There's far more to Mexico's most famous export than simply salt, lemon and slamming. Ben McFarland dons his sombrero and 'tastes' some tequila.
While vodka is hip and gin the last word in sophistication, the white spirit of choice for the pleasure seeking masses is undoubtedly tequila.
Synonymous with hedonism, high times and horrific hangovers, tequila is the spirit everyone turns to when a party needs to get going.
In the land of shots and shooting, tequila is, and always will be, king. The recent influx of gaudy packaged shot concepts and wacky down-in-one drinks is all very well, but could you imagine a gun-slinging gringo ordering a Purple Screamer in a Wild West saloon? I think not.
The lick of salt, the swift knock-back and the face-contorting bite on a slice of lemon is a ritual exclusive to tequila and one that accounts for a lion's share of its global sales.
While dismissed as neither big nor clever by the sensible drinking brigade, slamming and shooting is nevertheless an increasingly lucrative part of a pub's business and a pub-goer's so-called "repertoire" as part of a big night out.
Only a foolhardy, overly righteous or exceptionally wealthy licensee would turn their nose up at what is a great incremental money-earner and a sure-fire way to crank up the pub's atmosphere a notch or two.
However, if the tequila is downed-in-one, the raw and harsher young white varieties are the only option.
To slam a reposado or anejo tequila in a way that bypasses the palate and fails to touch the sides would be enough to make the average Mexican eat his sombrero.
If talk among the style bar crowd is to be believed, the bad boy of the spirit world has put its shooting days behind it and is now on the straight and narrow. Tequila is a reformed and, in some cases, refined character that is equally at home as a base in fancy cocktails or being sipped and enjoyed in a manner more akin to cognac or whisky.
Café Pacifico, a central London Mexican restaurant and bar owned by renowned tequila aficionado Tomas Estes, sells 101 tequilas ranging in price from £2.80 to a staggering £100 per shot.
"We are trying to get awareness of the fact that tequila is a very fine spirit that can be enjoyed and savoured as opposed to a nasty firewater that takes your legs from under you," said bar manager Peter Lewis.
At Café Pacifico, adventurous drinkers willing to experiment with more sophisticated tequilas are urged, but not ordered, to sip rather than shoot and instead of the traditional salt and lemon, a traditional Mexican Sangrita is served alongside.
This tomato-based sweet and spicy concoction is the liquid equivalent of a lemon sorbet during a lengthy meal, designed to cleanse the palate and open-up the taste buds.
"We would serve the tequila not in a shot glass but in a brandy snifter or the new special tequila glasses shaped like champagne flutes, designed by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila," added Peter. "After a meal we also offer the finer tequilas more as a digestif in place of a cognac or calvados. Initially it does take some convincing but people are slowly opening their eyes to what is a truly wonderful drink."
Agave and appelation
Tequila is only just recovering from an almighty hangover caused by the ominous picudo del agave - the lethal bug that annihilated huge swathes of the agave plantations.
Approximately 30 per cent of agave was affected and the ensuing supply shortage saw a dramatic rise in prices and, in some cases, forced brands to reluctantly switch from 100 per cent agave to the lesser-regarded mixto tequila.
Fortunately, it appears that the shortfall is over and in an effort to get things back on track the Mexican producers have formed a united front. At the end of last year, a high-profile delegation of 40 tequila producers visited the UK as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the drink's "appelation" - similar to scotch and champagne.
Francisco J Soltero, European Union representative of the Consejo Regulador del Tequila, told The Publican: "One of our key objectives is to provide information to the consumer and the trade on the facts about tequila and to dispel the myths that all tequila is the same or that tequila has a worm in it."
Carmen Villarreal, director of Tequila San Matias, one of Mexico's leading tequila stables, said: "I think it's very important for people in the UK to learn how to taste tequila and to differentiate authentic tequila from others.
"Tequila has more than 300 different aromas and high-quality tequila is a drink that should be consumed little by little rather than as a shot."
Types of tequila
- Blanco (white or silver) tequila: "unaged" tequila bottled just after distillation.
- Joven (gold) tequila: either unaged tequila to which permitted colouring and flavouring is added to soften the flavour and give it different characteristics or the result of blending white tequila with other aged or extra-aged tequilas.
- Resposado (aged) tequila: aged for at least two months in oak barrels or casks. The tequila takes on colour and flavour from the wood.
- Añejo (extra-aged) tequila: aged in barrels not larger than 600 litres for at least a year. The effect of the wood on the colour, taste and aroma is more pronounced.
- Curados tequilas are seasoned with natural fruit flavours.
Tequila: the facts and myths
- Tequila is a spirit unique to Mexico and for a spirit to be called tequila it must be produced solely in the demarcated regions in Mexico, principally in the state of Jalisco, where the town of Tequila can be found.
- It is made from the blue agave, which is not a cactus as commonly assumed, but a member (albeit a bloody big one) of the lily family.
- Tequila must be distilled primarily from the fermented juice of the blue agave. The law prevents the percentage of sugars from the juice of the blue agave dropping below 51 per cent. Tequilas that make up the difference with non-agave sugars, usually from sugar cane, are known as "mixto" tequilas. 100 per cent blue agave tequilas are the best quality.
- Tequila must be distilled twice for purity.
- Tequila doesn't have a worm in it - this is mezcal.
The Margarita
Look no further than the Margarita for a simple, yet darn tasty, tequila-based cocktail.
Like a lot of classic cocktails, the margarita has only three ingredients:
- tequila
- Cointreau or triple sec
- fresh lime juice
Pour two shots of tequila into a shaker half-filled with ice, add one shot of either Cointreau or triple sec and then the same amount of fresh lime juice. Give it a shake and then strain the liquid into a coupette or Martini glass or 'on the rocks' in a tumbler.
Of course, a Margarita is not a Margarita if there isn't a salt rim. Wipe a wedge of lime around the outside of the rim of the glass and then dip the glass in the salt - best to do this before you pour the drink!
If freshly-squeezed lime juice is not available, there are a number of bottled ready-to-go lime juices available, both sweetened and unsweetened.