One of the most famous things associated with Mexico is tequila. In fact, tequila takes its name from Tequila, a town in the state of Jalisco. Since Tequila is only about an hour’s drive from Guadalajara, a Guadalajara tequila tour is one of the most popular day trips from the city. I simply booked one through my hostel.
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Tequila Don Valente
Because tequila is so famous, there are plenty of different tequila tours to choose from. The tour I booked picked us up at noon, and our first destination was Don Valente, a small family-run distillery about 40 minutes from Guadalajara.
Don Valente produces tequila using traditional methods, and the relatively small scale of the distillery gave the place a more personal feel.
Tequila is divided into Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo depending on how long it has been aged. At Don Valente, we could taste all three, as well as several flavored tequilas made with ingredients such as coffee and cream.
We tried around 6–8 different types, and surprisingly, the cream tequila was quite good. It was sweet and smooth, and definitely not what I had expected from tequila. One thing to note is that you need to purchase a shot glass sold by the distillery in order to take part in the tasting.
There was also a brief explanation of the tequila production process and facilities, although apparently I didn’t take any photos of them separately. I did take a photo of a tequila bottle decorated with Huichol beadwork, though, because I thought it was particularly beautiful.
I briefly covered Huichol crafts in my previous post about the House of Crafts of Jalisco, so check it out if you’re interested.
To be honest, I expected a tequila tour to consist of little more than visiting a couple of distilleries and doing some tastings. But this tour turned out to be quite different because we could drink unlimited tequila inside the tour van.
So even while traveling between destinations, the party never really stopped. We just kept pouring drinks and drinking the whole way.
Tres Mujeres Distillery
After Don Valente, our next stop was Tres Mujeres Distillery. The name is made up of the Spanish words Tres, meaning three, and Mujeres, meaning women. Apparently, the founder had three daughters, which is how the distillery got its name.
Agave and Piña
It is widely known that the main ingredient of tequila is agave, a plant that looks somewhat like a large aloe. More specifically, tequila is made using the piña, the large core at the bottom of the agave plant.
The word piña means “pineapple” in Spanish. After all the leaves are cut away, the remaining core looks surprisingly similar to a pineapple, which is where the name comes from.
I’m not sure whether you can really get a sense of their size from the photos, but harvested piñas are enormous and extremely heavy. Depending on the species of agave, some can be larger than an adult’s torso, and individual piñas can weigh more than 100 kg.
At Tres Mujeres, we could see the ovens used to cook the piñas as well as the tequila storage rooms. The entire ceiling of the storage room was decorated with light bulbs, making it sparkle beautifully. It was also a fun place to take photos.
Tres Mujeres is a larger tequilería (tequila distillery) than Don Valente, and it seems to have another brand called Chula as well. The bottles shaped like high heels and boots were particularly fun.
Tequila Tasting
In a room inside the storage area, we tasted the four basic varieties of tequila: Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, and Extra Añejo. I was already a little tipsy by then, so I don’t remember the details very well, but I think the tequila had a slightly smoother flavor than Don Valente’s.
The Agave Fields
The highlight of Tres Mujeres was the expansive agave farm stretching out behind the distillery. Rows of spiky but neatly aligned agave plants, with mountains in the distance, made for a surprisingly impressive view.
The distillery produces quite a large amount of tequila, so the agave farm is fairly extensive. They even created a photo spot in the middle of the field, with a wide-open background and a colorful swing that made for some great photos.
Of the four places we visited on the tour, this was the one that actually had something worth seeing, which is probably why I remember it better. If you’re looking for a tequila tour, I would recommend choosing one that includes Tres Mujeres Distillery.
Cantaritos and Mexican Party Culture
Our next destination was a place specializing in Cantaritos, one of the best-known tequila-based drinks in the area.
The name Cantaritos comes from the traditional Mexican clay vessel called a cántaro, and the drinks are famous for their enormous size. They come in sizes starting at 1 liter and can go all the way up to 50 liters.
I was already pretty drunk by then, so my group ordered the smallest 1-liter Cantarito and shared it. Meanwhile, the table next to us had a 10-liter one and was having a full-on party.
True to Mexico’s reputation for taking drinking, music, and dancing seriously, it was fun watching people break into dance with live mariachi music playing in the background. In Korea, if this kind of excitement is often centered around singing, represented by our karaoke culture, the Mexican version feels like dancing is the basic ingredient.
Pueblo Mágico Tequila
The final stop on the Guadalajara tequila tour was the Magical Town of Tequila (Pueblo Mágico Tequila).
The Mexican government selects and promotes small towns and villages with special cultural, historical, and traditional value as Pueblos Mágicos, or “Magical Towns.” Tequila is one of them.
Agave is also used to make other traditional Mexican alcoholic drinks. Pulque is made by fermenting agave, while mezcal is a spirit made by distilling agave. Mezcal made in the Tequila region became so famous that it eventually got its own name. It’s similar to how brandy distilled in the French region of Cognac is called Cognac.
Tequila has even been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but considering its reputation, the town itself is surprisingly small and doesn’t have that many major sights. Still, like most Mexican towns, there is a church, so I stopped by to have a look.
Parroquia Santiago Apóstol
Located in the center of Tequila, Parroquia Santiago Apóstol is dedicated to Saint James, one of the Twelve Apostles. It features typical Spanish colonial architecture, and although the interior is simple and orderly, the decorations inside are quite beautiful.
In front of the church is the Plaza Principal, surrounded by vendors selling all kinds of street food.
I tried chapulines(grasshoppers). They looked pretty creepy, but since they were fried, they were crispy, and with hot sauce, salt, and lime, they actually had a surprisingly appealing flavor.
Dinner at Fonda La Martina
Before heading back to Guadalajara, we had dinner in Tequila.
At Fonda La Martina, a restaurant right in front of the main plaza, I ordered Carne en su jugo, a famous dish from the Jalisco region. I wouldn’t call it a must-visit restaurant, but it wasn’t a bad place for a simple meal.
Back to Guadalajara
After that, the van ride back to Guadalajara was basically complete chaos. Everyone except me was Mexican. They were already naturally a lively bunch, and after drinking tequila all day, you can probably imagine what the ride was like.
I got back to my accommodation in Guadalajara at 8 PM. I was tired, of course, but I figured I’d go up to the hostel’s rooftop common area and chat for a while before bed, partly to sober up.
That was definitely the plan, but somehow I ended up joining the travelers who were already on the rooftop. Before long, we were drinking beer and whiskey, and by the time I realized it, it was already 3:30 AM.
In the end, we all went out for a third round at a club and properly enjoyed the night, finally returning to the hostel after 6 AM.
The Tequila tour and drinking spree that had started in broad daylight finally came to an end 18 hours later.
Final Thoughts
Today, I wanted to share my experience of going on a Tequila tour during my trip to Guadalajara. A tequila tour is famous as one of the must-do experiences in Guadalajara, not only for foreign tourists but also for Mexican locals visiting the city.
Guadalajara doesn’t have that many particularly striking tourist attractions, so if you’re looking for something a little different, why not give a Tequila tour a try?
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