Vallarta Tequila Tastings - 48310 Puerto Vallarta

Mexico’s booming tequila industry is growing fast. In Jalisco, you can have the fascinating experience of visiting a craft distillery for a taste of what made the drink so wildly popular in the first place.

So much more than a boozy getaway, the town of Tequila and its environs were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006 due to the ancient production facilities and immense agave landscape. The region has been producing distilled agave spirits since the 16th century and fermented agave drinks, such as pulque, that date back at least 2,000 years.

Not surprisingly, agave beverages have very much become a part of Mexico’s national identity and you’ll find no better place to soak all that up than in the tequila capital of the world.

From plant to aromatic drink

One of the best ways to delve deep into tequila’s storied history, culture and production process is with a four-hour tour (MXN$1,300 per person) on the sprawling property of Tequila Fortaleza, which includes a guided distillery visit, a tasting session and lunch in a sublime blue agave garden.

Fortaleza produces one of the best tequilas on the planet, and though the brand is only 15 years old, the family has been immersed in the craft of tequila-making for five generations. Fortaleza remains a relatively small operation that focuses on what Fortaleza co-founder Guillermo Erickson Sauza describes as “a very clean, smooth tequila with no coloring and no additives.”

The tour offers an up-close look at what goes into producing tequila using traditional methods, such as elaborate handcrafted bottles and corks and implementing a tahona (stone wheel) mill for crushing the cooked agave. It’s that notably unhurried approach that makes all the difference.

“My grandfather had to close down the distillery because it was so inefficient, but we decided that this old inefficiency creates great taste,” Erickson Sauza says.

Fortaleza produces delectable blanco (white), reposado (aged for six months) and añejo (aged for at least 18 months) tequilas, and it now puts out a higher proof still-strength drink.