In this section we are going to learn about the significance of the NOM number on the label while also getting an interesting insight into who the real producers are for some well known brands.
Probably the biggest tequila shockwave so far was when George Clooney sold his tequila to Diageo in a deal of 1bn dollars which earned him several hundreds of million dollars. But was he the real “maker” or “producer” of the tequila? In the video lesson we used Tequilamatchmaker.com to search their database to find out that the original producer of George Clooney’s tequila was “Productos Finos De Agave” and that Dwayne Johnson’s Teremana tequila is made by the same team.
So what to take away from this learning exercise? NOM number can give us a lot of information. It can give us a connection between different brands - as brands from the same distillery often has the same concept.
Let’s see another interesting example. Casa Cuervo is the biggest tequila producer and host many brands, and sometimes the only way to identify them is by knowing the NOM number which is 1122 in all cases. So while a bottle of 1800 tequila has no mention of any Cuervo in its design, checking its four digit producer ID will allow you to understand more about its origin.
Let’s take a look at the tequila label again, it has a 3 section reference.
1. The NOM abbreviation - stands for Norma Oficial Mexicana. This is a quality standard, basically the Mexican version of the ISO international standards. If you come to México, electronic appliances have this - it is a reference for the safety measures applied.
2. Four digit ID - this is a direct reference to the Authorized Producer who is responsible for the production of the tequila.
3. CRT - Consejo Regulador del Tequila or Tequila Regulatory Council - they are the Quality and Compliance body for the tequila industry
Conclusion:
These 3 items together are a compulsory element for every tequila label, so should you see a bottle with the tequila sign but without the NOM, four digit ID and CRT combination, the bottle you are holding is unfortunately not a tequila.
(It does not mean that there is something wrong with it, only that it does not legally qualify as tequila)
This feature is brought to you by Tequila Stop and the International Tequila Academy.
Tequila Stop aims to share is love for Mexico and its beloved Spirit with fans in Asia Pacific, bringing fans the best that Tequila has to offer, through an extensive catalogue of premium Tequilas and Mezcals straight from the source. Tequila Stop works closely with Mezcaleros across Mexico, and is also partners with the International Tequila Academy.
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