Dear Mezcal,

I don’t think we should see each other anymore.

Don’t get me wrong — I had great time with you in Mexico City the other weekend, but I woke up the next morning feeling a little remorseful, and dehydrated. It was kind of like that night I had a fling with Absinthe in Barcelona. I woke up without a drop of water left in my body and the sensation that I had turned into a giant Kafkaesque bug — all stiff limbs and joints. But I digress…

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Have you ever gone tequila tasting with someone who has a great nose? They swirl their glass around, hold it to the light to checkout the “legs” and the “tears”, and then dive in with both nostrils. They smell from the bottom, middle and top of the glass and then maybe they switch to one nostril at a time.

“Butter, dried cherries, geraniums, olives and a little bit of acetone,” they say, putting their glass of tequila down, satisfied.

You sit smelling your tequila with a puzzled look on your face. “Geraniums?!” you think. “I would never have gotten that!”

That’s pretty much how I felt every day of my four-day, intensive tequila aromas and tasting class in Guadalajara last month. The class was amazing, taught by a “maestra tequilera” and professional catador (taster) named Ana Maria Romero Mena. (I’ve written about her earlier.)

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Put down that shot glass! Not because we’re encouraging you not to drink – don’t be silly – but because you are probably cheating whatever tequila is in that glass. See, glassware counts for a lot when it comes to how you taste and experience tequila. The traditional shot glass (referred to in Mexico as a “caballito”) just doesn’t do tequila justice. The caballito leaves little room for aeration of the spirit, which is necessary to release all the rich aromas.

(click to see video)

The “official” tequila tasting glass made by Riedel is great, but how many bars do you go to that have Riedels? Not many, because they are delicate and relatively expensive. Given the inadequacy of shot glasses and rarity of Riedel tequila glasses, you need to do some experimenting to find out which glass is right for your sipping.

Our tequila consultant, David Ruiz, kindly came by the other night to show us the proper way to select glassware for you tequila enjoyment. David is founder and organizer of the upcoming World International Tequila Conference (more news on that to come!) and gives private tequila tours and consultations through TequilaTours.com.

So, watch and learn, because the right glassware choice can make a difference when it comes to whether you simply like a tequila or whether you love it.

(Coming up in Part 2: Finding the right glass to taste añejo tequilas.)

-Scarlet

Ahh, Cinco de Mayo—margaritas, tequila shots, mariachi music, crowded bars and trouble waiting to happen. At least, that’s the U.S. version of this curious holiday. But here in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo passes pretty much unnoticed, except in the city of Puebla. This is because Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates the Battle of Puebla, when the Mexican army beat back French forces in 1862.

Yes, that’s right, this margarita-guzzling holiday actually celebrates a minor military victory and does not represent Mexican Independence Day, as many believe. Mexican Independence Day is September 16, and that is a real party. Imagine the excitement and chaos of Mexico winning the World Cup (people gathering in the streets, jumping up and down, lighting fireworks) while simultaneously hosting a running of the bulls (drunkenness and tomfoolery) and you might begin to comprehend the awesomeness of that holiday.

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We aren’t in Mexico right now. We’re not in California or New York either. We’re in Macon, Mississippi – and we have come to the realization that we are spoiled tequila brats. We are here to attend a family function (Scarlet’s family lives here) and today during our errands we went looking for ingredients to make a Pure Margarita.

This is an easy task in Mexico or California, but a little more effort (and money) is required if you want to pull it off in Macon, Mississippi.

The first, and most important ingredient, tequila, required a 30 minute drive to the “package store” – one of maybe two places you can get liquor here since until recently it was a dry county. Once we arrived, we realized that choice was not only limited, but scary. We never heard of “Two Fingers” tequila. “Aristocrat Silver” and “Pepe Lopez” didn’t ring any bells either, and considering they are all in the $14 price range, and none of them have “100% de Agave” listed on the label, we avoided them.

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