Does Tequila Make your Clothes Fall Off?

And other surprising revelations in rural Mexico

Say the word Tequila, and what comes to your mind? Do you have regrets of lost memories in drunk binges, bad decisions, and hang overs. That can be the American experience.

On the other hand, say this south the of the border and there is another world of Tequila that few gringos experience. Tequila, Mexico (the city) is a quiet city in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. If you are thinking of the loud clubs of Playa de Carmen, the expanse of Mexico City, or even the grand history of Guadalajara you will be sadly disappointed.

Tequila, Jalisco is a four hour bus ride from Guadalajara, over volcanic rocks, and through desert. But for anyone that wants to learn about the real Jose Cuervo — yes, he was a real guy — this is a must see.

On the surface a quaint little spot. But look deeper, there’s more.

Humble Village

If not for the sign over the modest road into town, the visitor would easily miss this quaint little place.

Much to my disappointment, this is not a drunken little village with barrels of flowing beverages in the lines of Cancun dreams.

Instead, you will find a quiet little village of hard-working, blue collar Mexicans living their lives to satisfy the world’s thirst for their beverage of choice.

The Magic is Here

Pick any one of the distilleries - and yes, there are many to choose from. But, pick one and only one. First of all, the process for making tequila is pretty much the same at all tequilerias and you will see the same process over and over. But pick one to spend some time learning just a small piece of the art of making tequila.

On our first trip, we did choose to take the Jose Cuervo train ride. In Guadalajara you can buy a ticket for the quintessential gringo experience. As you might expect, there is a nearly unlimited supply of Jose Cuervo as the train meanders through the mountains through Jalisco, up to Tequila.

Upon arrival, you are escorted to the distillery — somewhat tipsy as you can imagine-to be impressed by the factory’s presentations. The whole dog and pony show is fairly impressive, albeit very ‘touristico’.

Tequila — Expert Level

Once you sober up from your Jose Cuervo experience, you might be ready for a bit more serious look at Tequila, Mexico.

Well, now that you got that out of your system, let’s look into a few more sophisticated experiences.

You have some great options to explore, and my personal favorite is the boutique experience at La Cofradia. This experience will show you not only the distillation process as you experienced at Jose Cuerve.

La Cofradia will give you the ‘up close and personal’ of tequila (the drink not the city) that you cannot imagine exists. You can sleep in the middle of the magical blue agave field. You can sleep inside a barrell — yes seriously.

But in all honesty, my favorite part, is that you can meet and speak with the workers. I have met some great folks that truly enjoy their jobs — can you blame them? From the bottlers to the jimadores (the guys in the field that chop the pina) that is baked. You know the guys that start the magic.

No. Tequila, Mexico does not make your clothes fall off

For a fun and unique vacation why not think about tequila Mexico. You can get some great adult beverages. You can enjoy some adventure. And of course you’re in Mexico!