The ovens
01Slow down.
The agave moves into brick ovens, where it cooks for more than two days.
53+ hours
NOM 1414 · Arandas
The Yéyo Story
Born in Arandas. Built differently.
Yéyo began with an idea in 2009. What followed was a relationship with Arandas, the Vivanco family, and Sergio Cruz that continues to shape every bottle.
Explore the StoryThe founder
Jon Bullinger
Yéyo started with Jon Bullinger in 2009. At 25, he left a full-time job at Intel with an idea that was far from fully formed. A trip to Mexico led him to a family-run distillery in Arandas, where curiosity about agave, fermentation and distillation became the beginning of Yéyo.
There, among red soil, Blue Weber agave and generations of tequila knowledge, Jon met the Vivanco family and Sergio Cruz—the people who would help shape the tequila and become lasting partners and friends.
Hundreds of tries later
Yéyo wasn’t created from a single recipe. Hundreds of iterations were crafted, tasted, tested and scored as Jon worked with the team in Arandas to find the character he wanted Yéyo to have. That willingness to keep trying became part of the brand. It still is.
Hands-on in Arandas
Jon is at the distillery in Arandas roughly 10 times a year. Not for a photo. To work alongside Sergio, the Vivanco family and the distillery team: tasting, reviewing production, discussing agave, working through barrels and looking for ways to improve what comes next.
The idea never stopped evolving
Different proofs. Unexpected barrels. Single-barrel experiments. Limited releases. The question behind much of it is simple: what happens if?
For Jon, Yéyo has always been about the pursuit
Love. Travel. Family. Experience. Pursuit.
That curiosity continues in the Barrel Room, where Jon and Sergio explore different woods, previous fills, aging approaches, proofs and blends. Some experiments become releases; others teach the team what to try next.
Explore Barrel RoomFounder + Master Distiller
More than tequila.
Today, Jon and Sergio work side by side with the Vivanco family and the team at NOM 1414. Their ongoing collaboration reaches from production decisions to the barrels and blends that shape new releases.
- Jon Bullinger
- Founder
- Sergio Cruz
- Master Distiller · Part Owner
Arandas, Jalisco
Friends. Partners. Still experimenting.
Sergio Cruz · Jon Bullinger · Sergio Vivanco
Destilería El Ranchito · NOM 1414 · Arandas, Jalisco
Batch by batch
The goal isn’t to make the last batch again. It’s to make the next one better.
Agave changes with soil, temperature, weather and growing conditions. Fermentation and production respond too, so consistency requires attention rather than simply repeating a formula.
Jon, Sergio and the team review each production from the agave fields through fermentation, distillation, barrels and the final bottle—learning, adjusting and preserving the character people value in Yéyo.
Arandas
Jalisco, Mexico
Los Altos
The Jalisco Highlands
NOM 1414
Arandas, Jalisco
Made at NOM 1414
Yéyo Tequila is made at NOM 1414 in Arandas, Jalisco, in collaboration with the Vivanco family and Master Distiller and part owner Sergio Cruz. More about NOM 1414 · Visit the distillery.
The distillery
Rooted in Arandas.
Yéyo is produced at NOM 1414 in Arandas, in the Highlands—Los Altos—of Jalisco. The distillery belongs to the Vivanco family, whose story with agave began long before Yéyo.
Sergio Vivanco
The Vivanco family · NOM 1414
The Vivanco family
- 1929
- The Vivanco family’s history as agave growers in Arandas begins.
- 1994
- At the end of 1994, Feliciano Vivanco and his children establish the family’s tequila operation in Arandas.
- Today
- A multigenerational agave and tequila tradition—and the home of Yéyo, made at NOM 1414 in partnership with the Vivanco family.
Built over time.
You earn trust by showing up.
Jon first built relationships with Sergio Cruz and Sergio Vivanco in 2010. Since then, he’s returned to Arandas year after year to work alongside them, learn, experiment, and spend time together. More than 15 years later, they’re not just people Yéyo works with. They’re friends.
Founder & Master Distiller
The people behind Yéyo.
Sergio Cruz
Sergio brings precision, patience, and an artist’s instinct to making tequila. He spent more than a year working with Jon to refine Yéyo’s cooking methods and flavor profile—shaping the tequila made today. He lives and works in Arandas, where he guides Yéyo’s fermentation and distillation at NOM 1414.
Their friendship of more than 15 years supports a shared commitment: Jon brings questions and possibilities; Sergio and the team turn them into tequila.
The work
People before machines.
Hands in the field. A production team watching every stage. Sergio at the stills. At NOM 1414, the people and their work move Yéyo forward.
The Vivanco family is part of that distillery relationship and has joined Sergio in hand-signing select one-of-one Yéyo releases.
Community reviews
Yéyo’s ratings and community reviews live on Agave Matchmaker.
View Yéyo on Agave MatchmakerThe Yéyo story
A timeline of passion & persistence.
2009
The idea
Jon Bullinger begins the journey that becomes Yéyo.
2010
Yéyo is born
Jon launches Yéyo and begins selling in Oregon.
2013
The pause
Funding runs out and operations pause, but the idea doesn’t disappear.
2020
The return
With new support, Yéyo relaunches with a renewed focus on the tequila itself.
2023
The barrels begin
The first Single Barrel Reposado and limited Day of the Dead editions arrive.
2025
Bold expansion
A refreshed Blanco, the first permanent Reposado, High Proof Blanco and Yéyo Rosa debut.
Today
Keep exploring
Yéyo keeps experimenting with proof, barrels, blending and limited releases.
The agave
It starts here.
Highlands agave. Red soil. Approximately five to six years in the ground before a bottle ever begins.
5–6 years
Agave maturity
How Yéyo is made
Agave becomes Yéyo.
Fermentation
02Time does the work.
Deep-well water and Champagne yeast begin an extended fermentation lasting nearly eight days.
~190 hours
NOM 1414 · Arandas
The Mozart Method
03Part of the rhythm.
At NOM 1414, classical music plays throughout Yéyo's fermentation. It is a human ritual—not a scientific claim.
Classical music
NOM 1414 · Arandas
Copper
04Through copper. Twice.
Yéyo is double distilled in copper pot stills before resting, aging or continuing into its next stage.
Copper × 2
NOM 1414 · Arandas
Taste the process
One process. Different expressions.
Blanco, high proof, Reposado, Rosa, Sol, and Luna all begin here.
The next chapter
Distillation isn’t the end.
For Yéyo, it’s where another story begins.
Rum. Cognac. Sauternes. White Port. Tokaji. We don’t just age tequila. We explore what tequila can become.
Explore Barrel RoomVisit the distillery
Interested in seeing where Yéyo is made?
Visit NOM 1414 in Arandas, Jalisco.
Request a distillery visitQuick answers
Questions, answered.
Who makes Yéyo Tequila?
Yéyo was founded by Jon Bullinger and is made at NOM 1414 in Arandas, Jalisco, with Master Distiller and part owner Sergio Cruz, the Vivanco family and the distillery team.
What distillery produces Yéyo Tequila?
Destilería El Ranchito, NOM 1414, in Arandas, Jalisco. The distillery belongs to the Vivanco family.
Is Yéyo made in the Highlands of Jalisco?
Yes. Arandas sits in the Highlands of Jalisco, known as Los Altos.
Who is Sergio Cruz?
Sergio Cruz is Yéyo's Master Distiller and a part owner. He is not the same person as Sergio Vivanco of the Vivanco family.
What is the history of the Vivanco family?
The Vivanco family's history as agave growers in Arandas begins in 1929. At the end of 1994, Feliciano Vivanco and his children established the family's tequila operation in Arandas, today home to NOM 1414.
What type of ovens and stills does Yéyo use?
Agave is cooked in brick ovens for more than 53 hours, and Yéyo is double distilled in copper pot stills.
Can you visit the Yéyo distillery?
Visits to NOM 1414 in Arandas are by appointment only and subject to confirmation. Request a visit through the Distillery Tour page.