When I was preparing to leave for the World International Tequila Conference and Distillery Tour, I wasn’t really sure if I was getting in over my head. This was a conference designed for hardcore tequila enthusiasts and experts, and although I felt like I knew a lot about tequila, I wasn’t sure where I would fall in the spectrum of tequila knowledge.

Upon arrival at the hotel I immediately started meeting my fellow attendees and I realized that the group was very diverse. Here’s a rundown of some of the kinds of people in attendance:

Tommy Jensen and Reece Henderson from Denver, Colorado were there to learn more about the tequila business so they could make, and market, their own tequila. They were tequila enthusiasts with a dream of producing their own label, and this was their first real step toward making that dream come true.

Mark Alberto Holt runs the SFT Tequila Bar in the beach town of Sayulita, Mexico. He wanted to meet and greet as many tequila industry people possible so he can educate his customers about the different tequilas, and offer as many back-stories as possible about each.

He too is interested in producing his own tequila, and was much further along than Tommy and Reece in turning it into a reality.

Miles Karakasevic is a 12th generation master distiller who runs Charbay Distillery in Napa Valley, California. He just recently completed the process of creating his own tequila, Charbay Blanco, and was able to speak from personal knowledge about the process itself. This man is a walking encyclopedia of distillation, willing and able to simultaneously talk about the process as both science and art.

Others in attendance were consultants, distillery representatives, industry veterans, and advanced enthusiasts.

Being thrown in the middle of this crowd taught me more about tequila than I ever expected. Topics being tossed around included the theories of specific distillation practices; environmental impact of tequila production on the region; the steps needed to export tequila out of Mexico; the trends in local agave production and how to survive even when the agave prices are low; and the differences between tequilas produced in the lowlands and the highlands. (Stay tuned for a slew of posts based on what I learned at the conference!)

Yet, my initial fear – that I wouldn’t be as advanced as the others – didn’t really matter in the end. Everyone in attendance loved and appreciated tequila, and everyone was respectful of each other’s tequila preferences.

It was common to hear debates about blanco vs. aged tequila, and how blanco is the only “real” tequila, but in the end everyone would always agree that tequila in any form was enjoyable, and it was all based on personal taste.

I felt a bond with everyone because I am a fan of “100% tequila de agave” – in whatever form it may take. We loved it all. In that sense, we were all the same.

I flew to Guadalajara, Mexico last month to attend the “World International Tequila Conference and Distillery Tour.” Spending four days totally immersed in the world of tequila is definitely my idea of quality time.

Tequila expert David Ruiz, a former Silicon Valley executive, organized the event. He is now living full time in Guadalajara, working as a consultant and tour guide for all things tequila.

In the coming weeks I’ll be writing blog posts, and sharing pictures and videos from the conference. With so many highlights, it’ll be impossible to fit it into one simple post, so I’m going to do this in many smaller installments.

A successful trip to the Tequila region depends a lot on the tour guide you’ve chosen, so I want to talk a bit about tours in general, and the importance of a good tour guide.

Scarlet and I spent two days touring Jalisco with David in April 2009. He was able to get us into tequila distilleries that are usually closed for the season, and arranged for complete in-depth tequila tasting sessions for us.

Scarlet and I enjoy a more informal approach to tours, and because of that we really felt comfortable with David. His tours are not scripted, and you feel like you’re riding around with a local friend who knows just about everyone. You get the sense that your tour is totally unique, and the experiences you are having are very real. (Because, actually, they are.)

The most famous tour of the region is the “Tequila Express,” a train packed with people that rolls into the town of Tequila like clockwork, and the tour is always the same. It visits the same tequila distilleries each time – highly scheduled and scripted. This type of tour structure may work really well for some people, but we’re more interested in a more personal touch, and being part of a much smaller, more “exclusive” group.

Our first contact with David was through email. We read good things about him, so we fired off an email asking if he would be available on the days we were planning to be in town. He responded right away with a yes, told us his rates, and put us on his calendar. He asked us if there was anything in particular we’d like to see, and we sent him a little more info about our tastes and interests, but pretty much left it up to him.

There are two main regions within Jalisco to visit when it comes to distillery tours: the lowlands, where the city of Tequila is, and the highlands, where the majority of the tequila we love most, comes from. It isn’t possible to tour both of these places in a single day, so we decided to spend a whole day in each.

We stayed centrally located at the Quinta Don Jose Boutique Hotel, an amazing hotel in Tlaquepaque. I highly recommend this hotel, and we’ve had nothing but perfect experiences there. The staff speaks English, are helpful, and the rooms and surroundings are wonderful.

David met us for breakfast in the hotel, and after a quick chat, realized we were a little more advanced than the average tequila tourist, so he adjusted his tour a bit to accommodate for that. This meant that we weren’t just interested in tasting tequila, but also interested in the details of the industry, including how people can start their own line of tequila, the differing styles and philosophies of distillation, and talking to as many people as possible. These things might be distractions for someone whose main interest is to taste as many different brands of tequila as possible.

By the end of breakfast, we felt that we were in good hands, and knew that David was a great match for us. We were all excited.

At about 10am, just before we got into David’s car, he opens the trunk and pulls out a bottle of tequila.

“I like to begin my tours with a shot of tequila,” he said.

Scarlet and I looked at each other, thinking it’s really early for that. But then realized, hey, we’re in Mexico. Let’s do it right. Bottoms up! We had several shots from the back of David’s trunk during our visit, and then we’d usually end up visiting the distilleries that produced them.

(David didn’t drink any of it himself because he was driving.)

I really appreciated the fact that everything felt very “real” during his tour. The rough streets of Mexico have taken their toll on David’s car (you really can’t keep a car looking like new for too long if you’re driving around remote parts of Jalisco.) But this was all part of the fun for me.

In a previous tour, before we ever met David, we piled into a large van with several other guests of the Quinta Don Jose Hotel, and the experience was a nice introduction, but by the end we felt like we expected a little more out of it. The van was roomy and comfortable, but it also made us feel a little too much like tourists, and we had to keep to a strict schedule. The tour was more general in nature and our guide wasn’t able to answer some of our more advanced questions.

David even introduced us to a real life jimador, and we walked into an agave field with him so he could show us how the agave plants are harvested. A seasoned jimador can harvest an agave in about 5 minutes. Then he handed his tools over to us, and we tried our hand at the harvesting process. It’s not easy! The experience, once again, was enjoyably real.

I think the difference between having a good time, and having a great time in Mexico is your ability to be flexible, and go with the flow. David’s got a lot of energy and passion about tequila, and his tours will last as long as you’ve got the energy. On both days, our tours ended pretty late and only because we were exhausted. We booked him for the day, and we definitely got our money’s worth.

A lot of tour guides have special arrangements with distilleries, and the tour guides get a kickback for bringing tourists into their store. Although this is an understandable business practice, it means you’re generally limited in what you can see. This is not the case with David. At one point we stopped into a distillery he didn’t even know, introduced himself, and got permission to take us through the facilities on his own. In this particular case, he was just doing what he does best – establishing relationships with the tequila industry, and we were along for the ride.

If you’re interested in doing a high-end tequila tour, and doing it right, contact David, tell him we sent you, and get ready to begin tasting tequila for breakfast.

You can reach him through his website, at TequilaTours.com.