Day 101 : New Year’s Eve in Guadalajara

It's New Year's Eve, and what better way to celebrate New Year’s by drinking the Mexican national drink, tequila from 12 noon? 

No, I am not an alcoholic, but I am in the district of Jalisco, which is also where the town of Tequila is located and where all the world's Tequila is made. 

I had signed up for a Tequila tour on my last full day in Guadalajara. Departing at 9.30am, we were whisked off to Tequila factory Tres Hermanos, where they produced 100% organic tequila.  Apparently some of the other tequila producers add chemicals during the production. 

 

I was surprised they even had a chapel on the grounds, with seats made out from old barrels.  We were told that every business would usually have a chapel on their property, as a way of expressing their thanks to God. The chapel at Tres Hermanos can also be rented for weddings.

Tequila is made from the Blue Agave, and only matured plants ie. 7 to 10 years old, are used in the production. 

We were walked through the process from putting the fruit in an oven for 48 hours before putting it through a machine to strip and juice the liquid out of the fruit, which subsequently goes into a distillery where it is fermented and boiled at 150 degrees Celsius, before cooling it down and obtaining the white tequila (Blanco).

 

At Tres Hermanos, they have 5 types of Tequila. 

• Blanco : straight out of distillery
• Reposito : aged between 2 to 8 months in a barrel
• Anejo : aged between 1 to 3 years
• Extra Anejo : aged between 7 to 12 years
• Extra Dark Anejo : aged more than 12 years

We were chauffeured to an open field where we got to taste the different types of Tequila in shot sized cups, alongside songs by Mariachis.

The tasting process is :

1. Smell the tequila. This is to give warning and prepare the body for the drink. 

2. Lick the tequila twice 

3. Down the shot. 

I must had about 6 shots, along with a few shots of nut flavoured eggnog, particularly available for the festive season.  I could definitely feel the tequila effect on me by after the 3rd shot.

My favourite was the Extra Dark Anejo, followed by Reposito. 

Next, we were brought to a restaurant to have a buffet lunch, much required after all the drinks, before making our way to the town of Tequila. 

We were given an hour to explore the town of Tequila. Though small, Tequila is really pretty and I really liked this town.

By the time we got back to Guadalajara, it was about 6.30pm.  My host, Carlos, had invited some friends over for drinks and dinner and invited me to join them.  Such a fun group, with a couple making attempts to also speak to me in basic English.

I still had Tequila in my system and couldn't stomach more drinks, other than a small glass of red wine to toast off the new year.

There's also a new year tradition in Mexico with grapes, where one needs to take 12 grapes, one grape for each month of the year, and make a wish before eating the grape. 

Happy new year!!! May it be a fantastic 2017, with more travels, good health and happiness! :)