Eighteen years ago today, two men made a bet.
That the dirt matters.
That an agave field in Arandas tastes different from a field ten miles down the road.
They were told there was no such thing as terroir in tequila. They were wrong about that, and Tequila Ocho was right.
Carlos Camarena and Tomas Estes, co-founders of Tequila Ocho
On August 8, 2008, Carlos Camarena and Tomas Estes launched Tequila Ocho in the United States.
Carlos is a fifth-generation agave farmer and a third-generation tequilero, carrying a family’s worth of knowledge about the land of agave and a deep respect for it. Tomas was a global tequila ambassador who spent his career championing authentic tequila and Mexican culture everywhere he went.
Inspired by the way great wines expressed terroir and vintage, they wondered if the same could be true for tequila. At the time, it was a question that had never been widely explored.
Together, they set out to discover whether agave could reflect the place it was grown and the season it was harvested. The result was Tequila Ocho, built on craftsmanship, transparency, and a commitment to letting each field and harvest tell its own story.
They proved that soil matters, one field at a time
Ocho pioneered Single Estate vintage tequila. One field. One harvest. One year on the label. And this year they expanded the experiment with Terroir Select.
Terroir Select brings together agave from multiple fields inside one of eight growing regions, all certified under the Tequila Denomination of Origin, spanning the Highlands of Jalisco and reaching into other Mexican states like Michoacán and Guanajuato.
Every rancho used by Tequila Ocho, and each of the eight approved growing regions
Single Estate tastes of one place. Terroir Select tastes of one region. Each showcases how a lot of what you smell and taste is impacted by geography.
Regardless of where the agave was grown, the ingredients in every Tequila Ocho expression are simply agave, water, yeast (and sometimes, oak barrel aging). Nothing else, ever.
No two batches taste the same (really!)
Tequila Ocho’s adherence to terroir and vintages has one consequence you need to understand.
If it’s from a different rancho or region, a bottle of Tequila Ocho you bought four months ago will taste DIFFERENT than the bottle you bought today.
That is not a flaw in the process.
That is the process.
That’s why when people say Tequila Ocho is their favorite tequila, we always ask “Which one?”
Try it yourself. Grab three different reposados and try them side-by-side-by-side. Different? Yes. That’s the whole point, and it’s why there is always a reason to open the next one.
All About the Eights
2008: The year Carlos Camarena and Tomas Estes launchedTequila Ocho in the U.S.
The 8th Sample: While developing the profile, the eighth sample was the one Tomas and Carlos both agreed was the perfect expression of the agave.
8 Years: The time it takes for agave to ripen before being harvested.
8 Days: From the moment the agave enters the oven to the moment it becomes ordinario, the first distillation.
8 Weeks and 8 Days: Exactly how long the reposado rests.
8 Kilograms: The agave required to produce exactly one liter of Tequila Ocho. Way more than the industrial brands.
8 Regions: The certified growing regions Terroir Select works from: La Capilla, Zona Dorada, Río Lerma, San José, San Miguel, El Plan, Romita, and La Sierra.
8th in the Family: Carlos Camarena is 8th of nine children in his family.
What your bottle is telling you
Every bottle of Tequila Ocho is a map. Here is how to read it.
Single Estate or Terroir Select: noted right on the label, so you know which experiment you are holding.
The field or the region: the specific rancho for a Single Estate, or the region for a Terroir Select.
The year: the vintage the agave was harvested.
The elevation: The height of the region where the agave was grown.
The bottle number: So you can find the exact field location and tasting notes for each vintage, always available here, on the Tequila Ocho website.
Regardless of field or region, how good is Tequila Ocho? In our Readers’ Choice Awards this year, it ranked #3 blanco, #1 reposado, #2 añejo, #6 extra añejo, and #3 brand overall.
Happy 18th birthday, Tequila Ocho!
Co-founders, The Tequila Report
