Tequila!

On a recent trip to Mexico we had the chance to visit a family run tequila distillery. From the freshly harvested piña, to the steamer, chopper and the distilling area.

It was neat to actually see the pinas in raw form. They had been carved down to just the hearts, the sap was a deep red color and slightly bitter. The pina is the heart of the agave plant and is the core ingredient in tequila; after they chop all the fronds off it looks a lot like a giant pinapple, in fact the distiller referred to them as "Mexican Pinapples"

They still had the old pina roasting oven from a 100 years ago, but had upgraded to a modern pressure cooker for production.  They had a guided tequila tasting with their Master Distiller.  We started with the standard three varieties of tequila (white, resposado, and anejo), they also had something I've never seen in the US, flavored tequilas; almond tequila liqueur, and a coffee/vanilla (esentially kahlua).  All very good.  We also had the chance to try their "moon shine", the distilled agave before it is turned into the final product; 190 proof!  I let Jim try that one.... he said "good, smooth, a little burn" ... then a moment later "still burning... burning more! still going!" He's good for tasting things ;)