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The Growing Tequila Adulteration Scandal
SUSAN COSS
October 17, 2025
 | All the mezcal news you need to know |
The ongoing and unending Tequila scandal
Initially, this week’s newsletter was focused on mezcal not from Oaxaca, the theme of our most recent What’s in Your Mouth blind tasting in San Diego. It was a jumping off point to talk about Michoacán, its mezcal producing history and the irony that the state was not included in the original Denominación de Origen for mezcal in 1994 (it was not until 2012 when the state was finally added after a lot of effort and politicking.) This was all a lead in to highlighting a terrific read by Max Garrone about the mezcal brand Hacienda Oponguio and its story of a generational gap in production, perseverance, family and some innovation.
But then we got a tip of some things happening in Mexico around the ongoing and growing scandal in the world of tequila, a story we have been covering since January of this year. In addition to a new class action lawsuit filed against 818 Tequila alleging adulteration of product, there were also formal complaints filed against the Consejo Regulador de Tequila (CRT) in Mexico by the Agaveros de la Agroindustria del Tequila organization. The complaints implicate the CRT and four other major brands in the adulteration scandal. The news from Mexico was unexpected because things had been radio silent since our original coverage about the agaveros and their concerns, not surprising given what had happened to some of the Mexican Agave Council folks. Remberto Galván, the spokesperson at that time for the group, was kidnapped and severely beaten and the two leaders of the council were jailed in the late spring and then finally released over the summer. You can read more about this growing scandal in Felisa Rogers latest.
The interesting note to all of this is that it appears that this scandal has had little impact on the consumer. Don Julio, one of the original named brands in the first class action lawsuit filed, has continued to see incredible sales growth in its latest fiscal year (41% in volume!). It seems either news has not gotten out there and/or consumers/decision makers buying product don’t really care.
There is a through line from the original Not From Oaxaca newsletter idea and this actual one. Filipino sailors on Spanish galleons brought portable stills to Western Mexico. That distilling technology spread from the ports and out through the contemporary states of Guerrero, Jalisco, Colima, and Michoacán where it is believed the earliest distillation of agave took place in what is now Mexico. To see how far agave distillation has veered or evolved from its original beginnings is pretty incredible. But these allegations and the amount of adulteration purported take that veering and evolution to an entirely different level that seems almost unbelievable and yet entirely in line with a system that prizes commodity above all else.
In other news, be sure to check out Felisa’s great crash course of Mexican liqueurs and bitters and Joahna Hernandez’s interview with Paloma Rivera, the founder of Tianguis Mezcalero in Mexico City. We’ve also got news below from Tequila Interchange Project, whose work is increasingly important especially in light of all that is going in the world of agave spirits, in our Spotlight section and the launch of a new newsletter section, El Úlitmo Lote (The Latest Batch) where we highlight a new special and limited release. Also tickets are now live for our next edition of What’s in Your Mouth in Oakland on November 15th.
Saludos,
Susan and the Mezcalistas Team
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SPOTLIGHT: TEQUILA INTERCHANGE PROJECT
As the agave spirits industry evolves, how do enthusiasts and advocates navigate the ever-changing landscape and help ensure that their purchasing dollars are going to help fund projects and producers that are preserving the traditions and ecosystems that made the category so interesting and special?
Since its inception in 2010, the Tequila Interchange Project (TIP) has striven to do just that through its education and advocacy projects. TIP has united individuals to advocate for the preservation of sustainable, traditional and quality practices in the tequila and mezcal industry. TIP’s efforts continue to bring hospitality professionals to view traditional agave spirits production first-hand whether through seminars on topics ranging from sustainable spirits to the history of distillation in Meso-America or new initiatives from its newly established grants programs. TIP utilizes the diverse strengths of its network to engage a broad audience in the history and culture of Mexico’s noble spirits.
The Tequila Interchange Project is committed to expand the resources available to both hospitality professionals and enthusiasts by advocating for traditional production, fostering the exchange of knowledge and experiences of agave spirits producers, funding research and conservation projects, and helping hospitality professionals develop their agave spirits knowledge. We do this because we like to drink tequila as much as we like to talk about it! But we need your help. Please follow our social media channels, attend our events and fundraisers throughout the country, tell your friends about us, and most importantly consider making a donation to help us continue this important work! Visit tequilainterchangeproject.org to learn more.
EL ÚLTIMO LOTE: FIRME TEPEZTATE
Introducing our newest newsletter section, El Último Lote (The Latest Batch) where we will feature special and limited releases.
 | Firme Mezcal has just released its special Dia de Muertos batch, this year a 49% Tepeztate produced by mezcalero Jorge Méndez Cortes in Santiago Matátlan, Oaxaca (read more about him and his partnership with Firme here.) This is a tiny production of only 100 bottles so be sure to grab your bottle before they are all gone! |
