Fortaleza Still Strength Blanco Tequila

About Tequila Fortaleza

In 1856, Don Cenobio Sauza moved to Jalisco, Mexico and began importing tequila from Mexico into the United States. Upon his death in 1877, his son, Don Eladio Sauza, took control of the family business and began distilling tequila himself. For nearly a century, the Sauza family continued distilling tequila from their estate situated in the foothills of Volcán de Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico. The distillery eventually closed its doors in 1968 but only for a brief period of time. In 1999, Don Guillermo Sauza — a fifth-generation master distiller — resurrected the family business and opened the doors to Destileria La Fortaleza.

Fortaleza Tequila is made using 100% blue weber agave grown in the rich, volcanic soil of the Tequila Valley. The agave, which are nourished by the summer rains and protected from harsh winter winds, are grown for seven to eight years before being harvested at their peak of maturity by expert jimadors (a jimadors is a type of Mexican farmer who specifically harvests agave). After the agave have been harvested, their hearts, or piñas, are roasted for 33 hours in a brick oven with meter-thick walls. Then, the soft, sweet piñas are crushed using a tahona (a giant stone wheel), the exact same method that Sauza's great-great grandfather used a century ago. After the piñas are crushed, the agave pulp, or mosto, is extracted and naturally fermented over the course of five days in open-air wood tanks before being double-distilled in copper-pot stills.