Tequila

The clear white liquor with the unique taste that people either love or hate, tequila is thought to have been first produced around the second half of the 16th century in Mexico. It is made from the blue agave plant that grows so abundantly around the city of Tequila in the state of Jalisco. Tequila is said to have been a result of the Spaniards running out of their own brandy. Upon hearing the Aztecs had once used the blue agave plant to produce an alcoholic drink (known as octli or pulque), the conquistadors set about distilling the plant to produce a drink they could use to replace their beloved brandy.

Mexican law dictates that tequila can only be produced in this and a few other very select areas if it is to carry the name of tequila. Over 300 million agave plants are harvested each year for the production of tequila.

It is distilled after fermentation and the end product is usually 38% to 40% alcohol. That brings it in at 76% to 80% proof.

What's in a Name, Jose Cuervo

Jose Antonio de Cuervo received a land grant in 1758 from the King of Spain to start an agave farm in the Jalisco region of Mexico.

Jose used his agave plants to make mescal, a popular Mexican liquor. In 1795, King Carlos IV gave the land grant to Cuervo’s descendant Jose Maria Guadalupe de Cuervo and granted the Cuervo family the first license to commercially make tequila.

The family started packaging it in individual bottles in 1880, and in 1900 the tequila started using the brand name Jose Cuervo. The brand is still under the leadership of the original Jose Cuervo’s family. Juan-Domingo Beckmann is the sixth generation of Cuervo ancestors to run the company.