National Tequila Day

Ralf Roletschek [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Today is July 24th and that makes it National Tequila Day in America.

Tequila is a type of distilled alcoholic drink that is primarily made in and around the Mexican city of Tequila, after which it is named. The city is in the state of Jalisco and is on the western side of the country. The name "Tequila" comes from a Nahuatl (most commonly known as Aztec) word meaning "place of tribute."

Tequila, the drink, is distilled from the blue agave plant, which is native to the area. Blue agave is, not surprisingly, an agave plant, and is a type of monocot as well as being a succulent with large, spiky leaves. The heart of the blue agave plant is removed in its twelfth year, its leaves are removed, and it is heated to extract the sap which contains a lot of sugars, primarily fructose.

Tequila, the modern drink, was first produced in the region in the 16th century, although other fermented beverages had previously been made from the agave. Tequila is often drunk neat, but it is also an ingredient in some cocktails, with the most well known probably being margarita. The traditional way of drinking tequila is neat, but a popular way in other countries is to serve a shot of tequila with salt and a slice of lime. The back of the hand is moistened, usually by licking it, and salt is then poured on. The salt is licked off, the shot is drunk and then the slice of lime is bitten.