distiller of the year:2007

According to a November issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Casa Herradura is the 2007 distiller of the year. It is one of the oldest and most respected Tequila distilleries in all of Mexico. Herradura was founded by Ambrosio Rosales and Aurelio Lopez 138 years ago in Jalisco, the heart of Mexico’s Tequila region.
As featured in Wine Enthusiast, Tequila Herradura is 100-percent blue agave Tequila, carefully crafted using traditional methods, such as using clay ovens and fermenting the cooked agave hearts naturally with wild yeast. Tequila Herradura is all natural, estate grown and estate bottled. The distillery introduced the first Reposado Tequila in 1974, and later launched the first Extra Añejo, Seleccion Suprema.
In 1994, Casa Herradura released El Jimador Tequila to honor the men who harvest agave plants. Today, El Jimador is the No. 1 Tequila in Mexico.
Purchased in January 2007 by Brown-Forman of Louisville, Kentucky, a company that has the highest respect for quality and tradition, expect Casa Herradura to prosper despite the change in ownership

pulque: the original drink of mexico?

Today our quest brings us to an interesting story about pulque, one of tequila's cousins. We have been searching all over the internet in an attempt to discover the truth about this Mesoamerican beverage. According to Wikipedia, pulque goes back as far as 200 AD and was consumed at religious ceremonies prior to the Spanish conquest of Mexico. On a very basic level, Pulque is made by fermenting the aguamiel or juice of the agave until it becomes a beer-like beverage. Until recently Pulque was only found in Mexico and parts of Central America. After 2,000 years,companies like Pulque La Lucha brand by Boulder Imports and the Nectar del Razo brand finally figured out a way to can and bottle pulque so that it can be exported to the United States. Previously it was not possible to ship pulque long distances because it kept fermenting, and ultimately became undrinkable. Thanks to the younger generations in places like Mexico City and these improvements in packaging technology, pulque is experiencing a new found popularity. In the end, the truth is that pulque & tequila are very different, but we can not argue that pulque is older and now has its rightful place in our modern world.

vintage jose cuervo

The year 2008 is now 18 days away. Forty years ago, distilleries like Jose Cuervo were already setting the pace for many others to follow. This ad from the late 1960's was found on a blog written by Paula Zaegaj-Reynolds called "Advertising is good for you". The colorful background and the sophistication portrayed in this image was enough to make us want to run right out and buy a bottle of Jose's timeless tequila. We hope you enjoy this ad as much as we do.

itequila.org

We have had a link to itequila.org on our sidebar for a while now and it's finally time to feature them. Any of you who have a thirst for tequila information like we do will know that there are many resources out there. itequila.org seems to us to be one of the most user friendly and informative. They go through it all. Anything from the Tequila region of Mexico, to how tequila is made, to myths about tequila, to tequila brands and websites. There is far to much to mention it all now, but we highly recommend that you visit the site right away. The "Myths About Tequila" section was a favorite for us. Viva Tequila!

jalisco: world heritage site

Mexico is ranked first in the Americas and eighth worldwide in UNESCO sites, a distinction given to places of historical, cultural and natural relevance to the world. The Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities in Tequila, Jalisco, were declared a World Heritage Site in 2006, becoming the most recent addition to Mexico’s impressive list of notables.