Top Food and Drink Trends for Summer
September 26, 2024
There are very few activities we find more exciting or interesting than trying new foods and cooking our favorite innovations at home. Summer is…
Read This PostEveryone has heard of it, and our clients sure enjoy it on our culinary vacations to Mexico, but what exactly goes into making a tequila? What is the difference between tequila and mezcal? And are there other ways to drink it besides tequila shots or margaritas? Browse our culinary tours in Mexico. Tequila is a region-specific name, sort of like Champagne, meaning that it’s a particular type of spirit hailing from the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Mexico. Tequila, which harkens back to 16th-century Mexico, is distilled from the blue agave plant, which is a type of succulent (cactus) that produces a high amount of fructose in its core. Supposedly the soil around Tequila makes it particularly suited for growing these plants. As a spirit, tequila is pretty alcoholic, ranging from around 40 percent alcohol to over 50 percent. Check out some of our favorite Mexican cocktails. So what exactly is mezcal, which seems a lot like tequila? Mezcal is also a distilled spirit made from a type of agave plant (the maguey). (Tequila is considered a sub-category of mezcal, as it has to be made from a specific plant in a specific geographical area.) Mezcal is perhaps best known for some of its varieties (particularly from Oaxaca) having a worm added during the bottling process. (Why, you might ask? Marketing!) Tequila, despite popular belief, never has a worm. Drink tequila with some Barbacoa Tacos!
You might have noticed that tequila these days comes in a variety of categories, but you might not have realized that they relate to the aging process:
Check out some of our favorite summer cocktail recipes. So, how do Mexicans drink tequila? Usually neat, as you would drink a fine whiskey, and with no salt or lime, although sometimes with a chaser called sangrita, which is a spicy, fruity, tomato drink. Although margaritas can be found in Mexico (lime variety only, please, no strawberries!), you are more likely to enjoy tequila in a cocktail called a Paloma (“dove”), which is a mix of tequila and a grapefruit-based soda, served on the rocks with a wedge of lime. Of course, if you prefer to “shoot” yours with salt and lime, you would not be the first! If you are interested in discovering the flavors of tequila during a cooking vacation in Mexico, contact us for details, or check out our Mexico cooking vacations. P.S. Want to try savoring tequila with a sangrita chaser? Mix equal parts tomato juice and orange juice, add fresh lemon or lime juice, a pinch of salt and couple dashes of tabasco. Sip—do not shoot—alternating between the two. Sign up to receive our newsletter, which includes travel tips, recipes, promotions, and information on our best cooking vacations. Find more photos, videos, food facts, and travel stories from The International Kitchen on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube.