After a nice tour through the Municipal Market
in Tlaquepaque and a Spanish lesson, I was going
to head out of town this afternoon. Local expert
and professional tour guide José Orozco picked
me up at the Guadalajara Language Centre punctually
at noon time for a tour of the Tequila region. This
is the birthplace of Mexico’s legendary drink
and the area surrounding the town of Tequila has
been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tequila
itself has been designated a “Pueblo Mágico”,
a magical town, by the Mexican federal government,
for its unique history and charm.
José Orozco, my knowledgeable local guide
I jointed two other people in José’s
van: he had arrived with a couple in their 50s from
North Carolina who were looking to retire in the
Guadalajara region. Tomorrow they had set up an
appointment with a real estate agent to have a look
at some houses in the Lake Chapala region.
A tour through the Tequila area is a popular introduction
for any expatriates interested in relocating to
this region. As we started driving on the busy highways
of Guadalajara, José explained that Tequila
is a protected designation that can only be applied
if the spirit was produced from the Tequilana Weber
Blue variety of the agave, in one of the designated
regions of production in Jalisco and Tamaulipas.
If the drink is produced outside these areas it
has to be referred to as “vino mexcal”.
Real tequila: the "Las Tres Mujeres" brand
As the clouds overhead were getting darker and
darker, we made our first stop in the village of
El Arenal. This small town is home to at least 25
different tequila distilleries. We were going to
visit the Las Tres Mujeres Tequila Distillery where
we would have a chance to see the entire tequila
making process. First we surveyed the huge fields
of blue agave plants surrounding the distillery.
Then we had a look at the ovens where the agave
hearts are boiled after the leaves are cut off.
At this stage the agave plant looks like a large
pineapple.
The agave plant gets milled to extract the juice
Next was the milling area where the boiled agave
hearts are ground up to get the juice out. We got
to taste a piece of boiled agave plant, and the
juice of the plant is extremely sweet. Actually
you don’t eat the plant; similar to sugar
cane you only suck on it. I really enjoyed the sweet
taste of the freshly boiled agave plant.
As a next stage, the juice is fermented in big
metal containers where it stays for 36 to 40 hours.
Then the fermented juice goes to the distillation
area where it is distilled twice. José explained
that there are different kinds of tequila: white
tequila (tequila blanco) is unaged and bottled immediately
after distillation. Rested tequila (tequila reposado)
is aged for between two and twelve months inside
oak barrels. Añejo tequila (aged or vintage
tequila) is aged between one and three years, and
Extra Añejo (extra aged tequila) undergoes
at least three years of aging in oak barrels.
Distilling area at Las Tres Mujeres
Next to the distilling area is a room full of different
bottles that are used for bottling the tequila that
is produced at this distillery. Big plastic bottles
were on display which are popular among the locals
because of their lower unit price. José added
that Las Tres Mujeres produces about 2000 litres
of tequila a day and much of the product is destined
for export. The distillery had a nice tasting table
set up so everyone could taste the four different
types of tequila. I am no big fan of alcoholic beverages,
instead I tasted a little more of the boiled agave
plant that was also displayed on the tasting table.
Steps away is the gift shop where visitors can buy
different brands of tequila, souvenir t-shirts and
all sorts of small gifts.
Painting in the gift shop at Las Tres Mujeres
We got back on the road and through rolling hills
we made our way to the town of Tequila. After parking
our van on the outskirts we started walking towards
the centre of this atmospheric place. We went inside
the parish curch, Our Lady of the Purísima
Concepción, which was surrounded by the zócalo
(main square) on the north side. Then we strolled
slowly towards one of the largest tequila distilleries
by the name of José Cuervo. The word “cuervo”
is actually Spanish for “crow” and sure
enough, the entrance area to the José Cuervo
distillery is highlighted by a giant sculpture of
a black crow.
The big crow statue at the José Cuervo factory
The company has a huge complex in the heart of
Tequila which was built in typical colonial construction.
Several courtyards host the visitors and a large
gift shop entertains and educates the crowds. Across
the street is a private museum that is housed in
the original José Cuervo factory. All sorts
of original equipment is on display and illustrates
the tequila-making process of former times. A big
grindstone was turned by mules to crush the agave
plant. Old barrels, carriages and distilling equipment
show how laborious it used to be to produce tequila.
José Cuervo tequila can be purchased inside
the gift shop
After our brief tour of Tequila we headed out of
town into the mountainous countryside. Not far from
the town of Tequila we stopped at a rural restaurant
along the major road, where we were going to have
a very late lunch. The restaurant, called “Los
Mariscos II” was an open-air restaurant with
an absolutely phenomenal view of the surrounding
mountains and valleys. I savoured my garlic pork
chop while the mariachis were entertaining us with
traditional Mexican music. The sky was still very
dark and the weather had cooled off substantially,
but I thoroughly enjoyed this exposure to typical
Mexican hospitality.
My tasty pork chop
In the late afternoon we started our drive back
towards Guadalajara. José shared with us
some local stories and insights about living conditions.
He explained that the minimum wage per day is roughly
$5.00, a very small amount of money. Many people
make $10 or $20 a day, but life is still hard considering
that they have to pay about $200 in rent per month.
He added that for an average person here it would
be almost impossible to purchase a house, because
houses cost somewhere between $80,000 and $100,000.
What makes home ownership even more difficult is
that there is no proper mortgaqe lending system,
so people essentially have to come up with the whole
purchase amount in cash. As enticing life here looks
to the tourist, many locals are still battling significant
economic hardships.
View from our restaurant of a cloudy landscape near
Tequila
Back in Tlaquepaque I thanked José for a
very interesting and informative tour and got ready
for a relaxing evening. My excursion to Tequila
had been an important introduction to the real life
in Mexico.
