Tequila Wars: José Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico

In this comprehensive biography, James Beard Award winner Genoways (The Blessed Earth) examines the life of José Cuervo, “an active and aggressive molder of his moment and milieu.” The Cuervo family’s involvement in growing blue agave and distilling it into tequila—named for the Tequila valley—was firmly established by the late 1700s, when José’s great-great-grandfather was named Spain’s political chief in the region. However, in 1887, José watched his father lose the family business to (literally) cutthroat competitors. His inheritance gone, José began managing the agave estate of a wealthy great-uncle, whose death a few years later left a much younger widow. José married her in 1900 and expanded the business, building a state-of-the-art distillery, acquiring thousands of acres, and lobbying for railway connections. In 1904, Cuervo exhibited tequila at the St. Louis World’s Fair, where he made powerful American contacts. By the 1910 start of the Mexican Revolution, the region’s productivity made Tequila and José himself a target for the rebels. His intrepid escapes, entrepreneurial flair, and political ties carried him through the revolution and prepared the nascent country for establishing trade ties with the U.S. Though studded with murders and battles, the narrative is somewhat dry—the most lively moments come from the diaries of José’s niece, who kept sensitive and marvelously detailed records. Still, Genoways offers a rigorous and unique lens on Mexico’s revolutionary period. (May)