Brand Profile | Tequila
100% Blue Weber Agave  ·  Highlands (Los Altos), Jalisco  ·  Pernod Ricard

Avión is a Highland tequila produced in Los Altos, Jalisco, where the agave grows at altitude in iron-rich red clay soil. Plants up there take a bit longer to mature and pack in more natural sugar, which gives the finished tequila a sweeter, fruitier base than what you get from the lowland valley side.

The brand was launched in 2010 by Ken Austin, picked up as a partner by Pernod Ricard in 2014, and brought fully into the Pernod Ricard portfolio not long after. The whole range is 100% Blue Weber agave and built around two production details the brand keeps coming back to. Highland agave sourcing and a slow filtration process that takes longer than the standard finish but pulls out impurities without flattening the agave character.

Avión was founded in 2010 by Ken Austin, an entrepreneur from the US drinks industry, with a simple goal of building a premium Highland tequila brand from the ground up. It picked up early attention through a high-profile feature on the TV series Entourage, which gave it a fast start in the US market.

Pernod Ricard came in as a partner in 2014 and later took full ownership, slotting Avión into the same portfolio as Olmeca Altos, Altos Plata, and the Pernod Ricard tequila range. Production has stayed in the Highlands the whole way through, and the range has held to the same three core expressions Silver, Reposado and Añejo.

The brand has shifted from a fast-growing independent into a properly scaled, internationally distributed name without changing the recipe or the production approach. The bottles you grab now are made the same way they were on day one.

The two things Avión is built around are Highland agave and slow filtration. Highland agave brings the natural sweetness and softer fruit character. Slow filtration takes longer than the standard finish at the end of distillation and pulls out the harsh edges without stripping out the agave.

Add to that:

• 100% Blue Weber agave on every bottle, no mixto in the range
• Highland (Los Altos) sourcing for sweeter, fruitier agave character
• Slow filtration process used across the whole range
• Small American white oak barrels for aging, which gives more oak contact in less time
• Reposado at 6 months and Añejo at 24 months, both above category minimums
• Backed by the Pernod Ricard distribution network, so quality and supply stay consistent

If you want a clean, polished Highland tequila with proper barrel work and no rough edges, Avión sits comfortably in the upgrade slot. It's a good step up from entry-level supermarket bottles without jumping into the deep end on price.

The Avión process keeps things on the traditional side at the front end and gets a bit more particular at the finish.

• Agave: 100% Blue Weber, sourced from the Highlands of Jalisco where altitude and red clay soil drive higher sugar content
• Cooking: Traditional brick ovens (hornos) to slow cook the agave hearts
• Extraction: Roller mill to press the juice from the cooked agave
• Fermentation: Controlled fermentation, built for clean and consistent results
• Distillation: Double distilled
• Filtration: Slow filtration, the production step the brand is best known for. Takes longer than standard but smooths the spirit without stripping flavour
• Aging: Silver is unaged. Reposado rests 6 months in small American white oak. Añejo ages 24 months in the same small barrels

Smaller barrels mean more wood-to-spirit contact, so the Reposado and Añejo pick up rounded vanilla and caramel without needing extra years to get there. The whole approach is built for a smooth, polished finish across the range.