A snippet of my profile for The Drinks Report:
Pepe Hermosillo’s entry to the business marked the seventh generation of tequila makers, though he insisted his would be something different, “a modern representation of Mexico”.
His training: “Totally on the job, hands on.” He was 19 when his father died, leading him to supervise the family’s construction company until taking it public and freeing him to focus solely on tequila.
Today Casa Noble produces 60,000 six bottle cases of tequila annually, a number Hermosillo would like to maximize at150,000. The distillery’s line, which includes silver, joven, reposado, añejo and extra añejo expressions, is also represented by rock guitar legend Carlos Santana, who became a partner two years ago.
We caught up with Hermosillo during a March visit to his distillery in Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico.
The Drinks Report: Seven generations of tequila making is quite a history.
Pepe Hermosillo: The earliest written accounts of my family—actually the Gonzales-Hermosillo family—being involved in tequila was in the late 1700s. We go way back. They were producing just 22 barrels a month. That’s pretty small, of course, but even at 60,000 cases a year, we’re still quite small. For comparison, Patron is the largest in our segment, producing about 1.8 million cases a year.
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