CasAzar: rethinking the NOM obsession
The soul of Tequila lies in the hands, not the code, writes Max Ramirez, co-founder and CEO of CasAzar Tequila.
In recent years, the Tequila world has seen a rise in a particular kind of connoisseur – one who flips to the back label of a bottle and immediately scans for four digits: the NOM.
The Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM) is the government-issued number identifying the distillery where a Tequila was made. It serves as a vital framework for the industry, ensuring quality control, safety standards, and legal certification. For many, it’s become a badge of authenticity – a signal of trust or a shortcut to understanding quality. And while transparency and traceability are good things in any industry, I believe we’ve taken the value of the NOM too far.
To put it plainly: the NOM tells you where a Tequila is made. It does not tell you how it’s made, And it certainly doesn’t tell you who made it.
If we judged great restaurants by the size or location of their kitchens and not by the talent of their chefs — we’d be missing the point. The same applies to Tequila.
A distillery is like an industrial kitchen. It provides the tools, the layout, and the equipment. But it’s the master distiller – the chef – who decides how those tools are used, and that’s what defines the final product.
In the same way that a chef can take the same core ingredients – salt, oil, flour, vegetables — and create entirely different expressions of flavour, complexity, and identity, a skilled master distiller can work with the same raw materials – agave, yeast, oak – and produce a wide range of Tequila profiles. It’s not the kitchen that brings flavour to life; it’s the person using it.
In a world where marketing often celebrates celebrity endorsements, the true celebrity behind a great Tequila is the master distiller. It’s time we shift the spotlight. Not to the NOM. Not to the label. But to the human behind the craft – the one who understands that machines don’t make Tequila; it’s made by mastery.
NOMs are useful for tracking production and identifying brand overlap, but they should never be mistaken as a guarantee of greatness. The same NOM might produce different brands with wildly different philosophies and results. What truly matters is the vision, discipline, and artistry of the people behind the spirit.
And just like in any artistic field – music, film, or painting – you have famous names but also unknown geniuses. Those whose work hasn’t had mainstream exposure yet. Then, one day, they paint their masterpiece – and suddenly the world pays attention.
That is precisely the story of CasAzar Tequila.
Our master distiller, Oscar Antonio, isn’t chasing headlines. He’s not looking for Instagram followers. He’s focused on one thing: crafting beauty through flavour and experience. And with CasAzar, he’s painted his Mona Lisa — a Tequila so finely balanced, expressive, and refined that it’s already gaining international acclaim. From selecting the best agaves, bringing the right distillation cuts, filtering and oxygenating the liquid and meticulously selecting ageing barrels, Antonio has brought to life an experience captivating Tequila judges’ panels sip after sip.
In its first year, CasAzar earned two gold medals for Joven and Reposado at The DB & SB Spring Blind Tasting competition in 2024.
That momentum continued into 2025, when CasAzar secured three more medals at The Tequila & Mezcal Masters in London, hosted by The Spirits Business and The Global Spirits Masters Competitions: a Gold medal for Joven and Reposado, and a Master medal — the highest distinction — for Añejo.
Discover the artistry behind CasAzar’s award-winning Tequila and join us in rethinking what defines true quality.
For more information, visit www.casazar.com, contact sales@casazar.com, and follow @casazartequila on Instagram.
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