What You'll Learn:
Why the town of Tequila, Jalisco is unlike anything you've read about or imagined — and why you need to see it in person.
What it actually feels like to work in an agave field.
How four of Mexico's most distinctive distilleries and their most notable brands — Los Abuelos (Fortaleza), El Llano (Arette), Familia Landeros (Atanasio), and Selecto de Amatitán (Arriesgado) — are made completely differently.
This four-day tour costs much less than comparable trips, and what's included that other tours leave out.
Most tequila lovers spend years reading about Jalisco. The agave fields. The ancient distilleries. The jimadores swinging their coas under the early morning sun. The moment a batch comes off the still smelling like roasted earth and sweet cooked agave.
Reading about it is fine. Being there is something else entirely.
This July, The Tequila Report is taking a small group of tequila enthusiasts — just 10 people — on a four-day guided tour of Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico. July 9 through 12. I’ll be there too, and can’t wait to join you.
this could be you!
Spots are limited. The booking deadline is June 19th. Here's everything you need to know:
Our Experienced Partner: PKGD Tours
This trip is run in partnership with PKGD Group, one of the most respected names in tequila. PKGD is the U.S. importer of G4, El Ateo, El Viejito, Arriesgado, and other premium agave spirits. They don't just know the industry — they are part of it. Their guides are Mexican locals who have been in the game for years.
When PKGD plans a distillery visit, doors open that don't open for typical tourists. You’ll get access and attention you simply can’t procure on a DIY adventure.
Four Distilleries. Four Completely Different Worlds.
This is not a bus or train tour where you peer through a gate and buy a shot glass in the gift shop. We visit four working distilleries — each with its own philosophy, its own production style, and its own personality. You'll walk the floor, ask questions, and taste at the source.
Fortaleza is one of the most storied distilleries in all of Mexico. Operating on the same grounds where the Sauza family produced tequila over a century ago, Fortaleza (the official distillery name is Los Abuelos and you’ll find out why when you’re there) uses a tahona — a massive volcanic stone wheel — to crush its agave. It is as traditional as tequila gets, and it produces one of the most universally beloved brands.
Arette is made at the family owned El Llano distillery that has been quietly producing exceptional tequila in the shadow of the Tequila volcano for generations. Founded by the Orendain family, it is the kind of place that reminds you why small, independent operations still matter.
Arriesgado may be the most unique stop on the tour. Produced at Selecto de Amatitán, this brand uses truly ancestral methods like wood fires, agave crushed in a wooden log, and many other surprises!
Atanasio is made at the family-run Familia Landeros distillery, and this is the one that may surprise you most. Here’s why:
🌵 The Jornalero Experience at Atanasio
At Tequila Atanasio, we won't just be touring a distillery. We'll be doing the Jornalero Experience — Atanasio's immersive program.
You'll ride in the back of a truck out to the agave fields. You'll learn what the daily work of a jornalero — an agave field laborer — actually looks like. You'll take part in a real harvest and plant your own agave. You can even name it!
Back at the distillery, you'll be welcomed with a cantarito cocktail (and I think the cantaritos here are the best in Mexico, period), take a full production tour, and finish with a guided tasting of Atanasio's expressions.
This is not a demonstration. This is participation. And it's the kind of memory you don't forget. I’ve personally done it six times, and cannot WAIT to do it again.
What's Included:
Almost everything. Here's what the PKGD Tours x The Tequila Report trip covers:
Three nights' luxury hotel accommodations in Guadalajara and Tequila
All ground transportation throughout the trip, including to/from airport
Three meals per day
All drinks, including tequila (within reason)
Travel insurance included (rare for tours like this, and genuinely valuable)
Professional local guides with deep industry knowledge
I’ll be with you for all four days
The only things you cover independently: your flights (Guadalajara is the airport), and whatever bottles and souvenirs you can't leave behind. Given four distillery visits, budget accordingly for the latter.
The Price — and Why It's Exceptional
This tour is priced at $2,549 per person (single) or $4,598 for two travelers sharing a room — just $2,299 per person when you travel with a partner.
By comparison, similar tequila tours regularly run $3,000 and up and don’t include airport transfer OR breakfasts OR travel insurance!
I’ve been to Tequila a LOT, and trust me when I tell you there is no better value available than our trips with PKGD Tours.
Download the full itinerary PDF here. Every hour is planned and supervised and secure.
A Note on Safety
I’ve spent significant time living and working in Jalisco. Life in the town of Tequila and the surrounding distillery region is fully back to normal, and was never impacted other than the one-day uprising in February.
PKGD Tours is operated by Mexican locals who know this area intimately, and safety is built into every element of how this tour is planned and executed. All travel involves some level of risk, but visiting Jalisco's distillery corridor is not materially different from what it has always been. I would - and do - routinely bring my wife, daughter, and business partner Maddie Jager to the area.
Only 10 Spots. Deadline: June 19th
We keep this tour intentionally small. Ten people means private access, real conversations with distillers, and the kind of experience that a group of 40 simply cannot have.
If you've ever thought about going to Tequila, Mexico — actually going, not just thinking about it — this is the trip. Priced fairly, run by experts, guided by someone who has dedicated years to understanding this spirit at its source.
Book soon. After that, the trip is closed.
About the Author: Jay Baer has spent 30+ years studying tequila and agave spirits. He is the co-founder and editor of The Tequila Report, a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, and a Hall of Fame keynote speaker. Jay and his business partner Maddie Jager are co-founders of Slingshot, an invitation-only community of emerging tequila brands. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Find him on Instagram.
