Teremana Tequila: Destilería Teremana de Agave, NOM 1613

Teremana is the fastest premium spirits brand to reach one million nine-litre cases sold within a twelve-month period in US history, a commercial milestone achieved in 2023 that no other brand in the category has matched at the same pace. Founded in 2020 by Dwayne Johnson, Jenna Fagnan, Ken Austin, and Dany Garcia, and produced at Destileria Teremana de Agave (NOM 1613) in Jesus Maria in the highlands of Jalisco, the brand was built around traditional production methods: brick oven cooking, open-tank fermentation, and distillation in handmade copper pot stills crafted by a local artisan on the distillery grounds. The name combines the Latin word terra, meaning earth, and the Polynesian word mana, meaning spirit - a reflection of the founders' commitment to a spirit grounded in the land and craft of its origin.

The project began several years before its 2020 launch. Dwayne Johnson and his business partner Dany Garcia, working with spirits veterans Jenna Fagnan and Ken Austin, spent time in the Jalisco highlands identifying a location and a production approach before a single bottle was sold. Ken Austin had previously co-founded Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey with Conor McGregor and brought direct experience of building a celebrity-backed spirits brand from the ground up, along with earlier career experience at E&J Gallo and Seagrams. Fagnan served as co-founder and president, overseeing operations and production development. The group identified a Mexican family-owned distillery in Jesus Maria and worked with them to build a dedicated facility on the grounds - Destileria Teremana de Agave - constructed specifically for the brand.

Teremana launched in March 2020. By the end of that year, the brand had sold 300,000 cases, an unusually strong debut for a new entrant. Growth continued at a pace in the years that followed, and by 2023, Teremana had become the fastest premium spirits brand to reach one million cases in a twelve-month period in the United States. The brand has since expanded into multiple international markets.

Awards and Recognition

Teremana Añejo received a Gold medal at the Bartender Spirits Awards 2022. The brand has received multi-award recognition across its range at international spirits competitions. Its most significant recognition, however, is commercial: the milestone of one million nine-litre cases sold within a twelve-month period, reached in 2023, is a record for a premium spirits brand in the United States and a measure of how quickly the house established itself in a competitive category.

Style in the Glass

Teremana's house style is built on the fruit-forward, floral character of Los Altos highland agave, developed through brick oven cooking and refined through distillation in handmade copper pot stills. The Blanco is clean, bright, and citrus-driven, with roasted agave sweetness at the centre and enough complexity to stand on its own or in a cocktail. The Reposado softens and rounds the profile with oak and vanilla while keeping the highland agave clearly present. The Anejo deepens those same qualities, the extended barrel time producing a spirit with genuine richness and warmth. Across all three expressions, the profile is smooth and approachable - a deliberate choice that reflects the brand's ambition to bring quality highland tequila to a wide audience without sacrificing the craft that produces it.

Production at Destileria Teremana begins with a slow roast in traditional brick ovens, where the harvested pinas are cooked for approximately three days. The extended cook converts the agave's starches and inulin into fermentable sugars while developing the roasted agave sweetness that is central to the house's flavour profile. The cooked agave is then crushed to release the juice, which moves directly into open-tank fermentation.

Fermentation takes place naturally in open tanks, where the agave juice is left to ferment without the addition of commercial yeast strains, allowing the local environment and naturally occurring microflora to drive the process. After fermentation, the wash is distilled in handmade copper pot stills built by a local artisan on the distillery premises. The use of copper throughout the distillation process removes unwanted sulphur compounds and refines the spirit, producing the clean, smooth character that defines each expression in the range. The entire approach - from brick oven through open fermentation to handmade copper stills - prioritises craft production at every stage.