Talk:Tequila

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What about the worm? -Branddobbe 18:30, Jul 12, 2004 (UTC)

There is sometimes a worm in some forms of Mezcal; but never in tequila (or at least not in any good tequila). The gusano worm eats the agave cactus and supposedly people started including it because it changed the flavor of the Mezcal. It was included in bottles of mezcal as a gimmick; legend has it that it was a prank done to see if they could make the Yanquis eat worms. The worm has no intoxicating properties of its own (other than being soaked in mezcal) though a lot of people claim it does. The fact that most people who eat the worm have already drank a bottle of mezcal suggests that their intoxication may have other causes than the worm.--csloat 19:14, 12 Jul 2004 (UTC)
"...but never in tequila (or at least not in any good tequila)"
Nope, no tequila ever has a worm, even bad ones. To call it tequila you have to pass a Mexican govt. inspection, and they won't pass a mezcal with a worm in it as tequila. You can't even do it in other countries because Mexico holds international trademarks on the name -Harmil 19:44, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

I really have absolutely what you people are talking about. I live in the State of Alabama. I PROMISE you that if I wanted to go down to the ABC store right this very minute I could find at least one brand of tequila that contains a worm in every bottle. It it not a common misconception at all. It is a fact.207.157.121.50 02:57, 20 October 2005 (UTC)mightyafrowhitey

I think that if there's a worm in the bottle it's mezcal, not tequila. It can't be called tequila if it has the worm. Rhobite 03:09, 20 October 2005 (UTC)
I believe that is correct too - I have seen a few mezcals with worms but none of them tequilas. And in mezcal it's just a gimmick. If you can find tequila with a worm in Alabama, go get some and tell us what brand. I'm willing to bet it's mezcal (if it's tequila I'll buy the bottle and the next time I'm in Alabama I'll buy another bottle and drink it with you). I didn't know there was a Mexican policy against worms in tequila, but I have never seen a bottle with a worm -- only mezcal (and always bad mezcal, at least the ones I've tasted). csloat 08:41, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Glasses

When you drink tequila straight, it is usually drank from a shot glass, are there any other types of glasses you could use to drink tequila straight?

Shot glasses are most common. I often use small whiskey glass.
My favorite glass for tequila is designed after a yard for beer, only it's about 3-4in (7-10cm) tall. It's very cool, and really freaks people out. The only place I know of where you can get them is the El Agave Restaurant in San Diego, California. -Harmil 19:31, 13 July 2005 (UTC)
The caballito -- kind of like a shot glass, but narrower and taller. The variants I've just measured in my kitchen hold btwn 40 & 60 ml. Hajor 20:18, 13 July 2005 (UTC)
Hell, I just drink from the bottle. :-) --Jack (Cuervo) 04:21, 15 July 2005 (UTC)
I've seen the glass you're talking about - drank Porfidio cactus anejo out of it as I recall (and at $18 a shot, I do recall, LOL). It's more like a brandy snifter than a "yard" glass, I thought, but same basic idea; a flute-like glass only a little bigger than a caballito. There's a place in LA uses them -- Venice I think, at the intersection of Lincoln and Rose. Can't remember the name; it's a Mexican restaurant (highly recommended if you dig Mexican - freshly made corn tortillas, you can't go wrong). They have a good tequila selection. I recall drinking out of this in Mexico City somewhere too but I couldn't tell you where without a street map in front of me; it's been a while. Same idea as a brandy snifter; you preserve the bouquet of the tequila and bring it up to the nose delicately. Or something like that... if you get into sniffing booze, it's a good glass to drink out of (and good tequilas do actually have a nice aroma, so I'm not really joking). Anyone know what these are called?-csloat 10:21, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Brands

Think certain *cough* brands of tequila are notable enough to warrant an article? (Two points if you guess which one. :P) --Jack (Cuervo) 04:21, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

Sauza? Rhobite 04:56, July 15, 2005 (UTC)
I would think Cuervo would be, but it would need to deal with the business history and how Cuervo managed to penetrate the American market so deeply. They are notable as the first Tequila to become widely known in the US. Does anyone have an account of that history?
was that a joke? The guy's name is Cuervo :)

Is it just me, or does an article on Patrón not exist? 69.230.185.217 02:26, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

What about those brands that are made from Blue Agave but due to *cough* international agreements cannot call themselves "tequila". Their quality and taste are as good or better than many of the "real" tequilas.

See AGAVE GOLD from "http://www.agavedistillers.com" in South Africa for example.

[edit] Smooth Stuff

The article talks about salt and lime and says "This is rarely done with aged tequilas due to their smoother character." In my experience the tequila's age has little to do with this - in fact I've tasted some platas that are smoother than their corresponding anejos - whereas the %age of agave has a lot to do with it. I can't think of a 100% agave tequila that I would use training wheels with, whether agave, reposado, or plata... even Hornitos is plenty drinkable without a lime or salt, and that's the cheap stuff.... there are a couple 100%ers I'm not particularly fond of, but it isn't a smoothness issue; whereas there isn't a single mixto I consider smooth enough to drink without training wheels (in fact there are very few mixtos I will drink at all under most circumstances -- Sauza Commemorativo now and again but only if necessary). So this should probably be changed?csloat 08:59, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Tourists?

Could the following sentence perhaps benefit from the addition of the words "In Mexico ... considered ...": "The tequila shot with salt on one hand and a bite of lime is Hollywood stuff and few people drink it that way, mostly tourists." It seems to me plenty of people in the USA and Canada do drink it this way--even if it is not "authentically" Mexican (if indeed that's the case)--and they are obviously not tourists in their own lands. User:Visitor 30 December 2005

It is also found on this site [1]. Copyvio? Ubermonkey 01:16, 1 January 2006 (UTC)
It's condescending and opinionated.. needs a rewrite. Rhobite 03:35, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

"Hollywood stuff" ... sorry, but in Germany most of the people drink tequila with salt and lime. Think international!

[edit] Drinking methods

I saw on a movie that someone put fire on the shot glass and drank the tequila why is that done? Skindrafter5:33, 05 March 2006 (UTC-7)


Usually, the fire is just showmanship.

There are a number of different drinks that you can light on fire. A Flaming Dr. Pepper comes to mind. Generally, unless the spirit has a high alcohol content, it will not ignite. To remedy this a layer of high-proof rum or grain alcohol is gently floated on top of the shot and that, rather than the underlying liquid, is what burns.

Compulsion 21:41, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Factory image caption

The caption on the image was:

Blue agave fields and ancient distilleries near Tequila are recognized as part of the World Heritage List.

The new caption that User:Gillean666 wrote was:

Tequila facilities at Dona Engracia hacienda, Jalisco, Mexico]].

Ignoring the fact that the text contained a wiki-formatting error (which is obviously just a typo), I'm not sure that the point of having the image on this page is to describe the tequila facilities at Dona Engracia hacienda (the content of the image) so much as as an example of "ancient distilleries near Tequila" in general. As such, I'm pretty sure the old caption was the better one, though clearly the text that Gillean666 inserted (taken from the image description page on the commons) is more descriptive of the image itself. -Harmil 19:05, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] $250,000 tequila bottle

I reprint the following from lexis/nexis because of the most recent changes to the page on this topic:

Copyright 2006 Associated Press
All Rights Reserved
Associated Press Online

July 23, 2006 Sunday 3:19 AM GMT

SECTION: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
LENGTH: 202 words
HEADLINE: Bottle of Tequila Sold for $225,000
DATELINE: MEXICO CITY
BODY:

Forget the salt and lime, you'll need a mint to enjoy this tequila.

Producer Tequila Ley .925 announced Saturday that it has sold a bottle
of Mexico's best-known beverage in a gold and platinum casing for a
whopping $225,000.

"This is a really unique bottle of tequila and our client, a U.S.-based
collector of fine wines and spirits, will treasure this prize to add to
an already impressive collection," said company CEO Fernando Altamirano
in a news release. The buyer's name was not disclosed.

Altamirano said he is applying to the Guinness Book of Records claiming
he has sold the most expensive bottle of liquor ever, but the book has
to ratify the claim.

Tequila, made from agave, a blue cactus-like plant native to Western
Mexico, sells for as little $10 a bottle and was traditionally the drink
of farmers and laborers.

However, in recent years its profile has risen dramatically and it has
gained fans on all corners of the globe. Earlier this month, UNESCO
added the blue agave-growing region to the World Heritage list.

The record-breaking bottle was part of a new range of luxury tequilas
unveiled by Tequila Ley last week. Named "Aztec Passion Limited
Edition," it was cased in 4.4 pounds of gold and platinum.

LOAD-DATE: July 23, 2006

I can't find a full article about this on the web but AP is certainly a legitimate source.--csloat 20:55, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

I didn't see this before I removed the comment from the main page. This is a good find, and we should add it back, but to the "recent history" section, not the TMA section (as I doubt that any impact of TMA could be said to have resulted in this sale price). Source it with the <ref>{{cite news...}}</ref> construct and add a Notes section to place the <references/> in. Thanks again for finding this! -Harmil 07:21, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Atotonilco El Alto

Anonymous user 201.135.99.204 added "Atotonilco El Alto" after "Guadalajara" in the entry intro, and changed "50km" to "90km." I suspect this is vandalism and have reverted, but to be honest I don't know for sure. The best I can Google up is that Atotonilco El Alto is a small town on the far side of Guadalajara, in the East of Jalisco. Anyone know better than I? - Corporal Tunnel 14:42, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Well, it is an actual town and I know there's tequila produced there. Just last night I was holding a bottle of "Siete leguas" produced there. However I think it unlikely that the town is the center of tequila production in the country. -- Rune Welsh | ταλκ 18:05, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tequila good for health?

As far as i know there are a lot of benefits for ingesting tequila. I've read it's benefical for the heart and other organs if its drunk in a moderate manner. --189.135.71.148 03:06, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Upper?

Is it true tequila is a stimulant? jengod 08:41, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

I don't know of any evidence for that claim (other than that sugar is a stimulant, so it is as mucha stimulant as any other alcohol). Users (including myself) report a more "alert" feeling than other alcohols. And back when I used to consume far too much of the stuff, I noticed that even drinking a lot of tequila would not lead to debilitating headaches or other hangover symptoms the next morning (though it is still not recommended before a day of work, lol). I speak only of my experience with 100% agave tequilas. My theory is that the agave sugar is less of a dehydrating agent than cane or other sugars. I have no evidence to back this up and I am not a scientist or doctor, so it's purely a guess on my part. I don't know if this is related to the "alertness" issue or not. Perhaps someone with actual medicinal knowledge can offer more info. csloat 09:18, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] South Africa

Tequila is grown in south Africa under the brand "agave"

i think that should be added --41.241.114.254 19:42, 14 November 2006 (UTC)