NOM 1139 is Destilería La Alteña in Arandas, Jalisco. Three brands come out of it, and the distillery has one of the longest clean reputations in tequila.
NOM 1139 at a glance
| NOM | 1139 |
|---|---|
| Distillery | Destilería La Alteña |
| Location | Arandas, Jalisco |
| Brands recorded | Tapatío · El Tesoro · Villa Lobos |
| Bottles in our reference sheet | 6 |
Bottles made at NOM 1139
| Brand | Expression | Type | ABV | 100% agave? | Additive-free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tapatío | Blanco | blanco | — | yes | ✓ pre-2024-10 |
| Tapatío | 110 Blanco | blanco | 55% | yes | ✓ pre-2024-10 |
| El Tesoro | Blanco | blanco | — | yes | — |
| El Tesoro | Reposado | reposado | — | yes | — |
| El Tesoro | Añejo | añejo | — | yes | — |
| Villa Lobos | Reposado | reposado | — | yes | — |
“Additive-free” records an inspection carried out before October 2024, when the public verified list was withdrawn. It is a historical record, not a check you can repeat today — here is why. A dash means no inspection was ever published, which is not an accusation.
Why this NOM matters more than its shelf presence
La Alteña is not a household name, and its bottles are harder to find than anything in the supermarket. It is also the distillery behind Tapatío 110, bottled at 55% ABV — the ceiling of what NOM-006-SCFI permits and the strongest tequila recorded in our reference sheet.
That is not a stunt. Bottling close to still strength means showing the spirit with less water and less correction, and distilleries that do it tend to be the ones with nothing to smooth over. Tapatío was independently inspected and found additive-free while that programme still published — see what happened to additive-free verification for why that is written as a date rather than a current claim.
Where to start
If you have only ever had supermarket tequila, a blanco from this NOM is the fastest way to understand what the category can be. Our blanco guide covers what to expect.
NOM 1139: common questions
Which tequila brands are made at NOM 1139?
Tapatío, El Tesoro and Villa Lobos. We currently have 6 bottles from this distillery recorded, listed in the table above.
Is everything from NOM 1139 100% agave?
Every bottle we have recorded from this distillery — Tapatío, El Tesoro, Villa Lobos — is 100% agave.
Where is NOM 1139?
Destilería La Alteña, in Arandas, Jalisco.
Is NOM 1139 additive-free?
Tapatío was inspected and found additive-free before the public verified list was withdrawn in October 2024. That is a record of a past inspection, not a certification you can check today — the programme no longer publishes.
Related
- The full NOM directory — every distillery recorded so far
- What the NOM number means
- How to read a tequila label
- Additive-free tequila: the verified list is gone
- The five types of tequila