Calling all tequila lovers — we are holding a tasting event next Tuesday, January 12th at 8pm at Cava22, a tequila lounge in the Mission District of San Francisco.

This should be a really interesting event because were tasting a tequila that cannot legally be called “tequila”. The brand is Los Osuna, and they have to call it an “agave spirit.” Although it’s made in Mexico exactly like tequila (it really is tequila) the brand can’t legally call it that because it’s made in Sinaloa, which is outside of the officially recognized tequila-producing region.

Of course, it wasn’t always that way. Los Osuna had to stop using the word “tequila” to describe their product in the early 1970s, when drama, politics, and bloodshed over tequila taxes resulted in the state of Jalisco being the only region permitted to create “tequila.”

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This tasting event is a great opportunity to learn more about the history of tequila, since Los Osuna has been made for generations using traditional methods.

We will be sampling the Los Osuna Blanco, Reposado (although they can’t legally call it that, either) and the Anejo.

The blanco has a nice citrus flavor, and the reposado is aged 10 months, giving it an oaky edge. The anejo is aged a full 18 months and has a deep cognac-like flavor from the whiskey barrels used to age it.

We had Jesus Padilla, a member of the Los Osuna family, over to our house the other day. Padilla is in charge of distribution and marketing for Los Osuna in the United States. We pointed a video camera at him as he told us a little more about the rich history of the brand, the fascinating history of tequila, and his plans for conquering the US market with this interesting product.

Padilla will be available for in-person questions at the tasting event on January 12th.

Those interested in attending must register because space is limited.

Each and every activity seems to have it’s own distinct tequila pairings. When we were in Sayulita, Mexico, in November, we took the opportunity to ask buddies and drinking partners Mark and Gabbi to tell us their tequila-of-choice when they’re just hanging out together, or with a few buddies.

Tequila for the guys! They had an immediate favorite.

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Tequila Don Fernando TKO Silver is their choice. Mark is awesome – he gave us a bottle of it to take back home to San Francisco, where we immediately met up with a few tequila-loving friends and gave it a whirl.

You can’t buy this stuff in the USA – and I sure hope that changes. I really liked it- very potent in terms of alcohol levels, but the taste is really awesome. Smooth, lots of pleasing agave notes, a hint of spice and none of the harshness that you might expect.

Just a few shots of TKO and we were all feeling particularly awesome. The next time we go to Mexico, I will be picking up another bottle for sure.

We’re back at the SFT Tequila Bar in Sayulita, Mexico with another question. What type of tequila goes good with food? Mark Alberto Holt and Gabbi Villarrubia talk about this from behind Mark’s extensive tequila bar.

(Ever notice how a person standing behind a bar seems to be taken more seriously than just about anyone else? Why is that?)

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Both Mark and Gabbi agree that a reposado tequila, like El Tequileño, would be a great match with most food. Unfortunately, you can’t get your hands on El Tequileño in the USA (yet), but a similar substitute would be the reposados from Gran Centennario, Cazadores or Casa Noble.

One reason why El Tequileño reposado is so good – and the reason we make sure to pack our suitcases full of it each time we visit Mexico – is that it is aged just a few weeks shy of an añejo. By law, a reposado cannot be aged in barrels longer than a year (otherwise it becomes an añejo).

The smart folks at El Tequileño age their tequila for about 11 months and 2 weeks, which is what makes it such a smooth and delightful reposado.

http://www.meetup.com/tastetequila-sf

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, you should sign up to our free meetup group. Our first event is coming up in January, and we’ll be conducting a free tequila tasting at Cava22, a tequila bar located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District.

This event already has a tequila sponsor, which means we’ll get to taste some new premium tequila – stuff we’re almost certain that you’ve never tried before – even if you’re a seasoned expert.

Out meetup group isn’t like other groups – it’s free, and it’s supposed to be fun. Although we sometimes take our tequila tasting seriously, we think it’s supposed to be fun first. Hopefully our meetup group meetings will reflect this.

All people are invited to attend, and you don’t have to be an expert.

We have decided to use the Meetup.com system to keep track of who’s coming because space is limited in the various establishments we’ll be gathering in. We plan to switch locations so that we can visit various different tequila-friendly bars in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Please join our meetup group so you can be instantly informed each time a new event is added. We hope to see you there!

For folks not in the SF Bay Area, please get your name on our tasting alert list. We plan to conduct tasting events in other cities, and we’ll let you know if/when we’re planning to roll into your town, too.

**UPDATE: A new, and even better (in our opinion) sangrita recipe has been discovered. We even made a video of us following the recipe! We’ve already mentioned sangrita in previous posts, but in this one I’d like to share one sangrita recipe that tastes pretty good. But first, a few points about sangrita… – It’s [...]