Bill Foss

Bill Foss didn’t set out to make tequila—he set out to keep moving. A Chicago native, Foss spent 15 years coaching basketball before building and running a successful environmental contracting company for another 15. But retirement didn’t suit him. Restless and driven by a desire for something new, he found his next chapter in an unexpected place: the agave fields of Jalisco, Mexico. In 2002, encouraged by a friend, Foss purchased an agave farm in the highlands, determined to learn the land and cultivate the best plants possible. When his first crop matured, the 2008 financial crisis hit, and demand for agave disappeared almost overnight. Faced with uncertainty, his son offered a simple piece of advice: when you have lemons, make lemonade. For Foss, that meant making tequila. What b...