The Tequila Trail
It's an agave wonderland on Mexico's Tequila Trail near Guadalajara
BY Sheila Callahan
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Sunday, September 6th 2009, 4:00 AM
Mexico's Independence Day, celebrated on Sept. 16, is a huge holiday south of the border, it doesn't get as much attention here as Cinco de Mayo, the
May holiday that Americans use as an excuse to knock back tequila shots.
But Mexico's version of the Fourth of July is a great excuse to make a pilgrimage to the newly blazed Tequila Trail - the source of tequila, spirit of
Mexico - located about 20 minutes outside of Guadalajara.
Like the Rioja trail in Spain and the Napa Valley trail in California, the Tequila Trail pays homage to the land and people that produce a legendary
libation.
If you think the spirit bottled with the worm is tequila, you've arrived at the right place for an education. That's mezcal, nothing like the refined
spirits you'll encounter along the Tequila Trail. Although both are made from agave, only tequila comes from the Agave tequilana Weber blue variety,
and the fields of Jalisco, in west-central Mexico, abound in its cultivation.
Ever had a bad tequila experience? All that's past. Tequila, like Cognac, takes its name from the region where it is produced and the high-end stuff
adheres to strict production standards.
Connoisseurs have taken note. In 2006, UNESCO designated the blue-agave landscape, along with the ancient industrial facilities in Tequila, as a World
Heritage Site. Visitors can now wind along the trail, stopping at the towns of El Arenal, Amatitán, Tequila, Magdalena and Teuchitlán, and visit their
distilleries, churches, museums and archeological sites.
The trail's mission is to promote the heritage of this area of Jalisco, source of more than 90% of the world's tequila. You can tour distilleries like
Jose Cuervo, Sauza, Cazadores and Herradura and learn about the jimadores, the men who hand-harvest the blue-agave hearts, the pineapple-shaped
"piñas" that are later steamed, pressed, fermented, distilled and aged into tequila.
You'll learn the nuances of blanco (unaged), reposado (rested in barrels for two to 12 months) and añejo (aged for at least a year.)
You can hop on the Tequila Express, a four-car train transporting tequila enthusiasts 22 miles from Guadalajara to Amatitán. Here, you'll visit
Hacienda San Jose del Refugio, a bucolic setting of colonial buildings, lava stone courtyards and the Herradura distillery.
At every distillery along the trail, you'll see workers splitting the just-harvested piñas and placing them in ovens for up to 72 hours of slow
cooking. The sweet aroma of cooked agave will follow you as you observe each phase of tequila production - punctuated with a tasting, mariachi
performance and traditional meal.
In the town of Tequila, don't miss Mundo Cuervo, an hour outside of Guadalajara. Hourly tours of this distillery, La Rojeña, the oldest in North
America, begin at 10 a.m. and are in English and Spanish.
Plan to stay for the Cuervo tasting. Cuervo is the only large exporter of tequila still owned by a Mexican family, and Juan Domingo Beckman, a
10th-generation direct descendant of Jose Cuervo, is the current scion. Deeply devoted to tequila and the culture that produces it, the family
collects contemporary Mexican art feverishly, and much of it is on display.
Tequila Adventure, a local tour company, operates one-day trips by private van for up to 13 people. It includes a stop at an agave field and an
itinerary based on the distillery of your choice. Consider visiting Tequila Sauza's La Perserverancia, with its outstanding murals.
IF YOU GO ...
Fly from New York to Guadalajara on Continental for around $334. Delta, Aeromexico, American, U.S. Airways and Mexicana also fly to Guadalajara.
www.tequilaexpress.com.mx: $72 includes transportation, entertainment, drinks, snacks, a meal and distillery tour.
www.tequiladventure.com: $38 per person with a minimum six travelers.
www.mundocuervo.com: Tours range from $8-$29. The VIP tour includes a visit to the family reserve cellar and a tasting straight from the barrel.
 |
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
