Description
Camarena, a name known amongst all Tequila lovers for being the producers of fine, traditional Tequila such as El Tesoro, Ocho, and Tapatio. The distillery itself, La Alteña,which is situated in the highlands of Jalisco is surrounded by their own cultivated Agave Azul which grows in the rich red soils of Los Altos, giving the agaves their wonderful character, bursting with the floral and fresh flavours of their surroundings.
Carlos Camarena, who has been passed down the duties of running the hacienda from his father Felipe and his grandfather Don Felipe before him, is a 3rd generation Tequilero. His family have produced spirits since long before opening La Alteña Distillery in 1937, after their previous distillery had been burnt down during the Mexican Revolution.
Despite owning the land and running the hacienda, Carlos, who studied agricultural engineering doesn’t see himself as the owner; he believes no one in this world can ever own anything, we simply guard, protect and grow what our ancestors have created to then pass it on to the next generations and so forth.
La Alteña Distillery pride themselves on producing a traditional spirit and won’t ever succumb to the more efficient and cost effective production methods available regardless how much they grow further, as the quality of their creations are far more important than the quantity they can sell.
Another beautiful thing about Carlos Camarenas ideology is that he ensures 5% of his agave crops mature and blossom to be pollinated, thereby helping the survival of the natural ecosystem and pollinators.
In order to retain as much of the terroir of their agaves to the max, Tapatio is double distilled as close to bottle strength as possible.