Rancho Tepua Bacanora is produced by Maestro Bacanorero Roberto Contreras at his palenque in Rancho Tep?a, Aconchi, in the state of Sonora. Roberto is a 5th generation Bacanorero and learned to produce Bacanora from his father, Don Lalo. His family produced Bacanora throughout the 77 year ban (1915-1992), by establishing a series of small hidden distilleries on the ranch. The word Tep?a refers to an ax in the language of the Opatas, an indigenous tribe that inhabited the Sonoran Sierra Madre Mountains long before the Spanish arrived. This small ax was the primary tool for harvesting the agave used in Bacanora production.