Spirit of the Soil

Eladio Montes is a cultivator of the agave plant, the nectar of which has been the lifeblood of his family business since the 80s. Alongside his two brothers and three children, Eladio produces Don Abraham Organico, a meticulously crafted 100% organic natural agave spirit meeting the growing thirst for tequila across the world with devotees seeking to both drink well and do good for the planet around them. 

Eladio’s business, Tequilera Las Americas, relies on a time-tested and strictly controlled process, which remains virtually unchanged since the 1600s, to harvest, cook, press and distil the agave’s sugar-rich cores. It’s a slow process but the real waiting time comes in the fields, as agave takes six to seven years to mature ready for harvest, requiring patience and foresight to produce the highest quality crops. In that time, the agave can succumb to weeds, pests like weevils, fungi and disease. After the agave harvest, the tequila produced is kept in barrels – for up to three years in the case of extra añejo tequila.

With deep reverence for the land, Eladio is using nature’s tools to ensure that only the highest quality agave is transformed into tequila to be savoured in the United States, Italy, Sweden, South Korea, Mauritius, and Mexico. For 5 years, he has “built a solid trust” in his UPL representative, adopting naturally derived NPP biosolutions, such as Biozyme, which improves bud size, flowering and fruiting, and K-tionic, which promotes plants’ nutrient absorption, as part of a suite of solutions tailored to his organic 2,500 acre farm’s unique needs.

Eladio’s environmental commitment doesn’t just stop here. He also takes great pride in minimising soil erosion, a sustainability challenge that threatens the agave industry’s survival. By using natural compost-enriched soil, he’s not only improving plant nutrition, but also helping control disease and pest infestation while reducing soil degradation.

Tequila’s future prosperity is linked closely to sustainability, which is not all that surprising for a spirit made from a crop that takes upwards of seven years to cultivate. We look forward to continuing to work closely with this family at the forefront of a movement working to sustain its future, protect its heritage and preserve our environment.