How Is Tequila Made? From Agave to Barrel

Most of the work happens in the field. Cooking, fermenting and distilling take days; growing the agave takes years, and ageing in oak can add years more. This guide walks through each step, explains what tequila is made from and where it can legally be made, and shows how long the whole process takes.

In this guide:

1. How tequila is made at a glance

2. What is tequila made from?

3. Where tequila can be made

4. The seven steps of making tequila

5. Traditional vs modern methods

6. How long does it take to make tequila?

7. From the still to the barrel: where the value is added

How tequila is made at a glance

🔑 How tequila is made: key facts

• 6 to 8 years: how long Blue Weber agave grows before it is harvested.

• 2 distillations: the minimum for every tequila.

• 35 to 55% ABV: the legal strength range for bottled tequila.

• About 4 kg: agave used per litre of tequila across the industry in recent years (Tequila Reserve analysis of CRT statistics).

Sources: CRT; Casa Sauza; Tequila Fortaleza; Tequila Reserve analysis. Checked 12 November 2026.

What is tequila made from?

Tequila is made from just three things: agave, water and yeast. The agave has to be one species, Agave tequilana Weber, blue variety, usually called Blue Weber agave (CRT). The part used is the heart of the plant, the piña, which looks like a giant pineapple once the leaves are cut away. A piña weighs about 32 kg on average, though they range from about 10 kg to over 100 kg (Difford’s Guide).

Agave is a succulent, not a cactus, although the two are often confused.

There are two categories of tequila, and the label tells you which one you have:

• 100% agave tequila (“100% de agave” on the label) is made only from Blue Weber agave sugars. It must be bottled within the protected region in Mexico.

• Tequila (often called mixto) needs at least 51% of its sugars from agave. Up to 49% can come from other sugars, such as cane sugar, added before fermentation. It can be shipped in bulk and bottled outside Mexico (CRT).

100% agave is now the larger category. It made up 74.1% of tequila production in January to July 2026 (Tequila Reserve analysis of CRT statistics).

Where tequila can be made

Tequila has a protected designation of origin, like Champagne. It can only be made in 181 municipalities across five Mexican states: all of Jalisco, plus parts of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas (CRT). The agave landscape around the town of Tequila, in Jalisco, is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Production follows a Mexican standard, NOM-006-SCFI-2012, and is checked by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT), which certifies every producer and every step from field to bottle (CRT). Each producer has a NOM number, printed on the label, which identifies the distillery that made the tequila. We explain why that number matters to buyers in what makes a tequila barrel valuable.

The seven steps of making tequila

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Step 1: Grow and harvest the agave

Blue Weber agave takes 6 to 8 years to mature in the field. When it is ready, a skilled harvester called a jimador uses a long, flat-bladed tool called a coa to cut off the spiky leaves, leaving the piña. An experienced jimador can harvest more than 100 piñas a day (Difford’s Guide).

Harvest timing matters. A mature agave has built up more of the starches that will become sugar, which is why the slow growing time can’t be rushed.

Step 2: Cook the piñas

Raw agave is starchy and bitter. Cooking breaks down its main carbohydrate, inulin, into fermentable sugars and gives the agave its sweet, slightly smoky flavour. There are three main ways to do it:

• Brick ovens (hornos): the traditional method, which takes days. At Tequila Fortaleza, for example, the piñas steam for 36 hours in a stone oven and then need another 24 hours to cool (Tequila Fortaleza).

• Autoclaves: large stainless-steel pressure cookers that cook the agave in hours rather than days (Boozemakers).

• Diffusers: the piñas are shredded raw and the sugars are washed out with hot water and then hydrolysed, in about 6 hours (Casa Sauza). Diffusers are efficient, but many traditional producers say the tequila loses complexity.

Step 3: Crush the cooked agave

Next, the sweet juice (aguamiel) has to be separated from the fibres. A few producers still use a tahona, a heavy stone wheel pulled around a pit. Tequila Fortaleza still crushes its agave with a two-tonne volcanic-stone tahona (Tequila Fortaleza). Most producers now use a mechanical roller mill, which shreds the agave and washes out the sugars with water (CRT). The leftover fibres, called bagazo, are often composted and returned to the agave fields (Casa Sauza).

Step 4: Ferment the juice

The juice is diluted with water and goes into fermentation tanks, where yeast turns the sugars into alcohol. For a mixto tequila, this is when the other sugars are added. The result is a low-alcohol liquid called mosto. Fermentation usually takes one to four days: about 24 to 28 hours in Casa Sauza’s closed steel tanks (Casa Sauza), and about four days in Tequila Fortaleza’s open wooden vats (Tequila Fortaleza).

Producers can use cultured yeast or rely on wild yeast from the air, and ferment in stainless steel or open wooden vats. These choices have a big effect on the final flavour.

Step 5: Distil twice

All tequila is distilled at least twice (CRT). The first distillation produces a cloudy spirit called ordinario, at about 20% ABV (Tequila Fortaleza). The second produces clear tequila, usually at around 55 to 65% ABV (Casa Sauza), though some producers distil closer to bottling strength: Fortaleza stops at about 46%.

During distillation, the distiller makes “cuts”: the first part to come off the still (the heads) and the last part (the tails) are separated out, and only the middle part (the heart) is kept. Most tequila is distilled in copper pot stills (alambiques), though column stills are also allowed and give a lighter spirit (Boozemakers). A few brands distil a third time.

Step 6: Bottle or barrel

The clear spirit now takes one of two paths. It can be brought down to bottling strength with water and bottled as blanco, the unaged type. Tequila must be bottled at 35 to 55% ABV (CRT); in practice most is sold at 40% ABV in the US and 37.5 to 40% in Europe (Difford’s Guide).

Or it can be filled into oak to age. The most common choice is barrels that once held American whiskey, and Kentucky bourbon casks are a classic option.

Step 7: Age in oak

Time in oak is what separates the four types of tequila:

• Blanco: unaged, or rested in oak for less than two months.

• Reposado: at least two months in oak.

• Añejo: at least one year in small oak barrels; most añejos age from one year to just under three. At three years it becomes extra añejo.

• Extra añejo: at least three years in small oak barrels.

Source: CRT, checked 4 November 2026.

In the barrel, the wood softens the spirit and adds colour and flavours such as vanilla, caramel and spice. Some liquid evaporates each year, a loss known as the “angel’s share”. Aged tequilas may contain small amounts of four permitted additives, such as caramel colour, but blanco may not (Experience Agave). Once the tequila is bottled, the ageing stops. We compare the four types side by side in our guide to the types of tequila.

Traditional vs modern methods

Every tequila goes through the same seven steps, but producers make very different choices along the way. Traditional methods are slower and usually cost more; modern methods are faster and more consistent.

Sources: Tequila Fortaleza; Casa Sauza; Boozemakers; CRT. Checked 12 November 2026.

Producers rarely print these details on the label, but they have a big influence on flavour and price. We look at how they shape the cost of high-end bottles in premium and luxury tequila.

How long does it take to make tequila?

From planting to bottle, a blanco takes about 6 to 8 years, almost all of it in the agave field. Cooking, fermenting and distilling add only a few days. Ageing then adds at least two months for reposado, a year for añejo and three years for extra añejo, so an extra añejo is at least 9 to 11 years in the making.

View full-size chart ↗

These are the legal minimums. Many brands age their tequila for longer than the minimum.

From the still to the barrel: where the value is added

Newly distilled agave spirit costs very little. As with whisky and fine wine, time in oak is what turns it into premium aged tequila. Across brands, the median bottle price rises from about £41 for blanco to £81 for reposado, £147 for añejo and £259 for extra añejo (Tequila Reserve analysis of secondary-market prices).

The reason is time. Every year in oak ties up a producer’s stock and loses liquid to the angel’s share, which narrows supply. Because ageing stops in the bottle, all of that value is added while the tequila is still in the barrel. We explain why the top of that ladder matters in why extra añejo is where tequila investors should be looking.

That is why some collectors now own tequila while it ages. Tequila Reserve by WineFi offers multiple tequila barrel investment programmes, with barrel prices ranging from £1,000 to £6,000 depending on the production method, the age of the tequila and the distillery. The recommended hold is three years, so that the tequila matures into extra añejo. The barrels are held in a CRT-authorised warehouse in Mexico, each with its own CRT serial number and a tamper-proof CRT seal, and the price includes fees, insurance and storage for the first three years. Our guide to how tequila barrel investment works explains the process.

A barrel is a long-term, illiquid holding. It is not an FCA-regulated investment, values can fall as well as rise, and there is no guarantee of a buyer or a price when you want to sell. Read the risks of investing in tequila barrels and take independent advice before deciding.

FAQs about how tequila is made

How is tequila made step by step?

Blue Weber agave is grown for 6 to 8 years and harvested. The hearts (piñas) are cooked to turn their starches into sugar, crushed to release the juice, fermented with yeast for 1 to 4 days and distilled at least twice. The clear spirit is then bottled as blanco or aged in oak to become reposado, añejo or extra añejo.

What is tequila made from?

Tequila is made from the cooked heart of the Blue Weber agave, plus water and yeast. 100% agave tequila uses only agave sugars; standard “tequila” (mixto) needs at least 51% agave sugars, and the rest can come from other sugars such as cane sugar.

Is tequila made from cactus?

No. Tequila is made from Blue Weber agave, which is a succulent, not a cactus. The two look similar and grow in similar dry climates, which is why they are often confused.

How many times is tequila distilled?

At least twice. The first distillation produces ordinario, at about 20 to 25% ABV; the second produces clear tequila. A few brands distil a third time.

How long does it take to make tequila?

About 6 to 8 years for a blanco, because the agave takes that long to grow. Cooking, fermenting and distilling take only a few days. Aged types take longer: at least two more months for reposado, one year for añejo and three years for extra añejo.

Why can tequila only be made in Mexico?

Tequila has a protected designation of origin. It can only be made from Blue Weber agave grown in 181 municipalities across five Mexican states (Jalisco and parts of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas), under rules checked by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila.

How much agave does it take to make a bottle of tequila?

Across the whole industry, about 4 kg of agave is used per litre of tequila (Tequila Reserve analysis of CRT statistics); this includes mixto tequila, which uses other sugars too. 100% agave tequila needs more: about 7 kg of piña per litre, or roughly 5 kg for a 750 ml bottle (Difford’s Guide). One average 32 kg piña makes about four and a half litres.