Herradura is a tequila distillery in Amatitán, Jalisco, founded in 1870 by Félix López (ca. 1825–1878) on a hacienda formerly owned by Feliciano Romo, a Catholic priest (it is likely the property had been producing mezcal for several generations before that). The distillery trademarked its horseshoe logo (herradura is Spanish for “horseshoe”) in 1928. Herradura bottles only 100 percent blue agave tequila, eschewing blended mixtos. American entertainers Bing Crosby and Phil Harris began importing the brand to the United States in 1955 after discovering it on a trip to Mexico, and for a time Herradura was the only 100 percent agave tequila available in the United States. The company claims it introduced the now ubiquitous reposado category in 1974. The reposado category, however, was already being discussed in tequila industry circles in 1970, and Sauza’s lightly-aged Hornitos expression, a reposado in all but name, dates back to the early 1960s. See reposado.
The Herradura brand became popular with modern mixologists after Julio Bermejo, owner of the influential Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco made it his well tequila, using it in his famous Tommy’s Margarita. In 1994, Herradura introduced the El Jimador brand, which became the top-selling tequila in Mexico. After more than a century in family hands, the company was sold in 2007 to the US-based company Brown-Forman. These days, Tommy’s uses Luna Azul reposado in the well.
See also Brown-Forman; Margarita; and tequila.
Martineau, Chantal. How the Gringos Stole Tequila. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2015.
By: Robert Simonson