Editing Tequila (section)

===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>