Don Julio

History

Don Julio Tequila is named after its founder, Don Julio González-Frausto Estrada, who began distilling tequila in 1942 at age 17. Acknowledging the benefits of vertical integration, Gonzalez-Frausto established his own distillery, La Primavera, and spent the next 40 years improving his craft. He experimented with controlling various aspects of the tequila-making process, "from the cultivation of the agave to the bottling of the final product." He named his distillery La Primavera (the Springtime), where he produced his first brand, Tres Magueyes. He is said to have "spent nearly forty years perfecting the craft." Don Julio's first tequilas were shared with friends only, but as word on the quality of his tequila spread, he officially founded a company to put him in business. In 1983, Marco Cedano returned to Don Julio to work as an engineer, where he served as Master Distiller and Distillery Manager of Tequila. In 1985, Don Julio González-Frausto celebrated his 60th Birthday; his sons commemorated the date by creating a Tequila in his name, Don Julio. Following the sheer popularity of the tequila in Guadalajara and neighboring cities, they decided to launch the tequila.

In 1999, the now-defunct Seagram Company Ltd. invested in Tequila Don Julio, S.A. de C.V. of Mexico. The expanded agave plantations were a joint venture between the Gonzalez-Frausto, Funtanet, Andrade Rivera Torres, and Cuaik families. In 1999, Don Julio Gonzalez, delighted to forge a relationship with Seagram, stated, "I am proud that the Gonzalez-Frausto family joins with the Seagram family in a global effort behind Don Julio Tequila. I am committed to overseeing personally the agave plantations that are so vital to the superior and unique quality of the Tequila that bears my name." Diageo signed a joint venture with Casa Cuervo in 2003, selling a 50 per cent stake in Don Julio for 78 million. It was distributed in the United States by Diageo, under licensing from its patent holder, Tequila Don Julio, Sociedad Anónima de Capital Variable, Jalisco, Mexico, but sold worldwide.

In November 2014, Diageo agreed to a deal to take full control of the Don Julio brand. In exchange, Jose Cuervo will receive the Old Bushmills Distillery and pay Diageo $408 million.

Founder

Don Julio Gonzalez-Frausto Estrada was born on 7 January 1925 in Atotonilco, Jalisco, where today's main facility is located. Don Julio learned the meaning of responsibility at an early age by working at his uncle José's tequila distillery. At the age of 23, he married Dorothea Garcia, with whom he had 9 children. In 1942, he started a tequila distillery, which would later be known as "La Primavera." By 1951, with the brand Tres Magueyes, he was on a path that would later become Tequila Don Julio in its different variants: Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, 70, 1942 and Real. Don Julio González-Frausto Estrada died on Tuesday, 20 March 2012 from natural causes.