We had a wonderful experience attending an amazing and sophisticated tequila tasting experience with Jorge Cuervo, Jose Cuervo’s great grandson!! Charlene, John and myself had a fantastic evening completing the tasting, learning about the history of tequila, and learning how to correctly drink tequila!! Jorge is a ninth generation in the Cuervo family!!We had the tequila tasting and we also ordered dinner afterwards. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening!!There are so many tequilas in Mexico!! Some have very elaborate bottles and many people like to take them back to the U.S.!!I liked tasting the tequilas, but I also enjoyed looking at all the elaborate packaging!!These were the three tequilas we tasted. The far left was water to use between tastings. The first tequila was a blanco tequila. The second was a reposado tequila, and the third was an anejo. The blanco is the tequila right out of the distillery, the reposado was aged for at least two months in an oak barrel, and the anejo was aged in a wooden barrel for at least one year.This was an example of a quality blanco tequila that we discussed.Jorge taught us the three key attributes that we should check for when buying tequila: 1) the tequila bottle should say “tequila.” This describes the designated geographic tequila region (Jalisco) as regulated by Mexican law. 2) the tequila should state “100% agave” was used to make the tequila. And 3) the tequila should have the “CRT” certification by the Tequila Regulatory Council. Unfortunately, some well known tequilas, e.g., the common Jose Cuervo available in the U.S. are only 51% agave, and 49% are non-agave sugars. Jorge suggested that since the common Jose Cuervo we see in the U.S. is not 100% agave, we may prefer drinking tequilas that meet these 3 important criteria. Other higher-end Jose Cuervo products may be made with100% agave and it was suggested we may prefer drinking those. If a tequila bottle does not state the proportion of agave used, we should check the company’s website.This is an example of tequila where it is clearly seen on the label that 100% agave was used to make it.These are the two tequilas that Jorge has made. The front label clearly indicates the name “tequila” and this label states 100% agave was used to make the tequila. The label on the back of the bottle clearly has the “CRT” certification. The small bottle on the right is the blanco tequila that could be brought into the US in carry-on luggage. The larger bottles can be brought into the US in checked luggage. We bought the reposado bottle and Jorge signed the back label for us!! It was very fun talking with Jorge Cuervo. He told us about his three kids. He said that in his home, it is “required” that they only speak English. He wants his kids to be fluent in English and comfortable with talking with people from many different countries. One of Jorge’s boys was at the restaurant and we enjoyed talking with him. Jorge is often flown to cities in the U.S. to provide tequila tasting demonstrations at various business conventions. This display is in the restaurant and summarizes his family history. Jorge named his tequila “Malaco” after one of his relatives. Malaco means Malachi in Spanish. After completing the tequila tasting upstairs, we went downstairs to the restaurant and had an amazing meal of Mexican food. It is difficult to see under all the cheese, but we had chicken enchiladas, tamales, flank steak beef, chili rellenos, tostadas, taquitos, and guacamole. There was so much food, the three of us could not finish it all!! Everything was so delicious!!It was very difficult to decide what to drink with our dinner. We could have picked a straight tequila, a margarita, or a range of different tequila cocktails. We all picked a different flavor of margarita. This was a fantastic mango margarita that I selected. The flavors on the rim and the top were quite spicy!After our tequila tasting and fantastic meal, we walked a few blocks to the weekly “art walk” that is held in the main plaza in San Jose del Cabo. All kinds of artists had their work on display. Here Charlene and John are looking at all the paintings one woman created. It was fun to see such a range of artistic talent!!I am not sure about this gentleman’s costume, but I think he is dressed up as an Aztec.Next to the plaza is a well-known church in San Jose del Cabo. I liked the silhouette of church with the setting sun!!The art walk had many truly amazing paintings!!All the colors and designs were amazing to see!!A black lighted highlighted the vivid colors with these designs!!I think my favorite aspect about all the artwork was the vivid colors that were used!! Mexican art is so beautiful!!
Fiesta on Wheels 