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| Guadalajara Cathedral |
Steve’s
birthday celebrations finished with a “smashing time” in more than one sense of
the word! We drove the windy roads to Guadalajara for the weekend, arriving early
Friday afternoon since we wanted to get in a bit of shopping before our big
event of the weekend. The big event was a day-long trip to Tequila on the Jose
Cuervo Tequila Express train. Practical things like mixing bowls and a proper
pastry brush for Steve’s bread making plus some proper bread flour topped our
list. We managed all of those and I managed to get a wonderfully smelling
candle and some diffuser oils. Not very exciting!
That
evening we headed to el centro (town
center) where we were met with a complete assault to our senses with so many sounds
and wonderful smells! At the heart of el
centro is the Cathedral with its twin towers and central dome.
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| Fountain in front of Cathedral |
It’s
surrounded by plazas, all filled with people. Shops were still busy at 8 pm; tiny
stalls were selling food every few feet; venders in little make shift stalls in
the middle of the pedestrian streets were selling articles of every imaginable
sort, it was almost too much to take it all in. We watched a couple of dances
performed by an indigenous Indian (not sure what tribe). The energy that he
devoted to the dances was just unbelievable. It left us exhausted just watching.
Then we were hungry, so we went off in search of a restaurant.
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| Ready to board |
Saturday
morning, we started off with a hot Mexican breakfast. I’d read the VIP car we’d
booked had an open bar so I thought it wise not to begin on an empty stomach.
We began the boarding process at 9.30, and as we were the first of 7 cars to
board, we had plenty of time to settle in. The first glass of our on board
tasting was waiting for us as we boarded. We were very good and didn’t take a
sip until the tasting started. Soon we met and started talking to the lovely
couple across from us, Gus and Veronica. But as Veronica sat down, she knocked
over one of the tasting glasses, so my first taste ended up as a lap full of
tequila. Not to worry – it was quickly replaced.
The
train pulled out of the station around 10.15 so only 15 minutes late. Not bad
for Mexican time.
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| Agave fields everywhere you look |
Our tasting started immediately with a blanco tequila, which
has a more harsh flavor as it hasn’t been aged for as long. It also has the
most alcohol. What a way to begin our tequila adventure! Although the village
of Tequila is only 65 kilometers northwest of Guadalajara, the train slowly
wound its way through vast fields of the blue agave plants. There were so many
fields that in looking into the distance, they almost formed a blue haze
looking leading off towards the mountains. As our trip progressed, we had two
more tastings that were smoother and more mellow, the repesado and añejo. Following
the tastings, margaritas flowed continuously for the next hour and a half until
we reached Tequila. There was a well-planned snack about 30 minutes before we
arrived. I think they wanted to be sure that wouldn’t have to carry anyone off.
We
were divided into groups for the Jose Cuervo tour, and as most tours are in
Spanish, we were in with some other English speaking visitors.
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| Ovens for roasting the agave |
The tour was
fascinating as we learned about the whole process, from harvesting the piña
(the core of the agave), to cooking it in the ovens and then the distilling
process. We also were offered a taste of the tequila just after the first
distilling process, and it’s enough to really knock your socks off! A full 55 –
60% alcohol. One tiny sip that burned all the way down was enough for me. Then
we went off to the barrels where the tequila is aged to develop the flavors of
the wood and become the reposado and the añejo. Before heading off to our
tasting at the Jose Cuervo factory, we were taken to the Reserva de la
Familia, a cellar where some of the bottles and barrels of tequila from 200
years ago are kept.
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| Reserva de la Familia |
During
the tasting, we were taught how to taste and drink the tequila and were also
taught how important the smell is. Everything you’ve been told about licking
the salt and lime juice and then slamming down a shot is totally wrong. But
then, that is usually done with a lower quality of tequila so maybe quickly
slamming it down is the best way. One of the unique things we learned is that
you can tell a respectable quality tequila by pouring a little into your hand
and rubbing your hands together. The tequila should feel smooth and not sticky.
A high quality tequila should be sipped and savored, which is what we did
during the tasting.
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| learning about tequila |
Lunch
was on our own so we made our way to a tiny little local restaurant and neither
of us knew for sure exactly what we ordered. Steve had some taco dish, and when
they were served, they were green. He couldn't tell what they were made of. I
ordered tacos that I was pretty sure had beans in them but wasn’t sure what
else. My dish was just little soft tacos with a tiny bit of refried beans in
them. Nothing else, not even a sauce to spice them up or to help with the
dryness. And to drink? A margarita, of course.
Following
lunch, we had time to wander through an open market where venders sold items
made from the leftover fiber from the agave plants. Jose Cuervo gives the fiber
to the locals for their crafts. Most of the items are small things like woven
bracelets and braided necklaces. An older woman at one of the stalls was
crocheting a little bag, and her fingers were flying. These people are so
creative to be able to make things from the leftover fiber.
Next,
it was time to head to the Mexican show, but we weren’t sure of the start time,
and we didn’t know where it was. Steve and I heard two different times from the
announcement at the end of our tour, but we weren't sure exactly what time
related to what. Since it was announced in Spanish and very quickly, we knew it
was either 4.00 or 4.30. And neither of us caught the location. We knew the
general direction, and that was about it. Following some people down a
pedestrian street, we kept thinking there should be a lot more people making
their way to the show, but we continued on. Once we got closer, we could hear
some instruments warming up, so we followed their sound.
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| Mariachi band warming up |
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| el jimador |
Mariachi
began in Jalisco and it’s very popular with all Mexicans. The 11-piece band
played only some of the favorites and people in the audience were singing along
with the band. The deafening sound filled the huge auditorium. Before the
dancers came on stage, we had a demonstration from a jimador (a Mexican expert in agave growing) showed us how the agave
is harvested. The whole “story” of the jimadors
and the harvesting process was in Spanish, but one of the Jose Cuervo hostesses
saw us in the audience and came and sat with us so that she could interpret. It
was quite an involved and fascinating story. Once the leaves had all been
removed and the piña (the core of the
agave) split, it was time for dancing.
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| Flurry and swirls of color |
Four couples provided us with
traditional Mexican dances. The vibrant colors of women’s dresses were
beautiful as they swirled around during their dances. The grand finale was a
crowd favorite - the Mexican hat dance, and as they finished, a small cannon
exploded and confetti rained down on the stage! We also had extra-large
sparklers going off as the confetti floated down. The show was a spectacular
end to the tour and it was time to head back to the train.
Our
ride back gave us a chance to meet up with Veronica and Gus again and we talked
the whole trip back while being supplied with more margaritas. At one point,
the train slightly swerved while our table was filled with glasses, my
(unopened) water bottle fell into a couple of the margarita glasses, smashing
one of the glasses and knocking the precious tequila into Gus’ lap and on
Veronica’s game card. At the time, we were playing a crazy game of Mexican
lottery (similar to bingo at a very fast pace) and Veronica didn’t even stop as
she was frantically trying to win. We had such a great time and lots of laughs.
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| Gus and Veronica waiting for their margaritas |
As
we got close to arriving back, we were given one last taste, and they had saved
the best to last. We had the Jose Cuervo premium tequila, Reserva de la Familia. It was superb!
If you are anywhere close to Guadalajara, definitely take the Jose Cuervo tour. It’s a
must, and you should book the VIP car as that’s the one with the open bar to
and from Tequila. It’s the only way to go!
