Graham - ¡Hola tequila!: ninety creative cocktails and inspired shooters

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Hola Tequila! text copyright 2013 Colleen Graham. Photography copyright 2013 Shannon Graham, with the following exceptions: : Media Bakery. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form, by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Sellers Publishing, Inc. e-books.

February 2013

Tequila. It is one of the six base distilled spirits essential to the modern bar; it has a notorious reputation; it has been around for centuries; it was the first liquor produced in North America; it has been considered both a Gift from the Gods and the Devils Elixir; it makes a margarita a margarita. It is, simply, tequila. There is no other beverage that can contend with it in notoriety simultaneously shady and respectable or taste, and it cannot be mistaken. This is the beauty and the enigma of tequila.

For years, tequila has been put on the back burner of the bar. Over its integration with the Mexican culture, there were many periods when it was the poor mans drink, not sophisticated enough for the aristocracy spoiled by European imports. In the U.S. it has a notorious reputation as the partiers drink, reserved for frat parties and occasions when everyone just wants to get wasted. How often have you been visiting a friends home, and they walk to the bar mid-conversation while asking, Can I get you a glass of tequila? as if it were some prized bourbon they received for their birthday? Unless your friend is a tequila aficionado, the chances of this happening are unlikely. Furthermore, many people throughout the world had not heard of much less tasted tequila until a rather recent increase in international exports.

Many of us have a love-hate relationship with tequila. The hate aspect can frequently be attributed to a single experience from college days or the like, involving one too many. I cannot begin to count the number of people who have told me, I just cant do tequila anymore. When I probe into their reasoning typically while a whiskey and Coke, a martini, or other strong drink sits before them they recount one of those nights and have sworn off tequila ever since. Well, the tequila many of these people encountered does not reflect the state of tequila in todays market, even if it was just a decade ago. After a bit of cajoling, I can often reintroduce the infamous liquor to them, and they dont look back on that night.

On the other hand, there is a growing number of tequila enthusiasts throughout the world. These imbibers have found a love for the Mexican liquor that rivals many a Scotch connoisseur. Their taste for tequila is a passion, and theyll go to any lengths to find something new and different, obscure and unknown. Some could tell you in a blind tasting if the tequila came from the area around the town of Tequila, the highlands of Jalisco, or one of the other five Mexican states legally permitted to produce tequila.

Times have changed for tequila. It has evolved in so many ways over the last few decades that it is now a product associated with civility, a refined liquor for the enlightened. Tequila has grown up to meet the demands of the consumer. It has been reborn, has found a ritzier side, and its image has been polished up just like any old ragamuffin brought in from the streets and given a bath, a new set of clothes, and some lessons in good taste. Tequila is no longer a dirty word, nor is it taboo.

Tequila has also evolved inside the mixed drink. It was not until the middle of the 20th century that it found a place in bars outside of Mexico. Prior to that, it would frequently be hidden under layers of fruit juices or heavy liqueurs, or relegated to lie in wait for the next round of celebratory shots or the next, oft poorly made, margarita. Today were infusing tequilas; we use it with herbs and fresh, exotic fruits and high-end liqueurs, and whatever else imaginative mixologists can concoct. We are no longer disguising our tequilas unique piquancy; we are celebrating it, finding brand-new complements, and proudly displaying our favorite bottles alongside that coveted, though less often used, XO brandy.

If you have the opportunity and want to enhance your tequila experiences, I suggest going straight to the source. My trips to the Mexican distilleries and agave fields strengthened my appreciation for the spirit tenfold, and I was able to return home with fascinating stories of the people behind the scenes and the methods they use, which are often steeped in centuries of tradition. The tequila country within Jalisco alone is diverse. Simply flying into Guadalajara, you can see acres of blue dotting the landscape below; when you hit the town of Tequila, you will find roadside vendors lining the streets and distilleries rich with history, complete with century-old haciendas and a drier style of tequila. Traveling up to Los Altos around the town of Arandas, you will find richer tequilas, and many times get a sense of modernism in the distilleries there. Each tequila distillery and region has a life of its own that is a unique character as diverse as their tequilas.

On your journey, which many tour and travel agencies can help arrange, you cannot pass up the opportunity to walk through an agave field. It is one of the most serene places you will find on Earth wide open, neatly planted rows of giant blue succulents for as far as the eye can see. If youre lucky, the jimadores will be harvesting that day, and you can witness a giant pia emerge from the ground, and maybe even try your hand at shearing its leaves using a traditional coa (a tool used for harvesting). Tequila is one of the most labor-intensive distilled spirits in the world, and it begins in the fields on a scale that you cannot imagine until you experience it for yourself.

And so, I invite you to journey with me through a visit to the world of tequila. We will get to know her better, admire her progress, and learn how to use her to her fullest potential. Tequila is one of the most fascinating, diverse, and culturally enhanced beverages available, and along with all the people who have crafted her over the years, is deserving of our respect and appreciation.