It’s a small world …and there’s some Great Tequila! WHAT the Hell does that mean??? (Read on!)
Well, here it is in a nutshell. The evening of Halloween 2012, I went to a party. Not just a regular party but a very upscale party with some very prominent Cabo San Lucas people in attendance. Of course, it was a themed party for kids, so there was delicious home-cooked food, live music and plenty of kids in costumes dancing and parading around the area. And then … there was tequila. A very special person had invited me, and as such, I was (fortunately) seated next to him – meaning I was honored to be at the head table. Each seat was provided a shot glass and there were several bottles of different tequilas on the table, maybe four bottles for 12 seats. I may not qualify as a true tequila aficionado, but I have tasted more than my share of tequilas, some very good and some quite horrible. In front of me was a bottle I had never seen before and, when I took a good look at it, it was clear it wasn’t just an ordinary bottle, nor did it turn out to be ordinary tequila.
It really was a true work of art. Art and Mexico go together like Soup and Sandwich, but this bottle was really outstanding. The bottle was shaped like a wine bottle but with a short neck and a round chrome cap. It was made of ceramic rather than glass. It was a beautiful blue, almost a cobalt blue in color, but had etching … lots of white etching all over it like someone had a lot of time on their hands and a story to tell. Looking more closely, the etching did indeed tell a story. One side of the bottle, from top to bottom, depicted how the tequila is made. Everything was detailed, from the jimador that works in the fields, the cooking process, the huge holding tanks preparing the tequila for storage, the barrels used for the time-consuming aging process and, finally, the tequila bottle and a glass.
When you turn the bottle around, from top to bottom, there is a beautiful etched map of Baja California Sur. On either side of the map, more etchings picturing of all different activities available in Baja: a marlin, whale’s tail, breaching whale, golfer swinging a club, cruise ship, parasail being pulled behind a boat – even an etching of the famous arch itself. I promise, spend a little time looking at this bottle and you will be amazed that it is so detailed. It is clearly a work of art with each bottle etched by hand, not made by machine.
Now, do you remember the ‘ole saying, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating!” Well, here you are. If you try this tequila, I promise you, it is like nothing else around. I may have had four shots during the course of Halloween night and every time I put the glass to my lips, I processed the pleasure of swirling (along with inhaling) the scent of the tequila before taking a small sip, savoring the moment, just like you would a truly fine wine. To top it off, this was “only” their reposado, aged less than a year. I wanted to find out more about this brand of tequila, and where to get it, but there was no one there to ask. I went home – unhappily – empty handed.
About two weeks later, my wife Kathy and I stopped by the Roadhouse Restaurant in Cabo to listen to Peter Bacon on the piano. Tables were scarce so we joined one that was partially occupied. Oddly enough, I was seated right next to Clicerio Mercado, a very fine person whom I had previously met at the Halloween party just a short while back. (Side note: he is instrumental in putting on the Bisbee tournaments each year.) In general conversation, he mentioned that his good friend, Roberto, would soon be joining us at our table. He also mentioned that his friend was involved in some aspect of tequila manufacturing. Lo and behold, Roberto’s family owns a distillery – the very same distillery that makes the delicious tequila from the Halloween party. Small world, I would say! I was ecstatic to say the least!
We spoke for a few minutes before he brought in a bottle of his anejo, actually, extra anejo. Yes, aged about five years, and yes, it was superb! This tequila is considered the Cognac of Brandy and I have to agree.
The true test was with my wife. Kathy is not a drinker, but does drink wine once in a while, and has been known to have one of my CaboRicardo Signature margaritas on occasion as well. But never does she drink liquor straight. That being said, I begged her to try a small sip of this extraordinary potion. I swear that hell must have just frozen over because she not only tried it, but continued to sip two additional shots as a follow up. In our house, limes and salt are taboo so shooting tequila is never, ever in the equation – she just loved this tequila. I looked at Roberto and ordered a case! CaboRicardo
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS EXTRA FINE, ‘EXTRA ANEJO’ TEQUILA, CLICK HERE!
