Tequila (Spanish pronunciation): [teˈkila]) is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco.
“You have chosen a great bottle,” said one of the cooks from the lodge. He was stoic and serious. It was early evening and the heavy smell of salt water hung in the air. We were on a tiny sliver of land that separated the Caribbean Sea from Ascension Bay. It was my buddy’s birthday. A few days before we had passed through the duty free in the airport in Cancun and my other pal purchased a gigantic blue bottle of liquor. When we finally broke it out for the big occasion and passed it around with our new friends from the kitchen I was surprised by their reaction. Only one of the cooks could speak English. You could tell that they held the golden brown liquor in great esteem—it was highly regarded. One of the other cooks said something that I could not understand. The one cook who could speak english translated.
“When we drink this drink, it makes us all feel proud to be Mexican,” he declared.
We subsequently built a giant beach fire, polished the bottle, almost burned down the main palapa, and were urged to go to bed by the lodge’s ultra pissed-off manager.
And with that, I began my tequila journey.
A little bit of knowledge goes a long way in the sometimes hazy land of blue agave. When it is time to begin your own tequila odyssey, here is an approach to think about:
1) Find a legit tequila bar. This does not mean go out and find a bar that has a bottle of Cuervo Gold and Patron—that’s not going to cut it. Do some hunting and scouting. You might have to go to another town—or maybe another state. Most likely the bar you are seeking will have a Mexican sounding name and will have over 100 varieties to choose from. When you l find yourself in a bar surrounded by Mexican wrestling masks, statues of the virgin mary, and skeletons wearing sombreros and playing the acoustic guitar, you most likely have arrived.
2) Be prepared to drop some dough. Think of this as a cultural experience and be prepared to make an investment into your libation enlightenment.
3) Understand the basics:
▪Blanco (“white”): Blancos are bottled and stored immediately after distillation and aged less than two months in stainless steel or neutral oak barrels
▪Reposado (“rested”): Reposados are stored a minimum of two months in oak barrels but “rested” less than a year
▪Añejo (“aged”): Anejos are aged a minimum of one year, but less than three years in small oak barrels
▪Extra Añejo (“extra aged” or “ultra aged”): Aged a minimum of three years in oak barrels – many times old bourbon barrels
4) Lose the training wheels. The voyage in which you are about to embark on is all about class and refinement. Lime and salt are out, unless we’re talking about doing a tequila stuntman (always a crowd pleaser at Drake sponsored outings):
tequila stuntman—a shot in which the drinker:
Step 1: snorts a line of salt
Step 2: slams the shot of tequila
Step 3: squeezes the lime in his/her eye
5) Flip it and reverse it: your goal is to drink tequila. Think of your beer (Negro Modelo, Pacifico, Tecate, etc) as a sidecar or a palette cleanser. At the end of the night your beer-to-tequila-ratio should be heavily weighed on the side of tequila.
6) Play dumb. Even if you know the basics about tequila, let your bar keep drop some some knowledge on you. Most tequila bartenders are tequila geeks and they love to talk shop about their favorite strains of agave and distilleries.
7) Tequila Approach #1: Single label. On this approach, find a label that you like, order the full flight: blanco, reposado, and anejo. If they have an extra anejo in the line up: resist (see #8). Once you’ve completed that tasting adventure, pick another label and repeat.
8) Tequila Approach #2: Compare and contrast. This is a more scientific approach and is favored by the author. Find two bottles you like, are recommended to you, or that you simply have never tried before. Order a shot of blanco each. Compare. Contrast. You decide. Take notes. There will be a winner. Next, move on to the reposados. Pick two more bottles. Onward and upward to the anejos… and back down to the blancos. Repeat. You get the picture.
9) Tapping out: At some point in the evening, and this is a tough phase to actually define or identify (even for pros), you know that you are approaching the end to of the tequila taste tests. Focus your blood-shot and fiery eyes on the top shelf. This is where you most likely will find the extra anejos. You might also want to glance around the bar and look for that wrought iron steel cage with a lock on it. This is where they keep the good stuff. Step #8 is the coup de grâce of your evening. Take your time, get some recommendations and advice from your bar keep and those who are more educated around you. Savor your selection.
10) Get your sway on, have some fun, and most importantly… steer clear of law enforcement, flammable liquids, and angry lodge managers.
What’s in Will’s Tequila Cabinet this Month:
Blanco:
Don Julio, Milagro
Reposado:
Maestro Dobel, Tenoch, Clase Azul, Casa Noble
Anejo:
Chinaco
Extra Anejo:
Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia
