ArteNOM 1123 Tequila, Blanco Historico, 100% Agave (43%, 70cl)

For over a decade, Jacob Lustig managed the tequila and mezcal portfolio of the largest liquor distributor in the United States. Lustig has had a lifetime of experience in the tequila industry: as a child, his family moved back and forth between San Francisco and Oaxaca, Mexico. Later, as a student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Lustig studied the history of the Mexican liquor business.

"My passion for nuanced and unique agave spirits began in southern Mexico during the early 1990s," says Jacob, "when I renovated a centuries-old Oaxacan mezcal distillery after concluding an intensive study of regional mezcal distillation and its myriad production configurables." As the manager of a tequila and mezcal portfolio, "I was able to work closely with over forty of Jalisco's finest tequila distilleries."

Selección ArteNOM Tequila is the first and only company authorized by the Tequila Regulatory Council to bottle tequilas from different distilleries and release them under a single brand name. "A prevailing regulation in the tequila industry specifically prohibits the bottling of any brand in multiple locations, in order to assure aficionados consistent flavor and quality in their preferred mark," says Jacob, but after years of working with the Tequila Regulatory Council, Jacob was granted permission. Gratefully, the Selección ArteNOM Tequilas are now being applauded in both Mexico and the United States.

ArteNOM Blanco Histórico 1123 is crafted by the Rosales family at the renowned Destilería Cascahuín in El Arenal, Jalisco. Using lower-brix agave from the valleys—typical of the Lowland tequila style—it delivers earthy, vegetal, herbaceous, and subtly peppery notes. After distillation, this tequila is rested for 21–28 days in brandy casks that once held Oaxacan mezcal, a traditional practice reminiscent of early 20th-century Tequila Valley methods. This brief barrel conditioning imparts a distinctive character, earning the name “Blanco Histórico.”

Selección ArteNOM Tequila is the only project of its kind.