Too Much Tequila by Jayant Neogy

No, it is not cactus juice! Extracted from the Blue Agave, Tequila can be anything from a genteel version sipped in high society to a fiery Mescal favored by mustachioed banditos. Tequila-based cocktails like Margaritas and Tequila Sunrises are known across the world. More Tequila is exported to the neighboring United States than consumed in Mexico!

Surprisingly, the town of Tequila at the heart of the Tequila distilling industry is not quite as famous in spite of its World Heritage tag. It is a picturesque town full of 17th-century Spanish colonial architecture, surrounded by gently rolling hills.

The area has many Agave plantations and large distilleries of almost all the major Tequila producers. Their products are enjoyed by over 25 million tequila lovers worldwide! In the distance looms a volcano called Volcan de Tequila.
Although the Tequila volcano last erupted almost 200,000 years ago, the foothills still have large deposits of volcanic glass called Obsidian. The Aztecs used obsidian knives and sharp Obsidian edging for their wooden swords with great effect against the invading Spaniards. Today Mexican master craftsmen turn this hard and colorful glass into exquisite artifacts and jewelry.

Taken together, the drink, the town, and even the volcano appear to be just Too Much Tequila, much like the 1960s tune by the Champs!

TEQUILA THE TOWN

In spite of so much popularity of Tequila, no one is very sure of the origin of its name. The word Tequila itself is a mystery. It is said to be an ancient native Nahuatl word meaning “the place of harvesting plants.” This seems to be the most likely explanation for the names of Tequila the drink and its birthplace.

In spite of so much popularity of Tequila, no one is very sure of the origin of its name. The word Tequila itself is a mystery. It is said to be an ancient native Nahuatl word meaning “the place of harvesting plants.” This seems to be the most likely explanation for the names of Tequila the drink and its birthplace.

In spite of so much popularity of Tequila, no one is very sure of the origin of its name. The word Tequila itself is a mystery. It is said to be an ancient native Nahuatl word meaning “the place of harvesting plants.” This seems to be the most likely explanation for the names of Tequila the drink and its birthplace.
The town is located about an hour’s drive from Guadalajara, the state capital of Jalisco state, en route to the seaside resort of Puerto Vallarta. Before reaching the town, one passes through Agave plantations, the source of the two famous Mexican drinks, Tequila, and Mescal.

The highway passes by the main square, dominated by the main parish church named Our Lady of the Purísima Concepción, built in the 18th century by Martín Casillas. The church has a stone facade, a bell tower, and a large clock. To the right of the entrance, is the statue of Father Toribio Gonzalez, a Mexican priest killed during the Mexican Revolution and canonized as a Saint in the year 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Around the three sides of the square are souvenir shops and tequila bars.

Other notable structures include the distilleries of Quinta Sauza built in the 1830s and the La Perseverance built in 1873. In an adjoining square stands the massive painting showing the making of Tequila and an inscription proclaiming the town’s world heritage status. Statues of Tequila distillery workers and Angels are to be found around public places.

Although less famous than the drink, the town has a fascinating tale of its own. After the Spanish conquest, the village of Santiago de Tequila was founded in 1530 by Franciscan monks, who moved many of the local people here from the foothills of the Tequila Volcano to start the community we now know as Tequila. Officially, Tequila became a village in 1656. In the 1700s, Mescal wines distilled from the Agave plant became an important product for export because the town of Tequila lay on the route to the newly opened Pacific port of San Blas.
Today, Tequila is a thriving small town with a population of around 30,000, recognized not just as a World Heritage site but also granted the title of “Pueblo Magico” or Magical Town by the Mexican department of tourism, recognizing that the town provides a magical if not mystical experience for tourists because of its natural beauty, cultural riches, and historical significance.

TEQUILA THE SPIRIT

Before the arrival of Columbus, native civilization and culture flourished in parts of the Americas that included modern day Mexico and some parts of northern Latin America. During this time known as the pre-Columbian period, civilizations rose and fell, covering over 4000 years till the Spanish Conquistadores destroyed the Aztecs and created the second Spanish empire in the Americas.

Amidst all the destruction, the Spaniards took great care not to damage the alcoholic beverage called Pulque that the natives distilled from the blue Agave plant in the area around today’s Jalisco state, called New Galicia at that time. Since the Spaniards found it difficult to import Brandy and other spirits from Spain, they needed a locally brewed alternative. So, in the early 1520s, distillation of Pulque into something stronger was started. The first crude distillates were improved in taste and smoothness to become finally the famed Tequila of modern times.

The first licensed manufacturer was a gentleman by the familiar name of José Antonio Cuervo. Senor Cuervo received the rights to cultivate a parcel of land from the King of Spain in 1758, and the rest is history. However, Tequila did not achieve its prominence until after 1821 when México attained independence, and patriotic fervor pushed up the popularity of Tequila.

Today, with a huge export market, Cuervo is the largest manufacturer of tequila. Other distilleries established during the 19th-century that is still flourishing today include Tequila Herradura and La Preservancia Sauza.
Prohibition in the 1920s and early 1930s in the United States gave a strong impetus to the import of Tequila across the border, into California and thence into the whole of the US. Today there are over 20million Tequila drinkers in the US alone

MYTHS AND LEGENDS

Tequila is rich in culture, history, and legend. It is also much misunderstood. First, there is the misconception that tequila is derived from cactus while it is extracted from the succulent called Blue Agave, belonging to the Lily and Amaranth family.

There is confusion too between Mescal and Tequila. Mescal is distilled from two dozen different varieties of the Agave plants by baking the heart of the Agave on heated rocks to extract the juice which is distilled just once. The baking gives Mescal a strong smoky flavor and a fiery taste preferred by some drinkers. Tequila, on the other hand, is first extracted by steaming the heart in metal autoclaves, then fermented and finally distilled, often twice and sometimes even thrice. Finally, it is aged to improve taste and to ensure perfect smoothness. The resultant drink is very smooth, rich and flavorful, suitable for sipping appreciatively much as a fine brandy or single malt.As a sales gimmick, some distributors in the US added a worm in Tequila bottles, claiming powerful aphrodisiac properties for the pickled worm, which is usually a caterpillar of the Agave moth. In Mexico, only some Mescal is sold with a worm inside and never in a bottle of Tequila. However, the myth persists, as does the belief that fermented Agave juice was used by the Aztec priests at the time of sacrificing a human victim to their Sun God!

As a sales gimmick, some distributors in the US added a worm in Tequila bottles, claiming powerful aphrodisiac properties for the pickled worm, which is usually a caterpillar of the Agave moth. In Mexico, only some Mescal is sold with a worm inside and never in a bottle of Tequila. However, the myth persists, as does the belief that fermented Agave juice was used by the Aztec priests at the time of sacrificing a human victim to their Sun God!

If you should wake in a cold sweat from a dream in which an Aztec priest is poised over your bare chest holding an Obsidian sacrificial knife, please do not blame this writer! Instead, blame it on too much Tequila the night before!

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By Jayant Neogy – I am a student of travel photography, still searching for the perfect shot of the perfect scene!