NOM 1595 is Casa Tradición, S.A. de C.V. — the four digits printed on the base of my own Clase Azul Reposado, under the CRT mark. It is the number most people will find on a Clase Azul bottle bought today.
It is not the only one the brand has carried. Clase Azul is associated with three different distilleries, in three different towns, and two different regions — including one in the lowlands, for a tequila sold on its highland character. That is the reason this page exists, and the reason the number on your bottle is worth reading rather than assuming.
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NOM 1595 at a glance
| NOM | 1595 |
|---|---|
| Distillery | Casa Tradición, S.A. de C.V. |
| Registered location | Zapopan, Jalisco |
| Brands recorded | Clase Azul |
| Verified first-hand | Yes — NOM read off my own Reposado base label |
| Also on that label | 100% de agave · CRT · D.O.P. · 750 ml · US bottling |
The label states “MADE IN MEXICO, DISTILLED AND BOTTLED AT THE SOURCE IN JALISCO” and names a US importer in San Francisco, which makes mine a US-market bottle. What every other line on that label means.
Bottles recorded at NOM 1595
| Brand | Expression | Type | ABV | Where the number comes from | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clase Azul | Reposado | reposado | 40% (US) | NOM read off my own bottle | Check price |
| Clase Azul | Plata | blanco | 40% (US) | published — also listed under NOM 1416 | Check price |
| Clase Azul | Añejo | añejo | 40% (US) | published figure | Check price |
| Clase Azul | Gold | joven | 40% (US) | published figure | Check price |
| Clase Azul | Ultra | extra añejo | 40% (US) | published figure | Check price |
ABV figures are for US bottlings, where 40% is the federal minimum. Mexican-market bottles of the same expression can be lower — my own Don Julio reads 38% where the US figure is 40%. The full 35–55% range.
Clase Azul has carried three NOMs
| NOM | Distillery | Location | Region | How this page knows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1595 | Casa Tradición, S.A. de C.V. | Zapopan, Jalisco (registered) | Centro | Read off my own Reposado |
| 1416 | Productos Finos de Agave, S.A. de C.V. | Jesús María, Jalisco | Los Altos — the highlands | Two independent NOM registries |
| 1137 | La Cofradía, S.A. de C.V. | Tequila, Jalisco | Valles — the lowlands | Listed as a Clase Azul NOM in the brand data |
Only the first row is a reading. The other two come from NOM registries and brand databases, which record associations over time rather than what is in any particular bottle. Expressions and production runs move between distilleries; a Plata bought a few years ago and a Reposado bought this year can legitimately carry different numbers.
That is not a weakness in the record. It is the whole argument: the only NOM you can trust about a bottle is the one printed on that bottle. How to find and read it.
The lowlands problem
Clase Azul is understood, and marketed, as a highland tequila — the agave character people describe in it is the sweet, fruity profile associated with Los Altos. But NOM 1137 is La Cofradía, in Tequila itself, which is the Valles: the lowlands, the other side of the region divide.
This is the same shape as a finding already on this site. NOM 1122 spans two regions — La Rojeña in Tequila, in the lowlands, and Los Camichines in Zapotlanejo, in the Centro region east of Guadalajara — under one number. A brand-to-region lookup returns one answer and is wrong a good deal of the time.
What else comes out of NOM 1416
The second distillery in that table is the interesting one. Productos Finos de Agave is a third-generation family contract producer in Jesús María, and Clase Azul Plata is far from the only thing recorded there — nine brands are:
| Brand | Expressions recorded at 1416 |
|---|---|
| Casamigos | Blanco and Reposado |
| Avión | Silver — and the Reserva 44 on my own shelf |
| Campo Azul | Blanco, reposado, añejo, extra añejo |
| Casa Real | Reposado |
| Clase Azul | Plata |
| Alce Negro | Joven |
| El Cartel | Blanco, silver |
| JLP | Blanco, reposado, añejo |
| Rancho Alegre | Blanco |
Two bottles on my own shelf carry NOM 1416 — Avión Reserva 44 and Azul Esperanto. Which means the same building that has produced Clase Azul Plata and Casamigos has also produced two bottles I bought without any idea they were related. Nothing on the front of any of them says so.
That is the single best argument I have found for reading the four digits. A brand is a name on a label; a NOM is a building. The rest of the directory.
Where the sources disagree
Two conflicts worth showing rather than quietly picking a winner, because this is exactly where tequila reference data goes wrong:
- Difford’s Guide carries two producer pages, both titled NOM 1416 — one for Productos Finos de Agave, one for Casa Tradición — and splits Casamigos’ expressions across the two. Two independent NOM registries give 1416 as Productos Finos de Agave and 1595 as Casa Tradición. The likeliest explanation is a brand owner being recorded in place of the contract distillery. This site has hit the same class of error before, when a reference page put Herradura at NOM 1414 when the bottle itself reads 1119.
- The town is now partly resolved. One source places Clase Azul production in Jesús María, in Los Altos; the registry gives Casa Tradición’s address as Zapopan. Both can be true, because NOM 1416 is in Jesús María and Clase Azul Plata is recorded there — and a registered corporate address is routinely not the plant. No town is asserted here for 1595 itself until it can be read or confirmed. Jesús María is a small town that already holds two distilleries in this directory: 1416 and NOM 1579, El Pandillo.
A record that says which parts are certain is worth more than one that sounds certain throughout.
Is Clase Azul worth the money?
The decanter is real. The ceramics are hand-painted by artisans in the village of Santa Maria Canchesda, each one signed, and the object is genuinely the product — the brand has never pretended otherwise. At around $150 for the Reposado, a good deal of what you are paying for is the bottle. That is a category with its own rules.
One thing in its favour, and it is a correction to a pattern published elsewhere on this site. Four of the most elaborately packaged bottles I own sit at 35%, the Mexican legal minimum — the fancier the bottle, the lower the proof. Clase Azul is the most elaborate ceramic on my shelf and it is not at the floor. The pattern is real, and this is the exception to it.
NOM 1595: quick answers
Who actually makes Clase Azul?
Casa Tradición, S.A. de C.V., NOM 1595, for the bottles most people will buy today. Clase Azul Plata is also recorded at NOM 1416, Productos Finos de Agave, and the brand data lists NOM 1137, La Cofradía, as well.
Which NOM is on my Clase Azul bottle?
Look at the base of the decanter, below the front label, near the CRT mark. Mine reads NOM 1595. Yours may not, depending on the expression and when it was made — which is the point of checking rather than assuming.
Is Clase Azul a highland or a lowland tequila?
Both have appeared in its production history. Productos Finos de Agave is in Jesús María, in the highlands; Casa Tradición’s registered address is in the Guadalajara area; La Cofradía is in Tequila, in the Valles. A single regional label for the brand does not hold up.
Is Clase Azul 100% agave?
Yes. My Reposado states 100% DE AGAVE on the base label, alongside the CRT mark and the D.O.P. designation. Where that line sits on any bottle.
Learn More About Tequila
- The full NOM directory — every distillery recorded so far
- What does NOM mean on tequila? — the four digits explained
- How to read a tequila label — where the NOM sits on the bottle
- Collector’s edition tequila — when the bottle is the product
- NOM 1459, Tequila Selecto de Amatitán — one building bottling at both 35% and 54%
- Tequila proof and alcohol content — the 35% to 55% range
- NOM 1416, Productos Finos de Agave — where Clase Azul Plata, Casamigos and Avión are recorded
- NOM 1579, El Pandillo — the other distillery in Jesús María