In the heart of Mexico’s tequila country, Reserva de la Familia – the Cuervo family’s crown jewel and the world’s first Extra Añejo tequila – has unveiled “Once in a Generation,” an ultra-exclusive travel experience marking its 30th anniversary. Priced at $30,000 per couple and available for limited spots in 2026, this immersive journey offers access to the heritage behind over 200 years of Cuervo history. You can look forward to private tastings of rare, unreleased tequilas in the family’s caves led by Maestro Tequilero Alejandro Coronado, to a sunrise breakfast overlooking agave fields, hands-on workshops with Huichol artisans crafting custom beaded boxes, and private tours of Guadalajara’s contemporary art studios, including Jorge Méndez Blake’s.
The trip includes helicopter transfers, boutique hotel stays rooted in local history, and a Michelin-starred dinner by Chef Javier Plascencia of Animalón paired with cocktails from Patricio Rivera Rio of KOLI. I had the privilege of previewing this extraordinary trip ahead of what discerning travelers will soon pay top dollar for, and sat down with Jaime Salas, Head of Cuervo Legacy & Advocacy for Proximo Spirits, to uncover some of the stories that make the brand truly generational, and learn about what makes their artist boxes so special and coveted amongst collectors.
Reserva de la Familia really is the culmination of generations of tequila craftsmanship and knowledge amassed through centuries of trial-and-error. – Jaime Salas, Head of Cuervo Legacy & Advocacy for Proximo Spirits
The Manual: Who are you and what do you do?
Jaime Salas: My name is Jaime Salas. I’m Head of Cuervo Legacy & Advocacy for Proximo Spirits
The Manual: 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of Reserva de la Familia going public. Can you walk us through how a private family reserve from the 1700’s became the world’s first Extra Añejo in 1995, and what that milestone means for the Cuervo family today?
Jaime Salas: Reserva de la Familia began as a privately held spirit, enjoyed during celebrations with friends and family. It was a tequila that was shared purely among the family’s inner circle: Mexican dignitaries, close friends and the like.
In 1995, at our 200th anniversary celebration, we bottled the private reserve. It was gifted to those in attendance, they had a taste, and they decided that it was something worth sharing with the world. For generations, we’ve had different tequila reserves in the caves below the distillery, everything from Blancos to aged tequilas that have sat in our cellar. From that point, the family decided that this specific tequila absolutely must see the light. Reserva de la Familia really is the culmination of generations of tequila craftsmanship and knowledge amassed through centuries of trial-and-error. It is the world’s first Extra Añejo tequila, and when it was released in 1995, that was before an Extra Añejo category was even officially recognized. It really speaks to that innovation.
Finally, the brand is a champion of Mexican artwork through the lens of the artist. Every year, we work with a Mexican artist and show them the craftsmanship and tradition behind Reserva de la Familia. They then take that inspiration and they create a design for the custom artwork of Reserva de la Familia Extra Añejo. The premise is to celebrate the art, the craftsmanship, and ultimately the expression created by Mexican hands and Mexican artists.
The Manual: How did the collaboration with Ana Segovia for the 2025 collectors box come about and what’s the story or the theme behind it?
Jaime Salas: So, the theme behind it is charrería or Charro. Charro is this emblematic cowboy, if you will, in Mexico. It’s something that’s highly revered and respected. They have their own dress code that’s regulated. Ana thought, why not celebrate something that’s so emblematic of Mexico… something that speaks to a specific attire, wardrobe, and way of doing things, but flip it on its head and do something different? So he started to employ colors (pink, as an example) that are typically prohibited in charrería (which is Mexico’s national sport). The title of his artwork is, “No Señorita, Esos Colores son Prohibidos.” It basically translates to “No, Miss, Those Colors Are Prohibited”. So, essentially – you can’t wear them . I think Ana’s design speaks to inclusivity, you know, the ability to wear what you want, and ultimately self-expression. This is just one example of many artists that have come through the fold of Reserva de la Familia and have been able to express themselves, and that’s what we’re really proud of, showcasing so many different forms of Mexican artistry.
The Manual: With 30 years of artist boxes now in circulation and past collaborations like with Jorge Pardo, Betsabeé Romero and Dr. Lakra, which do collectors fight over the most and why should someone start hunting for these on the secondary market?
Jaime Salas: The artist box collaboration really has created an intersection between luxury tequila and collectible Mexican art. Each box is limited-edition and while collectors might be drawn to different designs for their own preferences, I have a few favorites:
- Mercedes Getz (2000): I find this design extraordinary. It’s a poetic meditation on love and human connection and really emotionally resonant, making it a perfect collector’s item.
- Betsabeé Romero (2005): Her design reimagines traditional Mexican motifs into a contemporary visual language that feels both rooted and innovative. The intricate patterns and cultural symbolism of the blue agave elevate the tequila into something deeply personal and memorable.
- Gonzalo Lebrija (2022): The layered colors and geometric forms of this artwork capture the shifting light and atmosphere of the agave fields. The design feels alive and dynamic and a great contrast to the refined, heritage bottle of Reserva de la Familia’s Extra Añejo.
What I love about the entire legacy of artist box collaborations is that each design represents a specific moment in time. A singular voice creating something totally special and limited edition. Each annual release builds upon a larger documentation of Mexican artistic evolution over three decades. When buying your own artist designed box of Reserva de la Familia Extra Añejo, you’re buying art & history.
The Manual: Reserva de la Familia is the official tequila partner of the Michelin Guide U.S. & Mexico. How are you pairing these expressions with Michelin starred Mexican cuisine to elevate both the spirit and the play?
Jaime Salas: The partnership with the Michelin Guide is an opportunity for Reserva de la Familia to reinforce its mission: championing all forms of authentic Mexican artistry within the US. A true cultural touchstone and passion point for a lot of people is authentic Mexican cuisine, so the partnership with the Michelin Guide made sense.
There are a lot of synergies between the way we craft luxury tequila and the way culinary leaders craft dishes. The Michelin Guide partnership is a great platform to elevate both Mexican cuisine and tequila. And I think what’s really cool about this is that we not only get to showcase the chef’s talent, but also how Reserva de la Familia pairs with the meals they create, whether through cocktails or neat pours.
We do something really cool here in the U.S. called “Pairing Chefs, Pairing Tequila” dinners, where we bring chefs from Mexico-based Michelin restaurants to collaborate on limited menus with U.S. chefs. We have them showcase their talent and all that they’re doing around Mexican cuisine, the elevation of it, the progression of it, if you will.
So for us, it really is that synergistic tie into tradition and craftsmanship. Sure, Cuervo has been around for 230 years. Mexican cuisine has also been around forever. But I think there’s the modes of expression that both of us share and it’s an opportunity for us to really collaborate and exchange. It’s almost like for me, I see it as a cultural exchange. Because everybody approaches things differently. It might be Mexican food, but everybody has their own touch and approach, just like tequila does.
The Manual: The Añejo Cristalino gets over a year in New American and French Oak, a 2-4 month finish in Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks and then charcoal filtration for clarity. What surprised even the master distiller about the dried fruit and the sherry softness.
Jaime Salas: It’s where science meets art and really, it’s no different to any other expression. You have an intention; you have an approach. You put those two things together and the rest is really left up to other factors. And so in this instance, I recall, our master distiller Alex Coronado telling us that he didn’t really quite know how it would pan out.
He knew he liked Sherry, right? He knew the effects of Sherry. But once we got through the special filtration that we apply, it started to shift a little bit as the oak softened, as the sherry became more pronounced, as the sweet floor and oak started to really develop. I think it was a pleasant surprise. And after many different iterations this is the recipe that we settled on.
The Manual: Sustainability is a hot topic right now. It’s important to people who spend their money with brands. Tell us about some of the efforts.
Jaime Salas: Sustainability has always been a North Star for us. We were farmers before we were anything else. We then became distillers. We are the largest agricultural company in Mexico given the amount of agave plantations that we have. And clearly, you know, without it we wouldn’t have tequila.
So for us, the conservation, the preservation, ensuring that we’re sustainable in a way that allows for future generations to continue to produce tequila, for us to be around another 250 plus years, sustainability is first and foremost. So while the trend comes and goes, for us, it’s about how do we protect against the future or ensure that we have these agaves. And more importantly, how do we conserve and how do we minimize impact on mother earth?
How do we in turn repurpose? You know, not a single bit of the plant goes to waste. And for us, we’re constantly thinking of different ways that we can put that to use and in hopes of fostering and creating a circular economy so that we can be responsible.
The Manual: The bagasse is being reused. Tell me some of the things that that can be used for.
Jaime Salas: Let’s start in the field. We strip away the leaves, and we leave them on the floor and till them back into the earth. That’s going to help us regenerate the soil.
So that’s very important. Once we take the agave heart over to the distillery, we put it through the tequila production process. At that point, what we’re left with is this biomaterial remnant, and that’s called the bagasse. And now we have this fibrous, straw-like, very nutrient rich substance.
And we think, okay, what can we do with it? First and foremost, we got to continue to regenerate that soil. So, compost comes to mind. We have our own composting fields on site. Every single one of our fields has a composting element to it to create compost for our fields and regenerate the soil.
So, then the question becomes, what else can we do with the balance of it? We do everything from gifting it to local artisans. People want to integrate it into the lotions, shampoos, whatever it is they might be crafting and thinking about. It’s only as limiting as a creative mind. And for us we ask, “how can we upcycle?”
We’ve done things like work with Ford. We’ve created surfboards, we’ve done projects with Fender. We’re constantly looking for different ways that we can repurpose or upcycle this material. So again, mitigate the impact on the earth and potentially solve a problem. We started with straws for bartenders for example. We continued with agave cups and we’re going to continue to explore how we can create new things and opportunities. So, I think holistically, it’s a great thing and it’s something we plan to keep forging ahead with.
