Altamira, [[Pedro Sánchez de Tagle, 2nd Marquis of Altamira|Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle]], turned to the neglected blue agave plants; built his first Tequila factory in his Hacienda Cuisillos, one of the largest haciendas of the day; and amassed a great fortune. The Marquis is known today as the "Father of Tequila". Don Pedro also served as the Prior of the Consulado, the head of the largest corporation in Mexico.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025|reason=Entire paragraph needs sources}}

Spain's [[King Carlos IV]] granted the [[Jose Cuervo|Cuervo]] family the first license to commercially make tequila. [[Don Cenobio Sauza]], founder of [[Sauza Tequila]] and Municipal President of the Village of Tequila from 1884 to 1885, was the first to export tequila to the United States.<ref name="Anthony Dias Blue 2004">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Hln0nEBZsoC&q=cenobio+sauza&pg=PA122 |title=The Complete Book of Spirits | author = Anthony Dias Blue | page = 112 | year = 2004 | publisher =[[Harper Collins]]|isbn=9780060542184 }}</ref> Don Cenobio's grandson [[Don Francisco Javier Sauza|Don Francisco Javier]] gained international attention for insisting that "there cannot be tequila where there are no agaves!"{{Quote without source|date=April 2025}} His efforts led to the principle that real tequila can come only from the State of Jalisco.{{clear left}}

The first tequila distillery in the United States was opened in 1936 in [[Nogales, Arizona]] by [[Harry J. Karns]], former Arizona state senator and Nogales Mayor.<ref>{{cite news |title=First United States Tequila Plant Opens |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/117141226/?terms=%22Harry%20Karns%22&match=1 |newspaper=[[Arizona Republic]] |date=November 26, 1936 |page=9 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |accessdate=May 21, 2022 |archive-date=May 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521210707/https://www.newspapers.com/image/117141226/?terms=%22Harry%20Karns%22&match=1 |url-status=live }} {{Open access}}</ref>

The Mexican government declared the term "tequila" to be its intellectual property in 1974.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Archibald |first1=Anna |title=Everything You Need to Know About the History of Tequila |url=https://www.liquor.com/articles/history-of-tequila/ |access-date=11 March 2020 |archive-date=11 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511003137/https://www.liquor.com/articles/history-of-tequila/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Recent history ===
[[File:Tequila factory.jpg|thumb|left|A ''tahona'', large stone wheel, at the Hacienda Doña Engracia that was used to crush the ''piña''. Large, modern distilleries commonly complete this process mechanically.]]

Although some tequilas have remained as family-owned brands, most well-known tequila brands are owned by large multinational corporations. Over 100 distilleries make over 900 brands of tequila in Mexico and over 2,000 brand names have been registered (2009 statistics). Due to this, each bottle of tequila contains a serial number (NOM) denoting in which distillery the tequila was produced. In many cases, multiple different brands come from the same manufacturer.<ref name="NOM-006-SCFI-2005" />

In 2003, Mexico issued a proposal that would require all Mexican-made tequila be bottled in Mexico before being exported to other countries.<ref name=sparks>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tequila-sparks-us-mexico-flap/ Tequila Sparks U.S.-Mexico Flap] . ''Associated Press''. CBS News. 2003-09-25.</ref> The Mexican government said that bottling tequila in Mexico would guarantee its quality.<ref name=sparks/> Liquor companies in the United States said Mexico just wanted to create bottling jobs in their own country,<ref name=sparks/> and also claimed this rule would violate [[international trade]] agreements and was in discord with usual exporting practices worldwide.<ref name=salt>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna10896928 Salt, tequila, trade agreement] . ''MSNBC News Services''. NBC News. 2006-01-17.</ref> The proposal might have resulted in the loss of jobs at plants in California, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky, because Mexican tequila exported in bulk to the United States is bottled in those plants.<ref name=salt/> On January 17, 2006, the United States and Mexico signed an agreement allowing the continued bulk import of tequila into the United States.<ref name=salt/><ref name=caltrade>[http://www.caltradereport.com/eWebPages/front-page-1137970345.html Viva Margarita! US, Mexico Ink New Tequila Agreement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125191453/http://www.caltradereport.com/eWebPages/front-page-1137970345.html |date=2009-01-25 }}. ''CalTrade Report''. 2006-01-23.</ref><ref>[http://www.ustr.gov/assets/World_Regions/Americas/asset_upload_file897_8763.pdf Agreement Between the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the Secretaría de Economía of the United Mexican States on Trade in Tequila] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516033913/http://www.ustr.gov/assets/World_Regions/Americas/asset_upload_file897_8763.pdf |date=2008-05-16 }} (pdf). 2006-01-17.</ref> The agreement also created a "tequila bottlers registry" to identify approved bottlers of tequila and created an agency to monitor the registry.<ref name=salt/>

The Tequila Regulatory Council of Mexico (TRCM) originally did not permit flavored tequila to carry the tequila name.<ref name="define">{{cite news |last1=Arias |first1=Guillermo |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2004-11-28-tequila-identity_x.htm |title=Tequila struggles to define itself in Mexico] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101033630/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2004-11-28-tequila-identity_x.htm |date=28 November 2004 |archive-date=2022-11-01 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> In 2004, the Council decided to allow flavored tequila to be called tequila, with the exception of 100% agave tequila, which still cannot be flavored.<ref name="define" />

A new [[Norma Oficial Mexicana|''Norma Oficial Mexicana'' (NOM)]] for tequila (NOM-006-SCFI-2005) was issued in 2006 and, among other changes, introduced a class of tequila called ''extra añejo'' or "ultra-aged", which must be aged a minimum of three years.<ref name="NOM-006-SCFI-2005">{{cite web | url=http://www.ordenjuridico.gob.mx/Federal/PE/APF/APC/SE/Normas/Oficiales/NOM-006-SCFI-2005.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927120423/http://www.ordenjuridico.gob.mx/Federal/PE/APF/APC/SE/Normas/Oficiales/NOM-006-SCFI-2005.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=live | title=Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-006-SCFI-2005, BEBIDAS ALCOHÓLICAS-TEQUILA-ESPECIFICACIONES. | author=Romo, Miguel Aguilar - El Director General de Normas | year=2006}}</ref>

A one-liter bottle of limited-edition premium tequila was sold for $225,000 in July 2006 in Tequila, Jalisco, by the company [[Tequila Ley .925]]. The bottle that contained the tequila was a two-kilo display of platinum and gold. The manufacturer received a certificate from [[The Guinness World Records]] for the most expensive bottle of tequila spirit ever sold.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bottle of Tequila Sold for $225,000|publisher=Associated Press Online|date=July 23, 2006}}</ref>

In June 2013, a Chinese ban on the importation of premium (100% blue agave) tequila into China was lifted, following a state visit to Mexico by [[Chinese Communist Party]] [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|general secretary]] [[Xi Jinping]].<ref name="SRE">{{cite web |url=http://www.sre.gob.mx/en/index.php/archived-press-releases/2101-100-percent-agave-tequila-arrives-in-china |title=100 Percent Agave Tequila Arrives In China |publisher=[[Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (Mexico)|Secretariat of Foreign Affairs]] |access-date=8 January 2015 |archive-date=9 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109095021/http://www.sre.gob.mx/en/index.php/archived-press-releases/2101-100-percent-agave-tequila-arrives-in-china |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Reuters">{{cite news |url=http://reuters.com/article/idUSL2N0LG01020140212?irpc=932 |title=Mexico's tequila industry sees China fueling export boom |newspaper=Reuters |access-date=8 January 2015 |date=2014-02-12 |archive-date=2020-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924022255/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL2N0LG01020140212?irpc=932 |url-status=live }}</ref> The entry of premium tequila into the country was expected to increase tequila exports by 20 percent within the decade above the 170 million liters in 2013.<ref name="Reuters"/> Ramon Gonzalez, director of the ''Consejo Regulador del Tequila'', estimates that each of the top 16 producers of tequila had invested up to $3 million to enter the Chinese market.<ref name="Reuters"/> On 30 August 2013, the first 70,380 bottles of premium tequila from ten brands arrived in [[Shanghai]].<ref name="SRE"/> The arrival happened during an event held at the House of Roosevelt, a well-known club located on [[The Bund (Shanghai)|The Bund]] – an area with a long tradition of importing alcoholic beverages in China.<ref name="SRE"/>

The latest version of the tequila standard (NOM-006-SCFI-2012) updated the standard to specify that the silver class of tequila cannot contain additives, to allow the aging time for the ultra-aged class to be displayed on the label, and to prohibit the selling of bulk tequila through vending machines, and required registering the agave during the calendar year of its plantation and required annual updates.<ref name="NOM-006-SCFI-2012">{{cite web | url=http://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5282165&fecha=13/12/2012 | title=Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-006-SCFI-2012, BEBIDAS ALCOHÓLICAS-TEQUILA-ESPECIFICACIONES. | author=Christian Turegano Roldan - El Director General de Normas | year=2012 | access-date=2016-10-14 | archive-date=2016-10-18 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018211028/http://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5282165&fecha=13/12/2012 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2018, the Mexican government approved a proposal to celebrate the third Saturday of March as National Tequila Day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/mexicos-senate-just-declared-a-new-national-tequila-day/|title=Mexico's Senate Just Declared a New National Tequila Day|last=Woodman|first=Stephen|website=Culture Trip|date=23 March 2018|access-date=2019-06-28|archive-date=2020-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810091633/https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/mexicos-senate-just-declared-a-new-national-tequila-day/|url-status=live}}</ref>