Mexico has certainly struck gold with Tequila. This type of brandy is mass distilled from a central american plant: de blue agave.

There are specific was to drink tequila: en rapido (with tonic) or with salt and lime, but also in the margarita cocktail, which made tequila popular in the United States.

Making tequila is first and foremost a matter of patience. It can take more than 10 years before the blue agave, which, in spite of a very strong resemblance, is not a cactus, but rather a relative of the amaryllis and the narcissus, will reach her first and only bloom period. Once this bloom is over, the tequila makers can pick the fruit, la piña, which grows between the leaves of the agave plant. After the piña's have been cleaned, they are steamed for 1 or 2 days. While squashing and pressing a sweet sap will be released, known as pulque, which will naturally ferment. This light sparkling juice had been known amongst the mexican indian for some time, but it had never occurred to anyone to distil this juice in to an alcoholic beverage.

The real tequila comes from a single province in Mexico, Jalisco, where you will also find the town named tequila. Other provinces also produce liquors that are distilled from de agave plant, which are grouped under the name of Mescal or Mezcal. It's not hard to taste the difference between the two: tequila has a much more refined and balanced taste, while the aromatic mescal tastes much more heavy and fat.

All over the world, tequila enthusiasts are starting to discover the ripened tequila's. After several weeks they can be labeled with 'reposado', while the label 'añejo' is reserved for tequila's that have ripened in wooden casks for a minimum of 6 months.

The great success and fame that tequila and mescal have gained over the last few decades are not only caused by their great aroma's. A fair amount of their success can be directly traced to the exotic names they hold. Tequila and mescal are best served with guacamole, dishes with tomato or pepper based sauces and, of course, with tortilla chips and Taco's.

Tequila makes an excellent base for exotic cocktails and mixes well with other ingredients.