In 2025, the brand made spirits industry history when its Nuestras Raices expression became the first spirit in Wine Enthusiast's 46 year history to receive a perfect 100-point score.

Cazcanes is one of the most decorated independent tequila brands of the modern era, built around a philosophy of radical simplicity: two ingredients only, agave and water, with nothing added and nothing hidden.

Founded in 2015 by brothers Colin and Chris Edwards alongside their partner Jose Santillan, and produced at Tequilera TAP (NOM 1614) just north of Amatitan in the lowland Valles region of Jalisco, Cazcanes draws on certified organic Blue Weber agave, single-source Navichi spring water, and the knowledge of one of Mexico's most experienced master distillers.

Cazcanes is produced in the lowland Valles region of Jalisco, just north of Amatitan, within the Tequila Denomination of Origin. The distillery sources 100% organic Blue Weber agave grown in the lowlands, where volcanic soils and a warm climate produce agave with a characteristic earthiness and herbal intensity that distinguishes Valles fruit from the sweeter, fruitier profile of highland agave.

The Cazcanes story begins with Colin Edwards, a winemaker whose obsession with agave led him to spend time deep in the jungles of Jalisco studying tequila production from the ground up. It was there that he encountered what is believed to be a 300-year-old indigenous production method, a discovery that set the direction for everything the brand would become.

The name Cazcanes honours the Cazcan people, the last indigenous Mexicans to be conquered by the Spanish, and that spirit of independence and resistance to compromise runs through every decision the brand has made since its founding.

Colin and Chris Edwards formed the company in July 2015 with Jose Santillan, whose family comes from the area around Navichi Springs in Jalisco. It was Santillan who identified the spring water that now serves as the second and only other ingredient in every Cazcanes expression.

The founders sought out Francisco Jimenez Lazcarro, known as Don Chico, a master distiller with 39 years of tequila-making experience, to lead production at what was then NOM 1599 before the brand moved its production to NOM 1614 at Tequilera TAP. The first bottles reached shelves in 2017.

Beyond its core production, Cazcanes also works with third-generation distiller Humberto Alvarado, who produces the Nuestras Raices expression from a remote jungle village in Jalisco using ancestral methods passed down through his family, including wood-fire steam cooking and water from a natural spring his family has used for generations.

Cazcanes Nuestras Raices made spirits industry history in 2025 when Wine Enthusiast awarded it a perfect 100-point score, the first time in the publication's 46-year history that any spirit had achieved that rating. The achievement placed Cazcanes at the centre of a global conversation about what the highest levels of artisanal tequila production can produce, and attracted the attention of spirits collectors and agave enthusiasts worldwide.

The broader Cazcanes range has received consistent recognition from trade publications and competition panels, with the No. 9 Blanco in particular cited frequently as a benchmark for high-proof, additive-free tequila.

Cazcanes is built on the conviction that the finest tequila is made from two ingredients and nothing else, and the range bears that conviction out across every expression.

The Blancos are clean and direct, with the earthiness and herbal intensity of lowland organic agave at the centre, softened by the mineral clarity of Navichi spring water. The No. 7 expressions offer that character at an accessible proof that works as well in cocktails as it does sipped neat.

The No. 9 expressions turn up the volume on the same profile, rewarding patience and a good glass. The No. 10 at still strength is not for the fainthearted, but it is among the most transparent windows into what this distillery and these agave fields are capable of producing.

Nuestras Raices stands apart: a spirit shaped by jungle humidity, wild yeast, ancient methods, and one family's generational relationship with a particular spring and a particular agave field. It is, by any measure, one of the most singular tequila expressions in the world.

Cazcanes approaches production with the same conviction it brings to its ingredient list: deliberate, unhurried, and built around what the agave needs rather than what industrial efficiency demands.

• Harvested agave hearts are cooked in a low-pressure autoclave, a method that converts the agave's starches gently and efficiently while preserving the organic character of the fruit.
• Extraction is carried out by roller mill, and fermentation takes place in open-air stainless steel tanks using 100% agave juice without the addition of fibres or commercial yeasts. The result is a clean, precise fermentation that reflects the natural environment of the distillery.
• Distillation is handled by Don Chico Jimenez Lazcarro, whose 39 years of experience give him an intuitive understanding of when to make cuts and how to bring out the best in the organic agave he works with. For Nuestras Raices, the process is entirely different:
• Humberto Alvarado uses a wood-fire steam autoclave, a salvaged engine to shred the cooked agave, and wild fermentation driven by the native yeasts of his jungle village, producing a spirit that is raw, unfiltered, and as close to pre-industrial tequila as any expression currently on the market.

Every Cazcanes expression across both production sites is certified additive-free, organic, and kosher.