How To Drink Tequila Like A True Mexican Connoisseur

Tequila has an undeservedly bad reputation because it tends to give people a truly awful hangover. The truth is this will only happen if you drink tequila all wrong. Allow me to show you the proper way to have Mexico’s national drink. 

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You must know that I had my first taste of tequila when I was fifteen years old. My grandfather poured it for me and showed me the proper way to drink it. I’m sure grandpa would be arrested nowadays for making a fifteen-year-old girl drink a shot of tequila, but those were different times. Ah, the good old days!

I learned then and there that you don’t actually need salt or lime to savor this fiery drink. No, you don’t. I also learned that drinking tequila in cocktails was absolute blasphemy. Grandpa was tough, I tell you! Since then, I’ve been drinking tequila straight up, as it should be. Yes, you read that right.

And no, I don’t get hammered all the time. I know tequila has a killer reputation, but all you have to do is drink it properly and you’ll avoid a deathly hangover. So, let’s pop open that bottle of tequila and have a drink like my grandfather taught me!

How to drink tequila like grandpa a true Mexican connoisseur

#1

First of all, throw out your salt and lime, please. I know everyone does the lick-the-salt-and-bite-the-lime thing but that’s not how you should do it. We’re trying to be connoisseurs here.

#2

Second, read the bottle label. It should say that it’s made of 100% blue agave. If the label says it’s less than 100% blue agave, then throw it out because my grandpa wouldn’t have touched it with a ten-foot-pole. It should also say that it’s a rested (reposado) or aged (añejo) tequila, because otherwise it’s only fit for making sissy cocktail drinks. And no, we’re not having margaritas today.

#3

Next, get two little tequila shot glasses out, one for you and one for me. We’re going to pour some of that fine, aged tequila and have a taste. Don’t just pour it down your throat, for goodness sakes! You should take a sip, and then leave if for a moment on the tip of your tongue and savor it.

#4

Like wine, aged tequila will take on the flavors of the earth and the barrel. Some tequilas are sweet and fruity, others are bright with a citrus taste. Yet others smell of wood and vanilla, or maybe nuts and spices. Smell it first, then savor it. A good tequila is as fine a drink as any.

#5

You can have tequila with dinner, but that is only good when you are having spicy Mexican cuisine. You see, the taste of tequila is too strong to go with anything else. However, a small glass of reposado is great before or after almost any meal. Having a drink of some fine añejo tequila with dessert is also a wonderful idea. I bet you have never tried that!

Enjoy tequila!

My grandfather lived to be 90 years old, and he always said that having a shot of tequila before dinner was good for digestion. I’m not one to prove him wrong, so I’m always happy to enjoy a drink before each of our weekly family reunions. Don’t ask me why we get together so often. Being Mexican, I just can’t enough of family reunions. Grandpa would be proud!

Recap of my grandfather’s rules for drinking tequila

• Do not lick salt or bite a lime.
• Do not have it in wimpy cocktail drinks.
• Make sure it is a fine, aged or rested tequila made of 100% blue agave.
• Take sips and savor it. Don’t just gulp it down.
• Drink it before or after a meal. It helps to settle the stomach.

I hope that from now on, you will take your tequila more seriously, which is the best way to avoid embarrassing drunken situations.

In Mexico, only crazed spring breakers and clueless tourists take on loco Cinco de Mayo drinking games. Don’t do that, people! Grandpa’s way is better, and he always knew best.

So raise your glass and let’s toast to my grandfather, a true Mexican connoisseur, and one of the best men I’ve ever had in my life. May God rest his soul. Cheers! Salud!

Drinking tequila- yes or no? Share your thoughts!