John Bragg has the largest known tequila collection in the world. At last count (spring, 2002) he had over 500 different types of tequila, pulque and mezcal. Since 1990, he and his wife Mary and have owned and managed Pancho’s Restaurant and Tequila Bar in Cabo San Lucas. When I met them on a trip to Baja Sur back in 1997, we hit it off immediately. They invited my group to dinner at their restaurant, and after we ate, John treated us to one of his tequila tastings. 
     Because tequila is not only the fruit of the agave, but truly “the essence of Mexico,” I think it’s only fitting that I pass on some of John’s knowledge (which is as extensive as his collection). According to him, tequila isn’t for the timid—it’s for those of us who, like the Mexicans, are passionate, strong and warmhearted—people who live life with gusto. While most Norte Americanos think of tequila as something to be tossed back with a dash of salt and a lime, or added into a Margarita, serious tequila drinkers are slow, thoughtful sippers. This is because tequila—like no other liquor—has a delayed reaction. It catches the uninitiated off-guard.
      The Mayans started it all, way before the Spaniards showed up. Their fermented beverage of choice was pulque (pool-KAY), which they made from the agave mezcalero. It was used primarily for medicinal and religious purposes. In those days, drunkenness was a crime punishable by death and only old people and nursing mothers were given free access to pulque. Why? Because of its tranquilizing effects and high nutritional value. To this day, Indians still mix homemade pulque into their herbal medicines to treat diseases. There are still pulquerías (pulque bars) in various parts of Mexico. However, they’re definitely not for the faint-hearted or for the ladies, because a pulquería generally has no restroom—just a trough on the floor in the back of the room. The women buy pulque through a window off the street.
      When the conquistadors and missionaries arrived in Mexico, they tried pulque, but at 30% alcohol, it wasn’t strong enough for their liking. They began experimenting with the agave mezcalero and came up with mezcal. Then they experimented with distilling different varieties of agave, and eventually created tequila. The plant tequila is made from is the blue agave, or the Agave Tequilana Weber and is considered the most exceptional of all agaves because it produces the most full-bodied, clean-tasting liquor. And it’s all—every ounce of it—produced within 100 miles of Guadalajara, in central Mexico. Today, over 90,000 acres of blue agave are cultivated in this region, with the greatest number of fields near the small city of Tequila, about 45 miles northeast of Guadalajara. It’s home to 20 distilleries—fábricas in Spanish—that produce over 55 million liters of tequila per year. The Tequila Man and Mary now live most of the year nearby—in Ajijic. No wonder he’s such an expert.
      When a plant is mature, at between seven and ten years old, it shoots a flower-bearing stalk as high as 15 feet in the air. The dramatic yellow bloom will last a month or so, but it signals the agave’s impeding demise, for it dies soon after. The agave on this cover bloomed the year before, so it’s past its prime—but still dramatic. Right before the stalk emerges is harvest time. Field workers remove the agave’s core, called the piña, carry it to the fábrica where it’s split in half and cooked in a large oven—horno—for about 24 hours. After cooling another 24 hours, the piñas are crushed, strained, mixed with water and put in large vats to ferment. After fermenting for 72 to 150 hours, the liquid is filtered and put into stills. The distillation process is carried out twice, and the final product emerges at 100 to 120 proof.  It’s then diluted with distilled water until it reaches the proper range of 76 to 90 proof.
      There are three types of tequila. The first is a blanco or joven. (HOE-ven, which means young) A joven is only aged one or two additional months. The second is a reposado (which means rested), which is aged in wood for three to 12 more months. John claims that, “A really good reposado grabs you by the throat and gently lets go.” The third type of tequila, añejo (Ahn-YAY-hoe, which means vintage) has been aged at least a year. Tequila ages quickly, so one that’s five or six years old is considered “muy añejo,” or very old.
 When we did our tasting, most of us preferred the blanco. John served us one called Don Juan and if you want to try your hand at some thoughtful, slow tequila sipping, this is definitely one to choose, or Don Julio which is another favorite of ours. Or try Terry’s and my current favorite—Hornitos. It’s a reposado and a little more affordable.
    John has a parting thought he’d like to leave with you. “If you come to Pancho’s in Cabo with a bottle of unopened tequila, and it’s one I don’t have in my collection, I’ll buy the bottle from you and your dinner will be on the house—even if I’m not there!”
 
 

4 ounces tequila
4 ounces Mexican Controy (Cointreau or Triple Sec may be substituted)
juice from 10 - 12 Mexican limes, freshly squeezed
crushed ice to top of blender
Margarita salt (optional)
 

Place tequila, Controy, lime juice in blender. Fill until almost full with crushed ice. Shake well or blend until very slushy. Wet rim of martini or Margarita glass with water and swirl in small dish of salt. Pour Margarita into the glass. Ole! 
 

NOTE: This story appears in Ann's new book, Agave Sunsets, which will be released in June 2002.