Whittier is a neighborhood known for its quiet suburban streets and Quaker roots, located east of East Los Angeles. It’s also the improbable birthplace of a tequila revolutionary: Tomas Estes, the co-founder of Tequila Ocho, the first sipping tequila to prove to the world that, like grapes, agave also develops different flavor profiles according to the region and soil in which agaves are grown in.
“I first met Tomas in 1987, in Brussels, at the signing to recognize the denomination of origin adopted by Europe,” recalls Carlos Camarena, the master distiller behind Tequila Ocho, which he co-founded with Estes in 2008.
“Estes changed tequila in Europe forever with his Cafe Pacifico, so I went over to him and thanked him for everything he’s done for my family’s industry,” Camarena tells L.A. TACO, while driving to one of his agave estates at harvest time.
Estes had built a reputation as a tequila ambassador in Europe at the time, which led him to write The Tequila Ambassador, a book based on his experiences.
As two agave nerds usually do, they both started heavily geeking out about tequila, where Camarena first dropped his theory to Estes: “Being an agronomist and tequila producer, I noticed that agave in different temperatures and vegetation behaves differently in both aromas and flavors, and scientifically, too. Why don’t we start a brand focused on this agave terroir?”
Estes was always fascinated by the concept of terroir in wine and wondered what effect it might have on tequila production. It was destiny that both he and Camarena became friends, leading to the creation of Ocho. They started Tequila Ocho after that conversation, and named it after the eighth batch of tequila they tasted and liked the most.
“I used to joke that Tomas was a Mexican born in another country by accident,” Camarena jokes. “His soul was completely Mexican.”
Estes passed away on April 25, 2021, at the age of 75, but his spirit still lives at the distillery’s cantina, where a large portrait of him hangs next to a wall stacked with various expressions of Ocho’s tequilas. His ashes were also spread out in Ocho’s agave fields.
“At the beginning, everyone thought we were nuts to apply the concept of terroir to tequila,” Camarena remembers. “But now, everyone is buying into terroir being applied to everything from mezcal to rum, so this idea that was crazy at first is now being used by more and more in the spirits industry. Tomas was ahead of everyone.”
The Influence of Whittier’s Chicano History on Tomas
Growing up in West Whittier at 11042 Dorland Drive with his parents and older brother, James, Tomas was deeply influenced by the local Chicano community. He attended Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, located near Jimtown, a significant Mexican-American neighborhood near Pico Rivera.
“We learned how to speak Pidgin Spanish, or Mexican Spanish, from our classmates, speaking limited conversational Spanish,” says Tomas’s older 82-year-old brother, James Estes. “We were surrounded by Latino neighbors and friends, playing sports with Chicano kids and frequenting local Mexican markets and restaurants, such as Carillo’s.”
"We used to go to Jimtown to buy liquor because they didn't care about checking IDs. We could buy our beer when we were 15 or 16 and it wasn't an issue."
These memories capture the playful and somewhat mischievous nature of their youth in a vibrant, multicultural neighborhood. That upbringing in Whittier later influenced Tomas's deep connection to Mexican cuisine and culture.
According to Jim, Tomas decided to move to Amsterdam in 1976 after falling in love with the city during a trip. He wanted to live there permanently, but needed a way to support himself.
“I'm a high school teacher, but I can't teach in Amsterdam. I want to do something and live there," Tomas told his brother. And that’s when he thought up the idea to introduce the Dutch to Mexican food. “Maybe I could open a Mexican restaurant?”
“Tomas lives on with every single Ocho bottle that is celebrated for being completely different than the other; that’s his legacy,” says Jim Estes about his late brother.
This move in 1976 was a pivotal moment that set the stage for his future in the culinary world and eventually led to his passion for tequila. He opened Cafe Pacifico, which many credit as the restaurant where tequila in Europe first gained popularity. Jim traces Tomas’s obsession with terroir to trips they would take to Burgundy together, so as his passion with tequila grew, it was only a matter of time until he brought together both passions.
“Tomas lives on with every single Ocho bottle that is celebrated for being completely different than the other; that’s his legacy,” says Jim Estes about his late brother.
Tomas’s son, Jesse Estes, is continuing his father’s legacy to this day. He is the Global Brand Ambassador for Ocho and recently republished his father’s groundbreaking tequila book.
“I was 20 years old when I first realized the impact my father had in Europe,” he told L.A. TACO during a tequila tasting trip in Arandas. “He is credited with creating a market for premium tequila in the 1970s, and his education and passion around agave can still be felt to this day.”
