Spirits · Tequila, Jalisco
Destileria La Fortaleza
Old-school tequila from a Sauza heir, crushed by stone tahona in Tequila, Jalisco.
- Founded
- 2005
- Founded by
- Guillermo Erickson Sauza
- Based in
- Tequila, Jalisco
Their story
La Fortaleza is the distillery of Guillermo Erickson Sauza in the town of Tequila, Jalisco. His great-great-grandfather, Don Cenobio Sauza, opened the family's first distillery there in 1873 and helped put tequila on the map in the United States.
Guillermo's grandfather, Don Javier, sold the family business in 1976 but held on to the land and a small distillery he called La Fortaleza. Guillermo began restoring it in 1999 and launched Tequila Fortaleza in 2005, reviving the family's old methods on the family's own ground.
How it's made
Agave is slow cooked for about 36 hours, then crushed by a two-ton volcanic stone tahona pulled around a pit by a small tractor. Fortaleza still uses a boiler from 1903 and copper stills dating to the 1940s. The tahona method is less efficient than modern shredders, but it shapes the tequila's rich, cooked agave character.
Our featured pick
Tequila Blanco (750ML)
$100.00
Made using traditional Lowland methods from from agave that takes longer to ripen than Highland agave and typically has a sweeter flavor.
Shop Destileria La Fortaleza
3 in stock
Why we carry them
Fortaleza is the tequila we hand to anyone who thinks they do not like tequila. It is a direct line to how the spirit tasted generations ago.
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