G4 Tequila: El Pandillo Distillery, NOM 1579

G4 Tequila is the personal project of Felipe Camarena, the fourth-generation master distiller whose family has been making tequila in the Los Altos highlands of Jalisco since the 1930s. Produced at El Pandillo distillery (NOM 1579) in Jesus Maria, Jalisco, G4 is built around estate-grown agave, stone-oven cooking, a custom-built metal tahona, double distillation in copper pot stills, and a water source unique in the denomination: a 50/50 blend of harvested rainwater and natural spring water that anchors every batch of G4 directly to the land and climate of the highlands.

The name G4 stands for four generations, and the depth of craft knowledge that represents is evident in every production decision Felipe Camarena has made at El Pandillo. This is a distillery built by an engineer who grew up inside one of Mexico's most celebrated tequila families, and the result is a spirit that is simultaneously rooted in tradition and shaped by deliberate, well-reasoned innovation.

G4 is made from 100% estate-grown agave, cultivated on land belonging to the Camarena family and harvested at full maturity. The estate provenance means that Felipe and his sons have direct control over agronomy, harvest timing, and agave selection from field to distillery, a level of oversight that is rare among tequila producers of any scale. Every batch of G4 is tied to a specific harvest, a specific field, and a specific season.

The Camarena family's relationship with tequila stretches back well over a century. The first generation, Pedro Camarena Ramirez, was already producing tequila during the upheaval of the 1910 Mexican Revolution, and the family's commitment to the craft survived the political and economic turbulence of that period intact. The family's most significant contribution to the modern industry came when Felipe's father founded La Altena Distillery in Arandas, Jalisco, the house that produces both Tapatio and El Tesoro, two of the most respected traditional tequilas on the market. La Altena made the Camarena name synonymous with quality and craft long before G4 existed.

Felipe Camarena spent much of his working life at La Altena, learning the full production process from the ground up and eventually developing the engineering expertise and distilling instincts that would define his own project. In 2007, he began construction of El Pandillo on family land in Jesus Maria, a neighbouring town to Arandas. He named the distillery after his grandfather's favourite bull, a piece of family history that connects the enterprise to the generations that came before it. The distillery was completed in 2011, and G4 began reaching the market shortly after, accompanied by Felipe's sons Luis Felipe and Alan, who represent the fifth generation of the family in the industry.

El Pandillo is not simply a second version of La Altena. It is a distinct vision, shaped by Felipe's engineering background and the specific questions he wanted to answer about what highland agave can produce when every variable in the production process is carefully controlled and refined. The 50/50 rainwater and spring water blend, the removal of the agave's central core to reduce bitterness, the custom-built tahona known as Felipestein: each of these is a deliberate departure from convention, made by someone who understands the convention deeply enough to know where and why to deviate from it.

Awards and Recognition

G4 Blanco was named the top tequila by the Beverage Testing Institute, a significant endorsement for a blanco competing against the full breadth of the category. The brand has received consistent praise from spirits media, with Esquire and a range of specialist tequila publications singling out the Blanco in particular for its agave purity and mineral complexity. The Extra Anejo 55 has attracted collectors and agave enthusiasts willing to seek out limited releases from a distillery with an exceptionally strong reputation among trade professionals.

Perhaps the most significant recognition G4 receives is its standing in the broader context of the Camarena family legacy. The family name, through La Altena and the Tapatio and El Tesoro brands, is one of the most trusted in the denomination. G4 adds a fourth-generation master distiller's individual vision to that inheritance, and the result is a brand that carries the weight of that history while standing completely on its own terms.

Style in the Glass

G4's house style is defined by the Los Altos highland terroir, the rainwater signature, and Felipe Camarena's decision to remove the central core of each agave before cooking. The combination produces a blanco that is clean, precise, and deeply agave-driven, with a mineral quality and a herbal lift that set it apart from sweeter, softer highland expressions. There is black pepper on the palate, cooked agave at the centre, and a finish that is dry and expressive without being aggressive.

The aged expressions carry that agave foundation into the barrel with integrity intact. The Reposado adds warmth and softness without burying the herbal character; the Anejo deepens the profile with dark fruit and wood spice; and the Extra Anejo 55 is a fully realised meditation on what 55 months of highland agave in oak can become. Across the range, G4 rewards the kind of attention that the Camarena family has been giving to tequila for four generations: patient, precise, and always rooted in the land.

Felipe Camarena approaches production with the precision of an engineer and the sensibility of a fourth-generation distiller. The process begins with an unusual preparation step: before the agave hearts are cooked, Felipe removes the central core of each plant, the internal structure sometimes called the male part of the agave, which he has identified as a source of unwanted bitterness in the finished spirit. It is a labour-intensive step that most distilleries skip, and it contributes directly to the clean, rounded character that distinguishes G4 from other highland blancos.

The prepared agave hearts are slow-roasted in one of two purpose-built stone ovens for 22 hours. The stone construction ensures even heat distribution across the cook, avoiding the hot spots that can produce inconsistent results in brick ovens, and the 22-hour duration is long enough to fully convert the agave's starches and develop its natural sweetness without moving into caramelisation.

Extraction is carried out by Felipestein, a custom-built low-RPM metal tahona that Felipe designed and built himself. The name is a play on Frankenstein, reflecting the improvised, engineered nature of the machine. Unlike a traditional volcanic stone tahona, Felipestein operates at a low speed that breaks down the cooked agave fibres without over-shearing them, preserving the natural oils and mineral character of the agave while maintaining the textural richness that roller mills tend to remove. The result is a must that is richer and more complex than roller-mill extraction can produce, while remaining cleaner and easier to ferment than a traditional stone tahona.

Fermentation and distillation make use of what is arguably G4's most distinctive production signature: a 50/50 blend of harvested rainwater collected at the distillery and natural spring water from the surrounding highlands. This combination is unique in the tequila denomination and binds each batch of G4 to the specific weather and hydrology of Jesus Maria in a way that no other water source could replicate. Distillation is carried out twice in copper pot stills, and the finished spirit is bottled without additives of any kind. Spent agave from production is composted and returned to the fields as fertiliser, completing a closed production cycle.