Tequila is the number one preferred liquor for many people worldwide. First created in the sixteenth century near Tequila, Jalisco, the origins of tequila date as long ago as pre-Columbian times. During the pre-Columbian age, a fermented beverage called pulque was produced from the agave plant in central Mexico. Are you ready to get away for a vacation to Mexico? If so, check out “My Vacation to Mexico”, an online travel agency that specializes in affordable packages to travel to Mexico. Are you ready to get away from it all and relax as you sip a margarita on the beach in paradise? If you are, read below for interesting tequila facts, and call My Vacation to Mexico today to start planning your next getaway to paradise now.

Pulque: Origins of Tequila

The history of tequila can be traced back to 1000 B.C. to 200 A.D. when the Aztecs started fermenting the agave plant to make pulque, a milky and alcoholic beverage. Pulque was created using the sap from the agave plant. Pulque was very important in the Aztec culture, and two gods were worshipped that had a relationship with pulque. Mayahuel was the goddess of the maguey plant, and Patecatl was her husband who was the God of pulque. Around the year 200 A.D., the first evidence of pulque was found in stone wall sketchings in central Mexico. The form of tequila that we all know today was not produced until many centuries later when the Spanish invaded Mexico. 

How Spain Was Part of the Beginnings of Mezcal and Tequila

Spanish conquerors landed in Mexico during the 1400s and 1500s. At that time, the fermentation process for tequila was changed from its pulque origins as the Spanish invaders loved to drink brandy, but were unable to get it in North America. Therefore, they improvised to create mezcal from the agave plant. Every kind of tequila is actually a mezcal. Tequila must be made from the blue agave plant, but mezcal can be made from a variety of agave plants.  Later, during the middle 1500s, the Spanish Government opened up a trade route between Mexico and Manila. This new trade route facilitated the trade of alcohol including mezcal. Later, in the early 1600s, the first large tequila distillery was constructed near Tequila, Jalisco by the Marquis of Altamira. 

When Was Modern Tequila Created?

Modern tequila was created in 1758 when the Cuervo family started distilling tequila commercially in Mexico. 100 years later in 1873, the Sauza family also started a very large production of tequila. Did you know that many people that Cenobio Sauza was the first person to recognize that the blue agave plant was the best plant to use to produce high-quality tequila? The very first margarita was created in a bar close to Tijuana, Mexico around 50 years later. During prohibition in the 1920s, many Americans traveled to Mexico to get alcohol that was not permitted in the United States and there were more than 100 bars in Tijuana that were frequented by Americans.  When alcohol became legalized again in the United States in 1936, many of the Tijuana bars shut down. However, an American journalist James Graham was on vacation to Mexico with his wife in Mexico, and they stopped at one of the Tijuana bars that were owned and operated by an Irishman named Madden. Madden created a special cocktail which he called Tequila Daisy, and the margarita was born. Madden said the special cocktail just happened to be a mistake, but it quickly evolved into one of the most popular cocktails in the United States and around the world. In 1953, Esquire Magazine published the first margarita recipe, further promoting this delicious cocktail to readers in the US and around the world.   

Intellectual Property of Mexico: Tequila

The Mexican Government officially declared tequila as intellectual property of Mexico in 1974 so that tequila can only be made in Mexico. As a result, other countries are unable to produce or even sell tequila legally.  Mexican law states that the only place that tequila can be produced is in certain municipalities in the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Nayarit, Michoacan, and Tamaulipas. Also, a Tequila Regulatory Council was developed so that tequila quality could be monitored. Today, tequila remains a popular alcoholic beverage made from the blue agave plant and is mainly produced in or near Tequila, Jalisco. Remember, tequila is a certain type of mezcal that must be made with the blue agave plants, and other types of agave plants can be used to make mezcal. 

There are so many incredible tequilas for you to try in Mexico. You can even arrange a tequila tasting tour to learn more. Are you ready to plan your next travel to Mexico? If so, check out “My Vacation to Mexico”, a reputable online travel agency that offers amazing travel packages for your vacation to Mexico. If you want the best prices to stay at top resorts for your vacation to Mexico, make sure to visit My Vacation to Mexico today. Before you know it, you can be enjoying tequila at the beach on your vacation to Mexico!