NOM 1459 is Tequila Selecto de Amatitán, S.A. de C.V., in Amatitán, Jalisco — the next town over from Tequila itself. Two bottles on my shelf carry it, and I have read the number off both back labels.
It is also the most extreme distillery in this directory, and not in the way anyone advertises. The same building bottles at 35% and at 54% — the legal floor for tequila and within a point of the legal ceiling. Nineteen points of alcohol, one set of stills. The two at the floor are the ones in hand-painted decanters.
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NOM 1459 at a glance
| NOM | 1459 |
|---|---|
| Distillery | Tequila Selecto de Amatitán, S.A. de C.V. |
| Location | Amatitán, Jalisco |
| Region | The Valles — the lowlands, beside the town of Tequila |
| Products recorded | 27, across at least eight brands |
| Strength range recorded | 35% to 54% — floor to near-ceiling |
| On my own shelf | Two — Código 1316 and Mundo de Oro |
| Verified first-hand | Yes — NOM 1459 and the distillery name read off both of my back labels |
The two bottles on my shelf
| Bottle | Category | ABV | Presentation | Age stated on the label? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Código 1316 | Extra añejo | 35% | Hand-painted ceramic decanter, sold as “Master Premium” | No |
| Mundo de Oro | Añejo cristalino | 35% | Smoked-glass decanter, sold as “Premium” | No |
They look nothing alike. Different brands, different owners, different shelf positions, and two completely separate attempts to signal luxury. Both back labels read NOM 1459, produced and bottled by Tequila Selecto de Amatitán, Amatitán, Jalisco. Where to find that line on your own bottle.
Both sit at 35% alcohol, which is the Mexican legal minimum for tequila and the lowest figure it is legally possible to print. Neither states how long it was aged — only the category, which is the least a label can say and still be true.
The same distillery bottles at 54%
Here is what makes 1459 worth its own page. Also recorded at this distillery is Don Azul 108 — the name is the proof, and 108 proof is 54% alcohol. Triple distilled, up to a year in oak, hand-numbered, produced in the low hundreds of bottles a year.
| Bottle from NOM 1459 | ABV | Where that sits | Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Código 1316 extra añejo | 35% | The legal floor | Hand-painted ceramic |
| Mundo de Oro añejo cristalino | 35% | The legal floor | Smoked glass |
| Don Azul 108 reposado | 54% | One point off the legal ceiling | Plain bottle, hand-numbered |
One building. One set of ovens, one water source, one team. The bottles that look most expensive contain the least alcohol the law allows, and the plain one contains half again as much per measure. Whatever the decanter is telling you, it is not telling you about the liquid.
I have found this exact shape once before, across two distilleries rather than inside one: G4 108 at NOM 1579 is also 54%, also in a plain bottle with a screw cap, and costs less than either of my decanters. Check price if you want to taste the other end of the range.
What 35% actually costs you
Strength is not quality on its own, and a low-proof tequila is not automatically a bad one. But alcohol carries flavour compounds, and a producer bottling at the legal minimum has chosen to give you less of what it made, per measure, than a producer bottling at 40% or above. When the bottle at the floor is also the one in the hand-painted ceramic, it is fair to ask what the premium is buying.
Across my whole shelf the pattern holds: four elaborately packaged bottles at 35%, and the single highest-proof bottle I own is the plainest-looking one on the shelf. The full 35–55% range and what sits where in it, and what you are actually paying for when the bottle is the product.
Brands recorded at NOM 1459
| Brand | Expressions recorded at 1459 |
|---|---|
| Código 1316 | Extra añejo — on my shelf |
| Mundo de Oro | Añejo cristalino — on my shelf |
| Tierra Sagrada | Añejo — also recorded in my inventory |
| Don Azul | 108 Blanco · 108 Reposado · Platinum Blanco · Especial Extra Añejo |
| Blue Nectar | Silver · Reposado · Reposado Special Reserve |
| Gran Tulum | Blanco · Añejo |
| Demetrio | Blanco |
Twenty-seven products in total. Tequila Selecto de Amatitán also holds trademarks on a string of its own labels — Señor de Oro, Nicho de Oro, Hacienda Delgadillo, Hacha Maya, La Monta, El Buen Bouquet — so it is both a contract producer for other people’s brands and a brand owner in its own right.
That is the ordinary shape of the business, and it is why a shared NOM is neither a badge nor an accusation. It does mean that if you liked one of these bottles, the others are a better bet than two bottles picked at random off the same shelf.
NOM 1459: quick answers
Which tequila brands are made at NOM 1459?
Código 1316, Mundo de Oro, Tierra Sagrada, Don Azul, Blue Nectar, Gran Tulum and Demetrio are all recorded at Tequila Selecto de Amatitán, across about 27 products. The distillery also owns several labels of its own.
Are Código 1316 and Mundo de Oro the same tequila?
No — but they come out of the same building, and I read the number off both of my own back labels rather than taking it from a database. Different brands can specify different agave, aging and blending at a shared distillery. What they share here is a producer and, as it happens, an identical 35% bottling strength.
Where is NOM 1459?
Amatitán, Jalisco, in the Valles — the lowlands, immediately next to the town of Tequila. Lowland agave is generally associated with a more earthy, peppery character than the sweeter highland profile.
Is 35% alcohol legal for tequila?
Yes, in Mexico. 35% is the legal minimum there, so a bottle at 35% is entirely compliant. The United States sets a higher floor of 40% for tequila, which is why the same expression can read differently depending on which market it was filled for.
Is everything from NOM 1459 100% agave?
Both of my bottles are, and the expressions I have been able to check are. I cannot vouch for the distillery’s entire output and will not pretend to. What can and cannot be verified about 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
- Tequila proof and alcohol content — the 35% to 55% range
- Collector’s edition tequila — when the bottle is the product
- NOM 1579, El Pandillo — the other 54% bottle, in a plain bottle
- NOM 1416, Productos Finos de Agave — nine brands in one building
- NOM 1122, Casa Cuervo — one number over two plants and two regions