Fortaleza Tequila: Tradition, Family & the Last Tahona in Jalisco

In the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, where the blue agave grows tall and the air smells of roasted earth and sweet agave nectar, there is a distillery that refuses to let the old ways die. Fortaleza Tequila — known in Mexico as Tequila Los Abuelos — is one of the last remaining traditional tequila producers in the world, making spirits the way they were made over a century ago, with methods that most of the industry abandoned long ago in the name of efficiency.

A Family Legacy Five Generations Deep

The story of Fortaleza begins with Don Cenobio Sauza, one of the founding fathers of the tequila industry, who established his distillery in Tequila, Jalisco in 1873. The Sauza family went on to build one of the largest tequila empires in Mexico — but in 1976, the family sold the Sauza brand to a multinational corporation.

What they kept was the original distillery: a beautiful, centuries-old hacienda called La Fortaleza ("The Fortress"). For decades it sat dormant, a relic of a different era. Then, in the early 2000s, Guillermo Erickson Sauza — the fifth generation of the family — made a decision that would change the tequila world: he would restore the old distillery and make tequila the traditional way, without compromise.

The Traditional Production Process

What makes Fortaleza extraordinary is not just what they do, but what they refuse to stop doing:

• Brick Ovens (Hornos) — Fortaleza slow-roasts their agave hearts (piñas) in traditional brick ovens for 36 hours. Most modern distilleries use autoclaves (pressure cookers) that reduce this to 8 hours. The slow roast develops deeper, more complex flavors.
• The Tahona — After roasting, the agave is crushed by a massive two-ton volcanic stone wheel called a tahona, pulled by a tractor (historically by mule). This ancient method extracts the agave juice while retaining the fibrous pulp, which ferments alongside the juice and adds texture and complexity to the final spirit. Fortaleza is one of the last distilleries in Jalisco still using a tahona.
• Open-Air Fermentation — The agave juice ferments in open wooden vats, exposed to the natural yeasts and microorganisms of the Jalisco highlands. This wild fermentation adds a complexity that controlled, industrial fermentation cannot replicate.
• Copper Pot Stills — Fortaleza distills in small copper pot stills, the traditional method that produces a richer, more characterful spirit than the column stills used by most large producers.

The Fortaleza Expressions

• Blanco — Unaged and bottled immediately after distillation. The purest expression of the agave and the tahona process — earthy, herbal, and intensely flavorful. A benchmark for what traditional tequila tastes like.
• Reposado — Rested for 6-8 months in American oak barrels. The oak adds vanilla and caramel notes while preserving the agave character. A beautifully balanced expression.
• Añejo — Aged for 18 months in American oak. Rich, complex, and deeply satisfying — a sipping tequila of the highest order that rivals aged whisky for complexity.
• Still Strength Blanco — A limited release bottled at full distillation strength (without dilution). Intensely concentrated and highly sought after by collectors.
• Winter Blend — An annual limited release that has become one of the most anticipated bottles in the tequila world. Sells out within hours of release.

Why Fortaleza is a Collector's Tequila

Fortaleza occupies a unique position in the tequila world: it is simultaneously one of the most authentic and one of the most limited producers available. Production is constrained by the traditional methods — you can only crush so much agave with a tahona, ferment so much juice in wooden vats, and distill so much spirit in copper pot stills. This natural limitation means Fortaleza is frequently allocated and difficult to find.

For collectors, Fortaleza represents something increasingly rare in the spirits world: a producer that has never compromised, never scaled up at the expense of quality, and never chased the mass market. In a category full of celebrity-owned brands and industrial producers, Fortaleza is the real thing.

Shop Fortaleza at Fortuna Liquors

We carry Fortaleza expressions at Fortuna Liquors and monitor allocations closely. Contact us to check current availability — these bottles move quickly and we recommend joining our notification list to be alerted when new stock arrives.