Last weekend I was visiting a friend in Guadalajara. Guadalajara is located in the state of Jalisco about an hour away from a very small town with a very big name: Tequila! The town itself is and not very interesting except for a nice church and some great tequila factories like Jose Cuervo and Sauza. The Sauza brand is probably better known internationally, but Jose Cuervo is the tequila that has many brands that sell nationally so we decided to visit it. And it also looked much nicer from the outside. Which is an excellent way to make a decision of course.

Jose Cuervo factory with the church in the distance

I didn’t expect much from the tour of the Jose Cuervo factory but it turned out to be a lot of fun. It is entirely possible that the tequila samples provided along the way had something to do with its success. I did learn a few things about tequila though. For example, did you know that:

* tequila is made from the Weber blue agave plant and to be called Tequila it has to be made of at least 51%  blue agave that has grown and has been harvested in one of the 4 states certified by the Mexican government: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.

* There are 2 categories of tequila: Tequila 100% de agave and tequila with a lower agave content that is called Tequila or  Tequila “mixto” (mixed)

* there are 5 types of tequila: blanco, joven, reposado, añejo and extra añejo and the difference has to do with the aging process and  the length of the aging of the tequila in the wooden barrels which cause the change in flavor and color

tequila barrels

* the traditional tequila glass is called caballito, little horse, or tequilita. Caballitos were originally called cuernitos, which means little horn.

the evolution of the tequila glass

* Jose Cuervo carries a lot of brands of tequila, including Jose Cuervo Especial Reposado, this is the most sold tequila world-wide, Tradicional, 1800, Centenario, and Reserva La Familia.

* the Jose Cuervo family has been making tequila for over 250 years

* Cuervo means crow! This explains the big crow called ´Pepe´ sitting in the cage at the factory. I had no idea. and yes I do speak Spanish.

Pepe

The tour ends at the bar, of course, where you get a free margarita before they send you on your way. Salud!

More information about Jose Cuervo and the tours of the factory  can be found on the Mundo Cuervo website. Another great source of information about Tequila in general can be found on the Tequila Source website.