From Field to Bottle
Our Processes
Every Jose León expression begins with patiently matured agave and follows a deliberate sequence of selection, extraction, fermentation, distillation, resting, proofing, filtration, and immediate bottling.
- Process01
Harvesting 7–10 Year Agave
Our Blue Weber agave is allowed to mature for seven to ten years before skilled jimadores harvest each plant by hand at peak readiness.
- Process02
Selecting the Best Agave Hearts
Only the finest mature agave hearts, or piñas, are selected to move forward, protecting the quality, aroma, and flavor of every batch.
- Process03
Agave Roasting Difference
The selected agave piñas are then slow roasted in traditional stone hornos or autoclaves for seventy-two hours plus an extra roasting cycle, allowing us to develop a specialized mosto juice with the extra-roasted, deeper cooked and caramelized agave profile you can only get from Jose León Tequila.
- Process04
Agave Juice - (Mosto) Extraction
The roasted agave is extracted through two complementary methods: traditional tahona crushing with a volcanic stone wheel and modern mechanical shredding to separate the rich agave juice from the fibers.
- Process05
Fermentation
The extracted agave sugars are transferred to fermentation vats and carefully fermented with proprietary yeast to build the spirit’s distinctive depth, aroma, and character.
- Process06
Copper Pot Distillation
The fermented agave wash is double distilled in copper pot stills, concentrating and refining the spirit while removing unwanted sulfur compounds. Copper primarily cleans and refines the spirit, retains more flavorful congeners—giving tequila fuller body, richer agave character and greater complexity.
- Process07
Resting
The tequila rests briefly to allow volatile compounds to settle. The heads, tails, and hearts are cut and separated, with only the hearts retained. The spirit then passes through a number of filtration screen sizes to remove particles and coarse impurities.
- Process08
Proofing
The tequila is diluted with deionized water to bottling strength at 40% ABV, then rests again to stabilize. It passes through a fine screen to remove smaller particles before being transferred to a stainless steel storage tank.
- Process09
Stainless Steel Resting
The distilled spirit rests in stainless steel vats for two weeks, allowing the tequila to settle and integrate while preserving its pure agave character.
- Process10
Freeze Filtering & Bottling
The spirit is chilled below freezing and passed through depth filters for lasting clarity. It is then bottled immediately after filtration to preserve the intended flavors and aromas.
- Process11
Reposado Resting
The agave spirit is rested for up to 11 months in American oak, just one month shy of Añejo classification. The oak develops warm notes of roasted agave, caramel, toasted wood, subtle citrus and baking spice. Gentle oxidation softens the spirit, creating a richer golden color and a remarkably long, smooth finish.
- Process12
Añejo Aging
Jose León Añejo matures for up to 22 months in carefully selected American oak barrels—nearly twice the minimum aging required for an Añejo. Extended barrel maturation develops rich layers of caramel, toasted oak, light chocolate and subtle dried fruit while preserving the tequila’s distinctive roasted-agave character. The result is a beautifully balanced Añejo with a deep amber color, silky mouthfeel and exceptionally long, warm finish.