A day spent in the town that has given joy and sorrow to millions across the world, Tequila, Mexico.
Just a short hour drive west of Guadalajara, I would recommend a tour for those interested in visiting the area. Our hostel signed us up with "Guatequi Tur", full of interesting facts if you can understand Spanish or if you have a good translator with you.
Welcome to the tour
Our tour guide, Sr. Armando Ramírez León treated us well and can be contacted at asesorarmando@hotmail.com. Highly recommended!
Our first stop of the day was the artisan distillery of Don Valente.
One of the brothers who manage the farm and distillery talked us through the process of harvesting the agave cactus to prepare it for processing.
A big oven to roast all the agave.
In the foreground, you'll see some of my fellow tourists holding a tasty beverage. As we walked through the gates, featured above, heads were counted and drinks were brought out just as the explanation of the process began, much to all of our surprise. Made with fresh oranges and tequila, it was a fabulous way to start the day.
Fermentation stage. This is where agave nectar becomes the alcoholic beverage loved the world over.
Distillation. Don Valente has different products that require different distillation steps. Going from 1-3 stages.
Casks for aging. Not every tequila gets casked, but the ones that do can spend upwards of 3 years inside of this room.
Showing off all the different kinds of custom labels Don Valente offers. Want to celebrate a birthday, graduation, promotion, even a divorce!, they've got you covered.
We got to try three different tequilas- a single distilled, a triple distilled, and a sweet variety. The sweet variety tasted like we were drinking syrup, a different experience from what I expect from traditional tequila.
Our next stop was Tres Mujeres, one of the largest distilleries and an official stop on the Tequila Tour hosted by the very popular Tequila Express.
A blast from the past.
The caverna at Tres Mujeres is the largest cave built for storing the aging casks.
Many side caves can be rented out for parties, decorated in different styles. This one going for an old West theme.
Ready for her close-up. The Catrina watches over the tequila as it waits to mature.
Our tour guide is a knowledgeable man about Tequila and explained to us how the different flavors the tequilas exhibited were produced with just agave.
A hawk playing on the wind over the agave fields.
Lots of picturesque event spaces can be rented at Tres Mujeres.
Mini-casks that can be personalized with burned images to store the spoils of your outing to Tequila. The man in the back is working on one of these beauties.
Saying goodbye to Tres Mujeres.
The view from our lunch spot.
A plate of quesochorizo with refried beans, guacamole, nopal, and, of course, some tortillas. Aqua fresca naranja to drink, might be the most Mexican meal I ate the entire trip.
The restaurant had the most amazing playground that brought out the child in every person that passed through the entrance.
Best swing, ever.
In Tequila proper, we got a good overview of the region and history of Tequila.
A statue of harvesters outside the central cathedral in Tequila.
Nightly shows at the central kiosk, Some are sponsored by the city, others are just local musicians showing off their skills.
One of the many cask cars roaming the streets of Tequila.
Gorgeous murals of Tequila. Our group spent a good 10 minutes examining the details and standing in awe of the beauty. We couldn't help but note the dominant position women seem to have in the art.
Larger than life crow, greeting visitors from the Jose Cuervo express. Those people in the background aren't significantly far away, the crow really is over 6 ft tall and probably just as long.
A small distillery in the heart of Tequila. Though we didn't have time to enjoy it ourselves, I heard the hike to the hill above is an enjoyable 2 hours to a fabulous view.
Saying goodbye to Tequila.
