Tequila has a rich history dating back thousands of years.
- The earliest form of tequila was pulque, a fermented agave drink produced by the Olmec and Aztec civilizations as early as 1000 BC.
- After the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, the Spanish began distilling agave to produce a primitive form of mezcal when they ran out of brandy supplies.
Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle is considered the first to produce tequila in 1600.
- In 1758, the Cuervo family began commercially distilling and selling tequila.
- Tequila started gaining popularity in the United States during Prohibition when Americans traveled to Mexico for alcohol.
- In 1974, the Mexican government declared the term "tequila" as intellectual property, mandating that it can only be produced in certain regions of Mexico from blue agave.