Before you even think about licking your hand, sprinkling some salt and downing a shot of tequila, there is something you need to know: that’s not how you’re supposed to drink tequila. Downing tequila in that way was common when cheap tequila dominated the market, but things have changed ― our tequila options have improved to the point where we can slowly sip the better tequilas.
And if you knew where tequila came from, you might give this Mexican liquor a little more respect. There’s a whole lot of work that goes into making tequila ― back-breaking work, too. And it all starts with the most impressive of all succulents, the blue agave plant that famously grows in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. (It also grows in the states of Colima, Nayarit and Aguascalientes, but the majority of Mexico’s agave comes from Jalisco.)