Tequila!

I simply had to go.  Just wouldn’t be a trip through Mexico without it.

Downtown Tequila is a bit touristy with nearly all Mexican tourists.  When I arrived, I drove straight to the “Zona Centro” and proceeded to try to find parking.  I finally found a spot a short few blocks from the main square. Keep in mind that these are all very narrow cobblestone streets.  It gets to be a very tight fit for the van sometimes.

I took a quick walk around town and decided I wanted to figure out where I would spend the night first.  I consulted iOverlander (it can be very helpful at times) and found there were 2 spots not far from the van that others had used.  I went to the first parking lot, but no sign of life there.  Went to the second one (which was the right way down the 1-way street for me … yeah!) and started my sad excuse for discussing my needs in Spanish.  Actually, I can get my point across pretty well, I just can’t understand the response or carry on an intelligent conversation!  The parents of this family owned lot finally got their teenage daughter with her iPhone and her and I started to figure things out.  None of them knew a word of English.  After a while we settled on 150 pesos (if I left in the morning) which included access to a bathroom.  I went back and got the van.  The expression on their faces was priceless as I tried to squeeze the van through the rather narrow gates into the compound.  I made it in and tucked it into a corner for the night.

Not to get too personal, but before heading back into town I needed to use the included facility.  I asked where the bathroom was and was escorted through the little courtyard where she pointed down the walkway.  Picture that this is a rather impoverished family whose living structure (hard to call it a house) is the remnant of something that may have looked more like a house at some point.  So, the toilet was tucked in next to a washing machine in a nook outside with a blanket you drop down so you aren’t staring right into the yard.  No running water for the toilet, this was a bucket flush operation.  My point in all this is that it really makes me appreciate how well I have it compared to much of the world.  Until this trip, I took a bathroom for granted.  Definitely not the case this entire trip.

Enough of that, back to Tequila!

The town was really pretty in places.  Jose Cuervo’s original plant is right near the square and is a beautiful building.  I had dinner with margarita right next to the building then just walked around for an hour or 2.

Jose Cuervo's digs.

The town center church.  Every town has one!

This was some sort of official town building I think.

Herradura had a presence in a building near the square too.  It wasn’t there manufacturing, but more of a store front to get people to sign up for tours.  She told me their plant was in another town about 15 minutes away and that the first tour was 11AM the next day.  Since Gordon and I finished off a bottle of Herradura Añejo in Baja, I thought I had to do that tour.

Since they were closing the compound gates at 9, I headed back to the van for one of the best nights sleep of the trip.  I felt extremely secure here as nothing could get in or out of the compound.

Next morning, had my breakfast, made tea, and wanted to walk around town some more.  Only problem was that I couldn’t find a way out of the compound.  I wandered around the remnants of a house and concluded they must not actually live here.  I rattled one door causing a dog to bark and the woman to emerge.  I guess they do live here!  She showed me how to get out and I was on my way.

How do I get out?

Tile at the original entry to my hosts house.  They must have been someone because there used to be a pool.

There was some sort of school program going on in the square with what I gathered was all the town officials.  They had an honor guard as part of the opening event.  Unlike all the military type events I’ve been to with Joan / Tyler, this honor guard was made up of all fairly attractive young ladies in short skirts and red high heel shoes (pumps?).  And yes, they were marching with the flags.  Guess they just do things a little different in Mexico.

I made quick friends with a Mexican couple from Washington state (Arnold and Marcia).  Once I told them about my trip, Arnold was all in and Marcia was encouraging him to join me.  If I think I had jumped on the idea, Arnold would be with me now.  If you guys are reading this, I hope the rest of your trip is going well.

Time to pack up and get to the tour.  I headed out of town and straight to the Herradura facility where it has been made since the 1870. 

Side of beef delivery.

A little relevant side note:  I have a SD card with 22,600 songs on it in the receiver in the van that I started listing to in random mode back in Baja.  Every time I start the van it continues from where it left off and just keeps going. Out of 22,600 songs being randomly played I was excited when the song “TEQUILA” came on right before I got to the distillery.  It was a sign that my visit was meant to be!!

...and yes, I haven't figured out how to change the time on the radio yet!

As I got off the main road, I unfortunately ended up driving straight through people gathering for a funeral.  It’s hard to discretely slip through in the van.  Sorry folks!

Made it into the Herradura compound through a big gate and past the armed guard.  They apparently take security very seriously here.  Paid for my tour (in English thank god!) which, to my surprise, I was the only one!  A private tour was great.

What was supposed to be 120 minute tour lasted about double that.  We walked through the entire process of making tequila.  I found it very fascinating!

First, Tequila can ONLY be made with blue agave.  I think he said there are something like 150 varieties of agave plants, but only blue for Tequila (Mezcal can use up to 15 different types I think and is made a bit differently).

Another side note on the agave fields …. they are beautiful!

For every blue agave plant, it yields 7 (I think) pups around it.  They are harvested after a certain amount of time and used to plant another field, and so on, and so on.

When ready, they harvest the agave plants and prep them by cutting off all of the “leaves” and removing the core from the top (that is not used).

The prepped agaves are then put into huge steam ovens where they are cooked with steam allowing the agave syrup and juice to flow out.  These are big dirty “ovens” that are manually loaded with guys inside the oven being fed agaves via a conveyor belt being loaded by a front loader.

The agave is removed, ground up and steamed a couple more times to get the rest of the juices out.  The remaining ground remains are then converted to bio fuel that they use on the property!

The agave juice is then cut with the syrup to provide the right sugar content and it is piped over to fermentation.  

From fermentation the Mosto Muerto (5% alcohol) goes to the distillery.  First pass of the distillery is 3 hours and produces Ordinario at 25% alcholol.  Then it is distilled again for 6 hours to become Tequila Blanco at 55% alcohol.  Reposado takes aging in oak from 2-11 months.  Añejo is 1 year to 3 years.  He told me what their standards are, but I didn’t write it down. 

Not sure where the tequila tanker comes into play, but I thought it was cool that it existed.

Most of their barrels come from Kentucky (bourbon barrels).  They burn them out, grind them then use them for Tequila.  The fairly recent new owner (Brown-Forman) of Herradura just happen to own Jack Daniels and many other beverage companies.  Nice synergy going on there!

If you want to buy your own barrel, you and 10 of your closest friends can come in for a tasting from 3 barrels to chose the one you want.  You get a "double barrel Reposado".  For $12, 000 you get 240 personalized bottles and you get to design your own barrel top that goes on display.

There are 3 vintages of factories on the properties.  The original operating equipment didn’t shut down until my birth year – 1963.  Looking at it I found it amazing that they were still using it that recently.  It was a MUCH smaller operation back then and as my tour guide pointed out, tequila wasn’t an “in” spirit until recent times.  I don’t recall the timing of transitioning to the current operation.

The original factory.

My guide!

The ovens after the old and before the current ones.

Where the workers used to get paid in the old days.

All of Herradura's products.

I only got to view the bottling area through the windows.  But it was cruising along.

We then got to the tasting room.  I think it was afternoon by then so I wasn’t drinking tequila before noon.  That’s a good thing!  He set out Plata, Reposado, and Añejo.  I don’t recall what separates the Plata from Blanco, but it was the lightest.  As you transition to the Añejo they get more flavor.  While the Plata was easier going down I enjoy the Añejo more.  OMG, I think I’ve become a tequila guy!

I bid my tour guide farewell and went straight to a taco stand outside the compound, ate some food, drank some water, and just chilled out a while staring at the amazing trunk structure of the tree across from me.  When the time was appropriate (safety first!), I hit the road again ….

I landed in Ajijic that night to what turned out to be not a very restful night, but that is another story.

What a fun day!

More things I've learned:

• A 2-lane road with wide shoulders is to be assumed as a 3-lane road.  Drive as far on the shoulder as possible and whoever grabs the middle first gets it.  Rather frightening at times especially when it is 3 semi's across.

• Solid or striped lines down the middle of the road mean nothing here other than marking the middle of the road.

• While I typically like the non-toll roads because I see more the toll roads here are really nice, I get to where I'm going a whole lot quicker, and I get about double the fuel mileage.

• Fuel is not cheap in Mexico!!!

• Mexican street dogs are some of the most well behaved dogs I've seen.