You wouldn’t know when you stepped onto the town square in Tequila, Mexico, that one of the businesses in this rural town of about 27,000 residents is known globally.
Blue Agave is grown in fields and in small plots of land throughout the state of Jalisco and beyond. This plant that in my opinion resembles an Aloe Vera plant is the base for Mexico’s most famous spirit.
After a visit to Oleofinos to see how soybeans from the United States are being used in Mexico, we traveled to the historic town where tequila was born.
Following a traditional lunch at Cholula Restaurant, we walked across the cobblestone street to Mundo Cuervo.
Located in the center of the town of Tequila, this visitor and events center was created by Jose Cuervo to spread Mexican culture through experiencing the history and process of making tequila.
Jose Cuervo is the oldest producer of Tequila and the oldest distillery plant at Jose Cuervo is where we went to learn about the history and understand the process of making tequila.
By Mexican law, tequila can only be produced in the state of Jalisco and in limited regions of 4 other Mexican states. Mexico has claimed the exclusive international right to the Blue Agave-based spirit.
Tequila is made primarily in the area surrounding the town of Tequila, which is about 40 miles northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco. The red volcanic soil in these highlands and the surrounding region is especially well suited to the growing of Blue Agave. It is the bulb or “pina” of the plant that contains the sugars that are fermented and distilled to make tequila. Our tour guide compared the Blue Agave plan to the lilly.
The tequila that is popular today was first mass-produced in the early 1800s in Guadalajara, Mexico. The first tequila was made by Jose María Guadalupe de Cuervo in 1795.
The blue agave is planted and harvested manually. The jimadores who harvest the agave use a tool called a coa to cut the leaves away and harvest the “pina” which weighs between 40 and 70 pounds. The blue agave plants are ready to be harvested at 7 or 8 years of age.
The agave “pinas” are baked in enormous ovens. We watched as men worked manually and with skid steers to place the agave bulbs into the ovens.
The bulbs are then shredded, their juices pressed out and put into fermentation tanks and vats. Some tequila companies still use the traditional method and crush the piñas with a stone wheel. The juices and some fiber is then allowed to ferment in either wood or stainless steel vats for several days to convert the sugars into alcohol.
The fermented product is then distilled once to produce a cloudy or milky liquid, and then distilled for a second time to produce a clear, silver Tequila.
Some distilleries distill the product again to produce a triple distilled product.
The tequila is then pumped into barrels to begin the aging process. Tequila is rested or aged in oak barrels.
We also visited the “Cava” where Jose Cuervo’s most exclusive tequila is aged. It is called the Reserve of the Family.
Agave fibers left over from processing are recycled for use as compost on the fields.
Most of the area’s economy is agriculture-based. In addition to the blue agave, crops like corn, beans, mangos, sorghum, squash, oranges, and avocados are grown. There are also beef and dairy cattle, hogs, goats and poultry.
The main parish church in Tequila is Our Lady of the Purísima Concepción, built in the 18th century.
Tequila is a lovely town with friendly people. If by chance your travels take you to Guadalajara, I would encourage you to find your way to this quaint area.
The soil is rocky and red and there is very little flat land. On the drive there I saw corn growing on mountainsides and cannot for the life of me figure out how they planted it or will harvest it. There are scenes of such beauty that they take your breath away.
The hours the USB See for Yourself Program participants spent in Tequila gave all the opportunity to get to know one another better and to get a true taste of Mexican culture, which is rooted deeply in the rocky red soil in this western area of the state of Jalisco.
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