Tequila tastings are part of the visitor experience
Nayarit’s Casa Real de Ixtlan Tequila is happy to give tourists vacationing in the state the lowdown when it comes to doing the bottoms-up routine with Mexico’s most famous spirit.
The distillery happily hosts visitors curious about the tequila it produces, holding tastings that enable them to try its different types of tequila, with flavors varying depending on the aging process.
Guests will be seated at outdoor tables, invited to try the distillery’s different creations, while a distillery employee familiarizes them on what they should look for when drinking an alcohol that has built an international following.
“It’s a symbol of Mexico,” distillery director general Oscar Delgadillo says. “When you think of Mexico you think of tequila and beaches.”
“You have to respect our holy water,” adds tour guide Valentin Fuentes, who has visited Casa Real de Ixtlan Tequila.
Casa Real de Ixtlan Tequila – found in interior Nayarit, an area where the agave plant needed for tequila’s production is grown – began operation in 2021 and now produces thousands of bottles of tequila a month, with three different varieties available.
One option’s label features a blue deer while another has a hummingbird, both symbolic in local pre-Columbian culture.
Visitors can go on guided tours that explain the entire production of tequila, from the harvesting of the agave plant to the aging process, with the latter possibly being a matter of months but also perhaps taking years, depending on the tequila variety.
Among sights seen on the tours are the large wooden barrels used to age distillery tequila.
Delgadillo says tourists visiting Nayarit – home to the hugely popular Riviera Nayarit – are often curious about tequila but their familiarity with it often only extends to the popular tequila-based Margarita and Paloma cocktails served in hotel bars.
Hotels may use lower-end tequila when adding the likes of fruit juice, he cautions.
Delgadillo also warns that bars placing salt on the rims of glasses containing tequila and a slice of lime in the drink – common practices in bars – may sometimes conceal that the tequila being served isn’t great quality.
Meanwhile, Delgadillo is unequivocal when it comes to identifying the highlight of a Casa Real de Ixtlan Tequila distillery tour and tequila tasting.
“The most interesting part is to taste it,” he states.
More information can be found at tequilarealdeixtlan.com.
