Guillermo Parilla, a jimador (professional agave harvester) in Jalisco, Mexico cuts the long sharp leaves off of the piña, the heart of a mature blue agave plant using a special knife/shovel tool called a ‘coa'

Guillermo Parilla, a jimador (professional agave harvester) in Jalisco, Mexico cuts the long sharp leaves off of the piña, the heart of a mature blue agave plant using a special knife/shovel tool called a ‘coa'. These piña are then trucked to the Tequila Ocho distillery nearby where they are baked in giant ovens, smashed, soaked, fermented and distilled the old fashioned way to create high end tequila. I recently travelled to Jalisco, Mexico to photograph the production of tequila for a new @natgeo and @wsj magazine called Far & Away. The inaugural issue of the mag was released last weekend within the Wall Street Journal. ‘Tequila Rocks’ was a journey through the blue agave fields East of Guadalajara, to the rowdy bars and many distilleries of Tequila town. Click the link in my bio on my personal page @arni_coraldo to see the full story online. #tequila #wsj #natgeo #drink #spirits #tequilaocho #mexico #jimador #farmer #Jalisco #natgeo #far&away #mexican #agave #portrait #harvest #potd