Podcast Summary

HISTORY This Week

Episode Title: José Cuervo Rebuilds a Tequila Empire
Air Date: August 25, 2025
Host: Alana Casanova Burgess
Expert Guest: Ted Genoais (author, Tequila: José Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico)

Overview of the Episode

This episode explores the remarkable and turbulent history of José Cuervo, the man who transformed his family’s failing agave fields into what would become one of the most recognizable names in tequila. Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution and political upheaval, it unpacks how Cuervo’s cunning business maneuvers, unexpected alliances, and willingness to adapt amid chaos not only saved his family business but permanently altered the trajectory of Mexico’s tequila industry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Precarious Origins (01:30–07:01)

• Setting: Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, post-Mexican Revolution.
• José Cuervo’s family legacy dates back to the mid-1700s with agave cultivation and distillation.
• The once-dominant family business suffers a sharp decline due to overextension, economic stagnation, and personal tragedy:
  • José’s father and mother both die of cancer, leaving the family in severe debt.
  • Most of the land is sold off at auction, forcing José to start over.

  “He went from assuming that he was going to be sort of a scion of this empire to suddenly finding himself orphaned, drowning in debt.” – Ted Genoais (06:28)

2. Rebuilding from the Ground Up (07:01–10:41)

• José works as a low-level field manager for his uncle, Jesús Flores, applying ancestral knowledge.
• Rapid modernization of tequila production:
  • Steam ovens and belt-driven mills replace traditional methods.
  • Output exceeds 300,000 liters per year.
• Upon Jesús’s death, his much younger widow, Ana Gonzalez Rubio, inherits the estate; a strategic business partnership — and eventual marriage — with José Cuervo ensues.
• Their marriage is as much a pragmatic arrangement as a romantic one:

  “It’s kind of presented to him as this business decision…But José, who is sort of cautious by character, says, ‘I’ll get back to you, let me think about it…’” – Ted Genoais (09:01)

3. Modernization & Rivalry (10:41–16:27)

• José and Ana, combining her social skills and his caution, rebuild the business and strategize for access to bigger markets.
• Recognition of the need for a railroad to Tequila—imperative for industry growth and export.
• Early failed collaboration with main rival Senobio Sousa, whose path from orphan to powerful distiller contrasts with Cuervo’s privileged yet troubled background.
• Emphasis on swift adoption of new technologies (electricity, machinery, telegraphy) and integration into international exhibitions (St. Louis World’s Fair, 1904):

  “I need machine made bottles. I need machines that fill the bottles…this is a modern era.” – Ted Genoais (14:34)

• Successful lobbying for the tequila railroad, temporarily advantaging Cuervo after Sousa’s death.

4. The Revolution's Upheaval (16:27–24:02)

• Empathetic depiction of Cuervo as a shrewd operator, aligning with the Porfirio Díaz regime while planning contingencies.
• Survival amid chaos:
  • Revolution destroys infrastructure, upends markets, and endangers lives.
  • Cuervo provides clandestine funding and resources to revolutionary forces but flees at the height of danger:

    “Finally, Cuervo just decides that the only solution is to flee the city and go into hiding.” – Ted Genoais (21:05)

• Hiding out in a valley distillery, he unexpectedly forms friendships with former rivals like Luis Sousa.
• This camaraderie inspires a radical idea for industry survival.

5. Birth of the Tequila Cartel (24:02–26:00)

• Post-war industry devastated: fields burned, railroads destroyed, main rival’s distillery ruined.
• Cuervo brokers a cartel (Kartel with a "k") – a formal pact among five major tequila families to share resources, standardize pricing, and stabilize the industry:

  “When we talk about this as a cartel, it’s not speculative…The whole arrangement was put in writing and they all signed it.” – Ted Genoais (25:29)

• Three of these companies endure as top tequila producers today.

6. Prohibition and Smuggling (29:16–33:02)

• U.S. Prohibition threatens to cut off a crucial market, but presents a short-term opportunity.
• Cuervo and rivals race to ship tequila into the U.S. before the ban begins and organize smuggling operations along the border.
• Vivid anecdote: U.S. trucks loaded with 25,000 empty Cuervo bottles, collected by El Paso kids for refilling and re-exportation.

  “Their estimate is that there’s 25,000 bottles in these trucks…to take back to be refilled on the Mexican side.” – Ted Genoais (32:01)

• Cuervo’s name becomes widely popular across the border.

7. Political Entanglements and Tragedy (33:02–36:26)

• After the revolution, fragile industry alliances begin to dissolve as political rivalries ignite.
• Both the Cuervos and the Sousas vie for governmental power; electioneering turns rowdy and violent.
• Infamous incident: Malaquias Cuervo fires a gun during political conflict, damaging the family’s reputation.
• José and his brother Carlos allegedly poisoned after a contentious dinner; José dies, Carlos survives.

  “It was rumored at the time, it is still family lore that they were poisoned…without Jose as a kind of stabilizing force, the two families really go to war.” – Ted Genoais (35:26)

• The resulting conflict culminates in murder charges and a negotiated truce: both families withdraw from politics, focusing on the tequila business.

8. Legacy & Reflection (36:26–end)

• José Cuervo’s name fades from political headlines but becomes indelibly linked with tequila.
• The cartel model persists, shaping the modern tequila industry.
• The episode closes by reflecting on recovering the hidden, complex history behind everyday products:

  “The guy’s name on this bottle, how long this is aged, all of this comes from somewhere. There’s a history behind this. That’s the thing that I love…” – Ted Genoais (37:24)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On sudden reversal of fortune:
  “He went from assuming that he was going to be sort of a scion of this empire to suddenly finding himself orphaned, drowning in debt.” – Ted Genoais (06:28)
• About Ana’s pragmatic marriage proposal:
  “She calls Jose Cuervo to her mansion in Guadalajara and says…‘I believe that it’s best for us to marry.’…He says, ‘I’ll get back to you.’” – Ted Genoais (09:01)
• On modernization post-World’s Fair:
  “I need machine made bottles…I’ve got to be able to communicate with customers via telegraph and telephone and I’ve got to be advertising in newspapers…this is a modern era.” – Ted Genoais (14:34)
• On cartel formation:
  “We need to be in agreement that we will work together as a single body as a tequila cartel.” – Ted Genoais (25:04)
• On tequila smuggling during Prohibition:
  “There’s 25,000 bottles in these trucks that have been collected by kids on the streets in El Paso to take back to be refilled on the Mexican side.” – Ted Genoais (32:01)
• On family violence and legacy:
  “Without Jose as a kind of stabilizing force, the two families really go to war.” – Ted Genoais (35:26)
• On historical perspective:
  “There’s a history behind this. That’s the thing that I love, is being able to have reconnected some of the things that we think of as just commercial products back to their history…” – Ted Genoais (37:24)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:30 – Episode introduction, setting the scene in Tequila in 1920
• 07:01 – José Cuervo’s fall from privilege and start of rebuilding
• 10:41 – Marriage to Ana Gonzalez Rubio: strategic partnership
• 13:09 – Rivalry with Senobio Sousa and the birth of industry competition
• 14:30 – World’s Fair, adoption of new technology
• 15:11 – Final push for rail line; Sousa’s death
• 17:10 – The outbreak of Revolution; Cuervo’s political maneuvering
• 21:05 – Fleeing Tequila, hiding with rival tequila makers
• 24:40 – Proposal and signing of tequila ‘Kartel’ cartel agreement
• 29:16 – U.S. Prohibition; smuggling tequila across the border
• 33:02 – Political rivalry erupts; death of José Cuervo
• 36:26 – Brokered peace and legacy of José Cuervo
• 37:24 – Reflections on historical legacy

Conclusion

This episode delivers a detailed and engaging account of how José Cuervo, facing calamity after calamity, rebuilt his family’s empire through pragmatism, alliances, and political shrewdness. His story, rarely told beyond the liquor label, intertwines with both Mexico’s violent revolution and the evolution of global commerce—showing how personal histories can shape entire industries and, indeed, nations.