Artisan Harvest
Our agave is grown in highland soil with high iron content. Our pinas are hand harvested by our jimador teams only after temperatures have allowed optimal exposure to cycles in cooler months.
Exposure to these cycles gives us the highest concentration of sugars, acids and pure agave flavor in our pinas. This concentration effect is what makes our tequila produced with our additive free alliance distiller like paradise in a glass. It is a process drawn upon by our founder who grew up in a family with a long history of vintners and distillers in New Zealand’s Napa, Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf.
Careful
Process
Our Pinas are taken to the distillery where they are halved or sometimes quartered. Isla Famila is meticulous about taking the time to remove the Cogollo from our pinas, preventing any bitterness from contaminating our agave palate. Pinas are then hand loaded into our brick ovens to roast for up to 36hrs. We then allow our pinas to cool naturally before starting the next step of our process.
The
Alchemy
Fermentation occurs in our artisanal distillery at the famed NOM1414 surrounded by an organic citrus grove. We only harvest and distill in cooler months, when the citrus grove is fruitful. We use a formulation of native and champagne yeast during open air fermentation where we play Bob Marley tracks to make the yeasts dance together. Our careful process holds the secret to the unique flavor profile of this small batch tequila.
Honoring our
Terroir
We distill in stills made of traditional copper. Because of our founder’s commitment to purity of craft, we always double distill – the minimum requirement. The Isla Familia ethos is steeped in complete commitment to the highest in every step of production to honor the terroir of our tequila.
Our founder has spent nearly a decade researching, perfecting methods, and finding the soil to grow our pinas. Isla Familia believes that the quality of our agave and process should speak for itself on the palate and we have no desire to mask it.
Our
Alchemist
Isla Familia is female founded and female led. Our founder Pearl Downton has a lifelong passion for agriculture having spent near two decades working and investing in LATAM and SE Asia markets. She grew up in New Zealand on Waiheke Island in a family deeply invested in New Zealand’s agricultural landscape. Her first job at 12 yrs old was harvesting grapes for a family owned vineyard on the island. Her passion for tequila began in her early twenties while working as network director for Fairtrade International. What spoke to her immediately was the similarity tequila had to wine.
