In a crowded tequila market, El Tesoro stands out as one of the most respected producers, renowned for its classic highlands-style tequila and traditional methods handed down through generations. Since 2021, the brand has ventured into more experimental territory, releasing an annual, limited-edition bottling as part of its “Mundial Collection.”

The single-barrel expressions use 100% estate-grown agave tequila aged in casks from esteemed distilleries around the world that share a similar emphasis on quality and craftsmanship. The series helps to demonstrate how barrels can greatly influence a spirit’s flavor.

El Tesoro’s Mundial series has showcased a variety of cask finishes: It debuted with Laphroaig, resting a reposado for three additional months in 10-year-old Scotch whisky casks, then aged a blanco for a full year in the same barrels. In 2023, it released an añejo matured for 12 months in charred-oak Knob Creek rye barrels, followed in 2024 by a Basil Hayden collaboration — a reposado aged six months in toasted oak that previously held the high-rye bourbon.

The latest release is El Tesoro Mundial Yamazaki Edition, a collaboration between the historic tequila maker and Japan’s oldest malt distillery. This limited release marks the first time El Tesoro has been rested in Yamazaki casks.

Since launching the Mundial Collection, former El Tesoro master distiller Carlos Camarena, a third-generation tequilero and grandson of Don Felipe Camarena, founder of the famed La Alteña distillery, has collaborated closely with each brand’s distillery team to craft a distinctive expression. Carlos’ younger sister, Jenny Camarenatook the reins as master distiller at El Tesoro earlier this year. She witnessed firsthand how her brother’s collaboration with Shinji Fukuyo, Suntory’s fifth-generation chief blender, unfolded to create the recent Mundial Yamazaki Edition.

“Carlos has been dreaming about this for many years,” says Jenny. “But we were aware that it was really complicated to get those barrels.”

Once the opportunity to work with the House of Suntory came to fruition, Carlos and his team went to work running trial samples with staves taken from Yamazaki barrels. Fukuyo visited the distillery, met with the El Tesoro team, and tasted the samples before giving his final approval to move forward with the project.

“We spent a whole evening (tasting the samples),” says Jenny. “And he was like, ‘OK, I like what I’m tasting, so let’s do something together.’ That moment was like, ‘Wow. This is really happening.’ When we got the news that we were getting the barrels, we didn’t even know if it was going to be an añejo, a reposado, an extra añejo, or what, which is great that we felt that trust coming from the whole House of Suntory team.”

With Fukuyo’s input, El Tesoro agreed to use its añejo expression, aged for 12 months in 12-year-old Yamazaki barrels that previously held sherry and wine, for the Mundial Yamazaki Edition. The result is a distinctive tequila that expresses both legendary spirits brands.

“I think that the main characters are the berries,” says Jenny. “Some dried fruits, like dates, fig notes, and a certain spiciness. I can find certain notes of ginger, which I don’t find in the regular añejo. It’s also really floral, with some refreshing aspects that come from the agave. But I believe that they complement each other really nicely.”

The 2025 El Tesoro Mundial Yamazaki Edition has already hit shelves nationwide as a limited-edition release. The suggested retail price is $200.