15
May

Drink it Straight – Cascahuin Tequila Distillery, Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico

Posted on May 15th, 2009 :: Posted in Alcoholic Beverage, Guided Tours, Mexico, UNESCO Site, video

A visit to Central Mexico wouldn’t be complete without some tequila time so we happily head to El Arenal on the Ruta de Tequila between Guadalajara and the town of Tequila for a look at the Cascahuin Tequila Factory.

The Cascahuin tequila factory in El Aranal, Jaliso, Mexico, which is about 15 miles from the town of Tequila

We’ve been to tequila factories before but what we immediately like about this one is its size: not so small that there’s nothing going on but not so big that you feel like you’re in the clutches of corporate tequila.

Splitting the agave before packing them into the steam ovens.

Splitting the agave hearts or "pinas" before packing them into the steam ovens where they're cooked to sweet perfection.

During our visit we got to see all of the stages of tequila production, from a demonstration of how the blue agave is pruned and harvested to the halving of the harvested agave hearts (above) before they’re stuffed into massive steam oven to cook.

Agave, fresh out of the oven being sent to the extractor to get all the liquids & sugars out.

Agave, fresh out of the oven, being sent to the extractor which crushes it to get all the liquids and sugars out.

Video – Roasted Agave is removed from the ovens and placed on a conveyor belt where it passes through a shredder. The Juice and liquids are then removed. These liquids, called mosto are then put in a vat to ferment, where the sugars are converted into alcohol.

Tequila mosto bubling during fermntation

Tequila mosto bubbling during fermentation. See video here.

Previously cooked agave was being crushed and juiced and juice from a previous crushing was happily fermenting away in massive vats of bubbling, sweet-smelling liquid. Watching these various steps it’s hard to believe the end product is so clean and delicious, but it is!

The still room.

After double distilling totally clear blanco tequila is produced and ready to drink or put in barrels for varying lengths of time to create reposado (rested) or anejo (aged) tequila. This stage is like aging wine and lets the tequila take on the flavors and colors of the barrels and smooth out any rough edges.

One of the barrel rooms where the tequila is aged for reposado & anejo.

One of the barrel rooms where blanco tequila is aged for varying periods of time to make either reposado (rested) or anejo (aged) tequila.

The Cascahuin Tequila Factory has a grassy and shaded back garden that makes a wonderful spot to sip some straight tequila or make yourself a Paloma (Squirt and tequila) or a Charro Negro (Coke and tequila).

Some of Cascahuin's line of blanco, joven, reposado & anejo tequilas.

Some of Cascahuin's products including blanco, joven, reposado and anejo tequilas.

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26
Mar

Cold Beers, Leche Caliente and Smoking Volcanos – Colima & Comala, Mexico

Posted on March 26th, 2009 :: Posted in Alcoholic Beverage, Hike, Mexico, Music, Volcano

The wonderful village of Comala just 10 miles outside of Colima lies in the shadow of theactive Volcán de Colima.

The wonderful village of Comala, 10 miles outside of Colima, lies in the shadow of the active Volcán de Colima.

In the afternoon we sat around one of the bars around the town square in Comala noted for their endless tasty tapas with (pricey) drinks. There we met Raphael and his huge family who were from Washington, but were in town visiting family. They were also quite fond of Mariachi music. They adopted us and wouldn’t let us return to Colima and our hotel room because we HAD to experience Leche Caliente with them in the morning. it all sounded too good to pass up so we crashed on Mom’s floor.

In the afternoon we enjoyed one of the bars around the town square in Comala noted for their endless tasty tapas that come free with (pricey) drinks. There we met Raphael and his siblings who were visiting their hometown from the US where they now live. They insisted that we HAD to experience Leche Caliente with them early the following morning and it all sounded too good to pass up so we crashed on their mother's floor that night.

The next morning they took us for Leche Cliente as promised. At dawn we drove to a nearby farm with the necessary ingredients - alcohol (clearly only the most generic kind will o), and a mix of ground up chocolate & sugar. Only one thing was missing…

Early the next morning our new friends took us for Leche Caliente as promised. At dawn we drove to a small nearby dairy farm armed with the necessary ingredients: alcohol (clearly only the most generic kind will do), and a mix of ground up chocolate and sugar. Only one thing was missing…

… and the final ingedient, udderly fresh milk. Fist time we ever had (unpasturized) milk straight from the cow and it was great. Breakfast of champions.

… the final ingredient, udderly fresh milk. This was the first time we had ever had (unpasturized) milk straight from the cow (though it's common in Mexico) and it was great. Breakfast of champions!

We drove to Nevado de Colima National Park and climbed to over 12,200 feet to the top which afforded this view of the nearby, very active Volcan de Colima. From here we drove more than three hours down to the coast, descending over 12,000 feet which is the biggest one day drop in elevation we've ever had. Out of the ice chest and into the frying pan.

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25
Feb

Still Here – Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico

Posted on February 25th, 2009 :: Posted in Alcoholic Beverage, Friends, Guided Tours, Mexico, Pueblo Magico, UNESCO Site

Here are some more pictures from Tequila including our visit to the massive Jose Cuervo distillery (Mundo Cuervo) as well as the tiny Columpio distillery for a look at both extremes of tequila making.

The Jose Cuervo crow. In case you hadn’t figured it out, cuervo means crow in Spanish.

La Cava de la Reserva de la Familia holds the cream of the crop at Cuerco. This is where the Family de la Reserva lable is aged in oak barrels. Additionally, the Cava holds some REALLY old Tequila, part of the families private stash.

La Cava de la Reserva de la Familia holds the cream of the crop at the Jose Cuervo distillery. This is where the delicious Family de la Reserva is aged in oak barrels. Additionally, the Cava holds some REALLY old tequila, part of the family's private stash.

A Jimador makes the not so easy job od harvesting the agave look easy.

A jimador makes the not-so-easy job of harvesting the blue agave look easy.

Fields of agave surround the town of Tequila.

Fields of blue agave surround the town of Tequila.

Things are on a different scale at the small, basic Columpio distillery. They even cook there agave with fire in the oven shown here, as opposed to steam at the larger distilleries. This leads to a completely different smell and flavor to the tequila.

Things are on a different scale at the small-scale Columpio distillery where they cook their agave with fire in the oven shown here, as opposed to steaming it as the larger distilleries do. This gives Columpio tequila a distinctive smoky, firey smell and flavor.