Destileria Santanera

As the descendant of a long and storied line of agave producers in Arandas, Jalisco, Pablo Lara grew up surrounded by world-class tequila while intensely feeling the category’s struggles to meet increased demand in responsible ways. To that end, Pablo created Santanera: an independent brand aimed at reviving organic and sustainable farming practices—predominantly lost to the tequila industry—with a deep focus on terroir and the fascinating intricacies of tequila production.

Rather than begin the brand by sourcing or producing tequila, Santanera dedicated years to the raw ingredient: agave. Pablo’s business partner, César Gutiérrez, is a talented and accomplished student of sustainability, botany, and tequila, and manages their agave-farming practices. Together, Pablo and César have farmed Santanera’s agricultural foundation with care, growing their own agave using sustainable methods. They also engage with various certifying processes, and Kosher certification is the starting point for the core line.

While Santanera is currently distilled at like-minded fabricas (specifically, Tres Mujeres and the iconic Cascahuín in Los Valles), Pablo and master distiller Sergio Cruz helm Santanera production and keep the process entirely separate from the rest of the distilleries’ work. (They even install unique fermenters and pot stills on-site, which are used only to produce Santanera). Currently, construction is underway on Santanera’s own distillery where production will be consolidated.