TEd genoways

“This rich, edifying book remedies a striking gap in the historical record. José Cuervo’s namesake tequila is one of his nation’s iconic exports, a liquor made from local agaves that became a billion-dollar industry... But until now, Genoways writes, there’s never been a book about him... Beset by drought, crop disease, bandits, and the outbreaks of violence and political chaos that accompanied the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s, Cuervo developed various tactics to stay afloat. He won public favor with civic-minded donations, showcased his product at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, paid bribes, lobbied reporters, built political alliances, and helped bring electricity and rail lines to his region. He lived amid ambient menace and unthinkable violence, fleeing his home on horseback in the cinematic scene that opens the book and, in a subsequent chapter, spotting the hanged corpses of at least 50 revolutionary soldiers. Genoways makes frequent and effective use of diaries kept by Cuervo’s niece, a strong writer whose words help us see and hear the action... Smart pacing and memorable detail are this book’s primary features. The comprehensive story of a liquor empire built during a pivotal period in Mexican history.”

—Kirkus Reviews