Family, Mexican and artisanal tequila company celebrates 70 years of history

Tequila is one of the drinks with the longest tradition in Mexico and represents the country par excellence in the world.. Its origins date from Jalisco, where various factories producing the drink are based, which make up a great force that drives the Mexican economy and to show the figures: during 2021, the Jalisco tequila industry generated exports for 2,520 million dollars.

Among those diverse and traditional options that contribute to the country, one of the most important houses is located: Casa Siete Leguas. During 2022, it celebrates 70 years of history and this is reflected in its production and growth over the years.since not any company manages to cross the barrier of seven decades in operation.

To achieve this achievement, the company has always maintained tradition as one of its main pillars, from the founding of Siete Leguas in 1952, when Mr. Ignacio González Vargas started the business, passing through his wife –who took over the reins in the 1930s– to his son, Fernando González de Anda, current CEO of Tequila Siete Leguas, who joined the company in 1979.

Forty years of running the company, Siete Leguas continues to maintain its processes and identitybeing the name of the company an immovable flag which refers to Pancho Villa’s favorite mare, the “Siete Leguas”taking the image of this horse to the logo.

As for production, one of its greatest differentiators in the supply of products is the quality craft process.which goes from the jima to the final product.

“From the selection of the agave, the cooking part, which is in masonry ovens, grinding that we do in a tahona –stone mill– of animal traction, the distillation comes in small copper stills, which is very important. Especially here the topic of fermentation, the native natural fermentation of our strain that is impregnated in our work areas, so it is a totally handmade product”explained González de Anda.

The consumer’s favorite

Hence, an unexpected consumer segment is one of the most important for the company, since The value of being a totally handmade product has led it to be placed in the preference of young consumers, who specifically consume the brand’s white tequila.since Siete Leguas offers four classes: white, reposado, añejo and extra añejo tequila.

In the industry there are four known types of tequila, precisely those handled by the brand: reposado, joven, blanco and añejo. According to data from the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (Inegi), during 2021 Mexico produced 277 million liters of tequila, of which 153 million were white, 75.7 rested, 27.7 young and 20.8 million liters of the aged type..

“Here we handle four classes of tequila: white, reposado, añejo and extra añejo, these are the four classes that are standard. Our white tequila is the strong card of the brand, in addition to the reposado, the añejo and the extra añejo, which are high quality products with very unique profiles where the brand’s DNA is present from the white to the extra añejo, the consumer knows that it is Siete Leguas”, explained González de Anda.

In fact, Siete Leguas turns 70, adapting to the taste of consumers and without losing quality and tradition. The new generations keep it in their preference and in general they have a wide offer for all generations.

“The consumer’s taste profile has changed, perhaps for tequilas, a little softer. But if they had asked me 25 years ago, Siete Leguas is going to be consumed by contemporary young people, perhaps I would have said no, (I was) pleasantly surprised to see that Siete Leguas blanco has long been the tequila of many young people from new generations who are experimenting with tequila. It has been very gratifying to see that the young man is interested in maintaining and knowing what an authentic artisanal tequila is”, the company director explained.

The artisan process

The company maintains the processes despite the costs involved: “In recent years the challenge has been the increase in the cost of the raw material. At the end of the day, the consumer is the one who is paying the price, but also the philosophy of maintaining a product with these quality standards, The artisanal process is a challenge, it is a challenge that in these times the consumer must value a lotthe effort that a tequila house like Siete Leguas makes to maintain the quality of the product”, he stated.

From Mexico to the world

The company is a worthy representative of the country at an international level, since it also exports to the United States approximately 28 percent of its production.

“We are exporting to the United States, right now our percentage for the United States is around 27, 28 percent, the rest stays in Mexico, Siete Leguas is a very local brand if we can call it that, the west of the country, something in Guanajuato, Bajío, Aguascalientes. We do find it in Tijuana, in the North, but there are very few places where they can access Siete Leguas or in our production volumes, which are limited,” said González de Anda.

The good news is that for those who know how to appreciate quality artisanal tequila, there is a possibility that it will reach Europe in the near future.

“We have just inaugurated a plant that maintains artisanal processes, it will be greater volume, and we are going to start looking for market niches in Europeespecially Europe, where we can send our product, but yes for a specific niche of connoisseurs by the profile of our product“, advancement.

70 years of quality and tradition

Quality and tradition precede the brand and that is why the figures favor them and have maintained them for 70 years in the industry, which is why it celebrates this special moment with its consumers with a limited edition product for true tequila connoisseurs. called Tequila Seven Decades.

“The celebration of the Seven Decades comes with a product made with very special agavesbecause it is a Creole agave, it is called a wild creole from the hill, it is a blue agave but it grew up on the hill, with a maturation of eight years. It was produced in the plant where my father was born, with an alcohol content of 42 degrees reminiscent of what was done in the first batch of Siete Leguas tequila in ’52It is a tequila that has a very special profile, produced in a bakery, 100% in a bakery, which gives it very fruity, sweet notes, it is something special, being a white it is a very special white, he shared.

70,000 bottles will be produced, of which 40,000 are assigned to the national market and 30,000 to the United States, whose acquisition is limited to 1 bottle per order, in addition to the fact that the production process is available on the Siete Leguas website. The invitation is also open for those who wish to meet a tequila maker.

“You are cordially invited to visit Casa Siete Leguas, it is an experience that I think you will not regret seeing how we make Siete Leguas tequila. I believe that when many have come, they leave with a great taste in their mouths from seeing the process that we have zealously maintained. Soon we will be open to the public but still, In our social networks you can make an appointment and we will gladly welcome people who are interested in coming to meetby appointment, schedule and we are open to receive them “, he concluded.

The social networks of Siete Leguas are: