Ask for It by Name!

There’s a good reason Cuervo tequila is the most popular in the world. Jose Cuervo invented the stuff.

In 1758, Don José Antonio de Cuervo was granted a parcel of land in Mexico, then a Spanish colony, by the King of Spain. In 1781, Don José Prudencio de Cuervo, son of Don José, began production of mezcal wine made from Blue Agave, a large cactus related to aloe, in the town of Tequila. In 1795, the family received official permission from Spain to produce and distribute “Mezcal wine of Tequila,” soon to be known simply as “Tequila.”

Instantly popular in Mexico, Cuervo Tequila was first exported to the US in 1873 and today sales in the US substantially outpace those in Mexico, at least in part because margaritas, made with tequila, are the most popular mixed drink in America. The Cuervo bottle, by the way, still bears the image of a crow, a symbol adopted by José Cuervo (”cuervo” means “crow” in Spanish) back in 1795 to make his brand distinctive even to illiterate customers.