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Tequila is the most popular Mexican alcoholic beverage in the world . The distillate is very popular in the United States, it is the number one buyer abroad, followed by Germany, according to Council statistics Tequila Regulator.
Such is the rise of tequila and the business it represents, that even famous Americans have decided to venture into the tequila industry, the most recent and controversial case is that of Kendall Jenner, who after the launch of his tequila 818 received harsh criticism and has been accused of cultural appropriation.
A non-Mexican person can have their own brand of tequila, as long as all the legal requirements that protect the Authentic tequila, one of the drinks in Mexico that have a Denomination of Origin (DOT) . The protection granted by said denomination involves different aspects, among which the extraction, production and elaboration of tequila stand out.
Tequila is made exclusively from “Agave tequilana Weber blue variety”. To be called tequila it has to be produced in Mexico, specifically in the places that its DOT indicates: all the municipalities of the state of Jalisco , in addition to certain regions of Nayarit, Michoacán, Guanajuato and Tamaulipas. Any other distilled beverage from Agave tequilana Weber blue variety made in other areas is not legally tequila.
Agave distillates made outside of Mexico
Some producers of alcoholic beverages outside of Mexico have tried to give their products names similar to tequila. As happened in the United States with a drink made in Temecula (California) which was named “temequila”, an agave distillate in which a process similar to that used to make tequila.
It did not take long for the Tequila Regulatory Council to warn the producer of “temequila” that stop calling the drink with that name, considering that it was phonetically similar as to mislead tequila buyers, who might think that it is a genuine drink made in Mexico, as reported at the time (2005) Los Angeles Times.
Mexican spirits similar to tequila but outside the DOT
The The popularity of agave distillates has also led companies like Los Angeles-based Revel Spirits to make their own drink with ingredients and techniques similar to used to produce tequila and mezcal.
Revel Avila is offered white, rested and aged. In the bottle it is presented as triple distillate 100% agave. This drink is made in Mexico, although outside the places established in the Denomination of Origin.
“Although it has the same base as tequila, Ávila’s products are made from Agave 80% pure in the Morelos region of Mexico , by a group of families that have perfected their distillation processes ”, can be read on the Revel Avila page, where they also announce that they are close to launching“ El Popo Avila ”, a name that refers to the Popocatépetl volcano.