Intro To Tequila

Hace En Mexico

Those over the age of 21 have probably tried tequila at least once before, that is, if it’s not in their go-to drink at the bar already. While throwing back shots or sipping on a margarita, you may not be thinking about where the liquor originated but if you want some knowledge to share with your drinking buddies or to keep in your back pocket for trivia night, here’s everything that’s known about the history of tequila. The first versions of tequila date back to 1000 B.C.

The tequila we know and love today didn’t start off the way we know it now. In its earliest version, it was known as pulque and was made from the fermented sap of the agave plant by the Aztec civilization in what is now northern Mexico. According to Liquor.com, this same technique likely dates back to 1000 B.C. and was used by the Olmecs an even more prehistoric Meso-American civilization. Pulque was first documented via pictograms on stone walls around 200 A.D. The Spanish invasion led to a distillation process for agave. Many believe that the Spanish invasion of the Aztec civilization in the 1500s marks the beginning of a distillation process used for the agave plant to make tequila. When brandy supplies ran low, Spaniards used mud and agave to create a drink (one more similar to modern-day mezcal). By the early 1600s the Marquis of Altamira (a Spanish nobleman) built the first large-scale distillery in what is now Tequila, Jalisco. Jalisco is where the majority of tequila is produced to this day.

Tequila was first commercially produced in the 1700s. In 1758, the Cuervo family began distilling tequila and in 1873, the Sauza family followed. If these names don’t sound familiar to you they should—both Cuervo and Sauza are still some of the most popular brand names on the market. Don Cenobio Sauza is also said to have been the one to identify blue agave as the best option for making tequila. Today, in order to be classified as tequila, it must be made from blue agave specifically. It’s at this point in history that the tequila being produced actually began resembling the tequila available now. From there, its popularity took on a life of its own and became the base for famous mixed drinks and more.

During the Prohibition era in the United States, scofflaws started to drink tequila more in the states or traveled to Tijuana to get their fix. Historic folklore claims that the margarita drink was first created in a bar in Tijuana owned by an Irishman known as Madden. By 1974, the term “tequila” was declared as the intellectual property of the Mexican government. This means tequila needs to come from certain areas of Mexico in order to be considered legitimate tequila and the Tequila Regulatory Council was established to uphold the quality and culture surrounding the liquor. So next time you order a round of shots with salt and lime, consider the fact that the beverage you’re drinking spans several millennia, cultural shifts, and so much more.