What Is So Special About Tahona Tequila?

Forbes

3 days ago

A heavy volcanic stone wheel, or tahona, is a traditional tool to crush agave and imparts a unique profile to the tequila it helps produce.
The tequila category has exploded over the past decade, with global sales surging more than 60% since 2016 and U.S. consumption alone growing by 302% since 2006, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US. But amid all the celebrity-backed bottles and high-speed production, there remains a small but passionate corner of the industry committed to traditional methods. One of the oldest among those techniques is the use of a tahona—a two-ton volcanic stone wheel—to crush agave.
At La Alteña Distillery in Jalisco, which has been active since 1937, El Tesoro remains one of the few brands in Mexico to use the tahona exclusively. After the piñas, or hearts, of the agave plants are cooked, the tahona rolls over the agave to crush it. Many producers blend tahona-crushed juice with extract from more modern roller mills, or liquid from diffusers, which use hot water under high pressure to extract sugars. El Tesoro's commitment to this labor-intensive method is both practical and deeply personal.
'The tahona stone is what sets us apart from most other tequila producers in Mexico,' said Jenny Camarena, El Tesoro's new Master Distiller. 'There are only a handful of others who use this method. It's what has always been done for El Tesoro, and it has helped me decipher and detect El Tesoro in a blind tasting.'
Flavor is a major reason the method persists. Tahona crushing preserves the nuance of the roasted agave, which generates the sugars that contribute to fermentation. This in turn leads to a spirit rich in earthy and cooked notes with a unique mouthfeel. 'I know what a tahona-crushed agave spirit tastes like every time – the cooked agave flavors I get like sweet potato, tamarind, baked plantains, caramel and grilled apricots are preserved, not zapped,' Camarena explained. 'The stone itself leaves a gentle earthiness and mineral character.'
In the wider tequila market, flavoring has also been at the center of a recent, high-profile lawsuit. Diageo—parent company of Casamigos and Don Julio and one of the top beverage conglomerates by market cap—has recently been targeted by a class action suit over claims that their '100% agave' label is misleading and leaves room for the use of additives. Diageo disputes the claims. Still, an ongoing back-and-forth could leave an opening for tequilas that back up their flavor with demonstrated, traditional methods.
Even beyond flavor, the tahona is a symbol of El Tesoro's philosophy. The stopper on the brand's bottles are even made out of a tiny stone shaped like a tahona. 'It's like our special tool, our symbol, that has been there since the distillery first opened,' Camarena says. 'It has seen us through the years, it knows the stories of La Alteña.'
From a business standpoint, tahona-based production is likely one of the least efficient methods of extracting sugars from agave, and the lengthy process is often traded out in favor of scale. In fact, replacing a tahona—especially the one in use, which is as old as La Alteña itself—wouldn't be easy.
El Tesoro's tahona is as old as their distillery itself, which was founded in 1937.
While the current stone could last another 20 to 25 years, a backup plan is already in place. 'I do know a person who got a stone for a project and never used it and that is willing to give it to me, just in case,' Camarena said. 'El Tesoro would not be El Tesoro without the tahona stone.'
In a landscape chasing efficiency, using a tahona to make tequila is a reminder that a faster process isn't necessarily better.