We were in BevMo the other day, picking up a tequila gift for some friends, when we spotted a brand we’d never seen before called Tres Manos. I was drawn to the bottle because it is dipped in black wax, and the liquor inside was darker than you normally see for añejos.
You know those nights when you’re sitting around, sipping fine tequila, and you start fantasizing about making your own special brand here in the United States? You start to wonder: Could I grow the agave here? Could I wait eight years for the plants to mature? How the hell would I ground and steam those massive piñas? Ninety-nine percent of us would discard the idea as a foolish fantasy, but that’s not what Jorg Rupf and Lance Winters at St. George Spirits did; these wily entrepreneurs actually made their own line of tequilas (except they can’t call them tequila.)
My Jewish friends, your prayers have been answered. New York businessman Martin Silver is launching a Kosher tequila called Agave 99, just in time for Passover. But watch out, because…
Want to talk about the best tequilas, tequila culture and watering holes with like-minded imbibers? Join our new Taste Tequila Facebook group! We’ve got two discussion topics already waiting for…
As you can tell from the post below, Grover and I drink mainly añejo and super añejo at home, but I don’t think a lot of folks do. In fact,…
The first time I visited Tequila, Mexico was years ago when I was working as a reporter at a newspaper in Mexico City. Every once in a while our editor, Dan Dial, would hand out a press junket as a reward for work well done, and I was lucky enough to get the all expenses paid trip to the Jose Cuervo distillery.
We live in the Mission district of San Francisco, and if you’ve never been it’s the part of town known for its Mexican culture, taquerias, bars and Latin markets. How could we live anywhere else?
Not too long ago a “tequila lounge” opened a few blocks away. We walked by with peaked curiosity as they were preparing to open, our faces plastered against the windows, trying to spy their tequila collection. Finally, Cava 22 opened its doors and we rushed to check it out. First, Cava 22 isn’t really a lounge. It’s more of a large Mexican-themed restaurant with a tequila bar. We saddled up to the bar and assessed the collection.
The tickets are booked and the trip is (partially) planned! That’s right, Grover and I are returning to Tequila, Mexico in April and we’re muy entusiasmado. We’re hooked up with a Tequila Expert & Consultant for two full-day tours, which will take us through the Tequila Valley and the Arandas Highlands. Included are stop at the Los Abuelos/Forteleza distillery, Partida, Herradura and Don Julio.
We found nothing but tourist traps on our first night in Santa Fe, but the second day was a success, thanks to Grover’s friend Andy Biggs. Andy is a wildlife photographer (www.andybiggs.com) who lives in Santa Fe.
“You’ve got to go to Maria’s Cantina,” he said. “They have an amazing tequila selection.”
Grover and I went to Santa Fe last week and we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see what New Mexico has on Old Mexico in terms of tequila.
I was dreaming of great New Mexican cuisine, accented with fully stocked tequila bars, but the reality was somewhat different. If the food was good, there was no decent tequila in sight, and if the tequila was good, the food was just mediocre.
Last weekend – Valentine’s Day, in fact – we stopped by a restaurant/bar in the moneyed seaside town of Sausalito, Calif. to have a drink. The bar didn’t have a great selection of tequila, but it did have a handful of nice choices, such as Don Julio 1942, Casadores
This is not just a blog about tequila – the delicious, potent elixir that soothes whatever ails you – it is also a blog about the tequila lifestyle, or more accurately, the Mexican lifestyle. Some of us in the U.S. may have a limited view of Mexico from what we’ve see in border towns or at Disneyfied beach resorts, but in the heart of the country, in the real Mexico, there’s a real passion for life, for music, for family and for laughter. This is the tequila lifestyle – taking time at the end of the day to appreciate what really matters. And what better way to do it then with a caballito of fine tequila?