Guadalajara – Tequila

If you think of the Mexican cliché, you picture a dude with a big droopy moustache, wearing a sombrero and drinking Tequila. While the cliché is not accurate at all, it is true that Mexicans like their Tequila. Tracking down the source of the demon alcohol is easy – you just go to the town of Tequila!


Tequila is about an hour out of Guadalajara. It’s lovely little town, surrounded by field after field of the blue agave plant from which the tequila is made. The optimal way to see the town is on the “Tequila Express” – a train that goes from Guadalajara on the weekends and ensures no time is wasted being sober! It’s so popular, that it was sold out for a month in advance when I tried to book it. Oh well, plan B – I’ll drive out!

There are a lot of tequila manufacturers based in town. Each offers tours, of differing qualities. I decided to go visit Mundo Cuervo. It’s one of the biggest manufacturers and it also has the most tourist friendly shop in town.

Mundo Cuervo offers tours, so away I went. The first stop was to see the agave bases being delivered and mashed up. The drink is actually made from the hard core of the plant, not the leaves as I used to think. Anyway, it gets mashed, steamed, distilled, etc. etc. The important thing, is that you got samples of tequila along the way!

The tour ends in the cellar that is used to age the tequila. It’s quite an interesting tour, even if it was in Spanish! There were enough signs in English to keep me going. It was all pretty obvious to be honest, so I managed to keep up.

At the end of the tour, the tasting starts in earnest. It turns out that not all tequilas are created equal. Some of them are actually quite tasty and subtle, rather than the hammer to the head approach of most tequila. After tasting tequila of different ages, it was time for a frozen margarita and time to say goodbye to sobriety! Hic!


Still slightly inebriated, I wandered through the rest of town. It has a nice little town square and a lovely church. There are a few restaurants and a bit of a dodgy market, but the main attraction is obviously the tequila!

The town is smack bang in the middle of the tourist trail, so it’s always full of half pissed tourists staggering around town. It was a fun experience and I recommend it, even if you don’t like tequila too much!