Have you seen the headlines about the big tequila brands getting sued for not actually being 100% agave? 😳 Yeah, wild. Turns out some pretty famous labels have been adding in other alcohols like cane sugar stuff but still calling it “100% agave.” Not great.
When I read it, I wasn’t surprised — but I was definitely frustrated. Because this is exactly the kind of thing that made me want to create Tomonotomo in the first place.
That’s why we use 100% agave distillate — no additives, no shortcuts, no cane alcohol.
This recent lawsuit against Diageo (the folks behind Casamigos and Don Julio) is wild. Apparently, they’ve been marketing their tequila as “100% agave,” while an independent investigation claims it contains a significant amount of alcohol derived from non-agave sources like sugarcane. If that’s true, it’s not just shady — it’s a big problem for people who care about what they’re putting into their bodies.
And for me, this kind of news hits home. It’s exactly the kind of smoke-and-mirrors that made me want to do things differently. With Tomonotomo, what you see is what you sip. We’re not trying to ride the wave of agave hype — we’re here to actually honor it.
Our agave (Tobalá, to be exact) is slow-roasted in pit ovens in Oaxaca, just like mezcal. We distill it without creating alcohol from the start — which means we don’t have to “remove” anything. We don’t fake the flavor. The smoke is real. The process is real. And yeah, sometimes it’s a total mess (ever distill with firewood? It’s smoky, chaotic, and magical all at once). But we do it this way because it matters.
100% agave isn’t a marketing buzzword for us — it’s our baseline.
Whether you are sober, sober-curious, or just want a better option that feels good, you deserve something that’s made with care, intention, and transparency. And honestly, so do I.
So when you hear about lawsuits and misleading labels, I hope you know that not every spirits company is cutting corners. Some of us are just two women in a garage, hustling to make something honest.
Thanks for riding with us. It means the world.
Stay smoky,
Amanda
P.S. If you’re curious about that tequila lawsuit, here’s the article I read. Let me know what you think.
