The beautiful place where tequila comes from

Cinco de Mayo is a day of rowdy celebrations in the U.S. and Mexico. What’s fueling these fiesta’s other than national pride? Tequila. Let’s take a journey, hombres, to the beautiful place where tequila comes from. The Mexican state of Jalisco is where the magic happens.

Yes, there’s a place called Tequila, Mexico

Tequila comes from Tequila–as in the the town 40 miles northwest of Guadalajara. The area is home to many agave fields like this. See that mountain in the distance? That’s Tequila Volcano. It sounds like a cocktail, but it’s not, because it’s a volcano.

These agave plants are HUGE

Tequila comes from blue agave plants which grow in sandy soil under the beating hot Mexican sun. These brutish succulents take a lot of man power to harvest.

The good stuff comes from the heart 

Poetic, isn’t it? After 8-10 years of growing, the farmer removes the heart (piña) of the agave plant to be sent to the distillery. These piñas weigh 80-100 pounds.

These jimadores (agave farmers) are basically tequila whisperers

Jimadores have been doing their thing for centuries and passing down agave wisdom for generations. They regularly trim the giant agave spikes for years until it’s finally time to chop them off with a huge, sharp spade.

To the distillery!

There are roughly 15 major tequila distilleries in the towns surrounding Guadalajara. The Tequila Trail is a growing tourist attraction that takes ready-to-drink participants on a day’s jaunt from distillery to distillery.

They bake and mash the agave piñas until they get that sweet juice

Okay, this part takes awhile, and can be a little messy, but of the end result!

Photo courtesy of Tequila Arette

Drink some tequila while you wait for more tequila to ferment

Look at all that tequila soaking up some woody flavor. Getting thirsty?

Photo courtesy of Tequila Arette

Yeah, it’s about that time…

Now that you know where this magical drink comes from, tequila will forever taste of Mexican sunshine and blue mountains rolling in the distance.

Oh beautiful for sunny skies, 

For azul waves of agave…

Tagged: Destinations, Mexico