If you're just beginning your drinking career then all you know about tequila is that it comes with salt and lime. But your naiveté isn't really your fault. It's all the tequila front runners like Cuervo, Don Julio and Patron want you to know. They're relying on the fact that people don't know how to drink tequila other than shots and in margaritas. The truth is there are a lot of great tasting tequilas out there for those who are willing to venture beyond the mainstream brands.
If you're already a tequila connoisseur you know about the Tequila Gringo and the Tequila Whisperer. You must have also heard that tequila has health benefits. But if you're just starting out and don't know where to begin, better to start at the beginning: TequilaRack. The TequilaRack is a wealth of tequila information from the history of tequila to the growing, harvesting and distillation to the buying and tasting of it. They even have their own Tequila Blog.
A panel comprised of 20 wine and liquor reps, with their combined experience in the industry totaling more than 300 years, has developed a website dedicated to educating the novice on the elixir to the Gods. TequilaRack walks you through the fundamentals such as aging and types of barrels used in the distillation process so you can better understand the complexities of the tequila flavor.
While the extremely knowledgeable Whisperer and Gringo also narrate the aroma and flavors of an arsenal of tequila bottles, the TequilaRack goes one further. They have pieced together a three bottle tasting kit with two Riedel tasting glasses, a measuring jigger and an informational DVD as to why they selected those particular brands. But most of the information comes from their site and as an added bonus for those of us living in SoCal, a store locator to find the tequilas listed and bars that have them on the shelf.
TequilaRack ‘intends to foster an interested, loyal Tequila community that understands and appreciates Tequila for what it is, a complex spirit that deserves to be considered in the same genre as Single Malt Scotch, Small Batch Bourbon and Craft beers.'
Comments
Kio loves tequila, I just love margaritas.
I'm mostly a scotch drinker but my brother recently turned me on to Patron Cafe and I'm hooked. Maybe it's time to try some new Tequilas.
It's funny how this article picks out at Jose Cuervo and Don Julio in the way it did. The truth is, neither brand wants you to solely believe tequila is meant for those purposes. Sure, Jose Cuervo Especial was intended for the margarita and occasional shot with salt and lime, but in no way can you say that about any of the Don Julio tequilas. Even today, as a front runner, Tequila Don Julio is by far amongst the best in quality, class and character. Even Cuervo has products such as Platino and Reserva de la Familia, which were intended for the true tequila aficionado. I agree that there are other great tequilas out there waiting to be discovered, but you cannot go solely on bias and personal comfort to pick out on personal misunderstandings. I will however agree with you on Patron. Other than my disagreement with your stance, very well written article
I used Cuervo, Don Julio and Patron as examples because those are the front runners. At least they were at the time I wrote this article. And while I'm sure these brands didn't intend to be considered a two trick pony, that's how they're consumed. In all fairness, that's also how they're promoted by bartenders. We up sell and those are the names we throw out. In all my years of bartending in various states and establishments, no one has ever asked for any of these neat or on the rocks. It was always as a shot or in an upgraded margarita. That isn't to say these brands aren't of quality, tradition and heritage; they certainly are. But to the novice tequila drinker, they go by what they know (as little as it may be) based on commercials, billboards and ads in men's magazines. And until these 'better' tequilas start mass-marketing their labels, they're going to have to wait to be discovered.
And thank you for the compliment.
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