Tequila is made from the blue agave plant.
Tequila ( Spanish ) is a regionally specific name for a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant , primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila , 65 km northwest of Guadalajara , and in the highlands ( Los Altos ) of the central western Mexican state of Jalisco . Although tequila is similar to mezcal , modern tequila differs somewhat in the method of its production , in the use of only blue agave plants , as well as in its regional specificity . The red volcanic soil in the surrounding region is particularly well suited to the growing of the blue agave , and more than 300 million of the plants are harvested there each year .