Tequila, Jalisco town of Tequila, the chimneys of the distilleries, the agave plant and Tequila Mountain. The first peoples to live in this area were probably the people from the shaft tomb culture during the Middle Formative Period. By the Late Formative and Classic period, the Teuchitlan tradition entered the region. Several guachimonton complexes were built nearby such as Huitzilapa to the west and Amatitan to the east. The Epiclassic saw an intrusion of peoples from the Bajio region during a period of intense drought bringing with them many Central Mexican characteristics. By the Postclassic a variety of ethnic identities were in
Tequila, Jalisco the native people and was much like what is called pulque today. By the time the Spanish arrived, the natives had begun to cultivate the plant. The Spanish first considered taking the plant back to Spain but decided to develop it and its product in Mexico. The Spanish introduced distillation to turn the native fermented mescal into what is now known as tequila. The first large-scale distillery was created in 1600 and over the colonial period demand for the drink resulted in some of the oldest, still-operating enterprises in this area such as: “La Riojeña”, founded in 1795; “El Tigre”