G4 Tequila

G4 is one of the most quietly important tequila brands in the United States. The "G4" name stands for four generations — distilled at the family's El Pandillo Distillery (NOM 1579) in Jesús María, Jalisco, by fourth-generation master distiller Felipe Camarena. Felipe and his family are widely respected within the tequila industry for clean, additive-free production: stone ovens, modern milling, traditional fermentation, and — most distinctively — distillation using rainwater collected on the property. There's a cult following around El Pandillo for good reason.

The Camarena name shows up across the tequila industry. Felipe runs G4. His brothers run Cascahuín (the lowland sibling, NOM 1123). Their cousin Carlos Camarena runs Tequila Tapatío. The whole family is rooted in the same multi-generational Jalisco tradition, and tasting G4 next to Cascahuín is a master class in how the same family's philosophy reads differently in highland vs. lowland terroir.