Explore agave spirits through interactive, educational experiences across Mexico

Lisa Futterman | For the Chicago Tribune

In resort towns across Mexico, the hospitality industry is celebrating all things agave, the sacred native succulent that provides the nectar for tequila, mezcal and other spirits.

Agave spirits were the second-fastest-growing category by revenue and volume in the U.S. in 2022, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

Now that visitors to Mexico are more interested in agave spirits, hospitality pros are expanding programs that educate guests about the tradition and craft of distilling them. Many hotels and restaurants offer experiences designed to teach while tasting.

At Vista Encantada Resort (part of the Hacienda Encantada Resort) in Cabo San Lucas, nightly guided tequila tastings and cocktail classes are available at the outdoor Museo del Tequila. Steered by tequila sommelier Consuela Cervantes, we tasted four types of tequila and enjoyed locally sourced accents such as roasted pineapple and hibiscus salt to enhance the pairings. The resort offers this friendly, entry-level program 10 times each week for $30 per person.

Also in Cabo, at the luxe Las Ventanas al Paraiso, resort guests determine their “tequila sign,” their personal flavor preference (I’m herbal), after a one-on-one blind tasting with the experts at the breezy palapa bar. By reservation only, the $170 per person experience includes accompanying guacamole and sikil pak, a Yucatecan pumpkin seed dip. Sparklingly fresh sushi and ceviche are also available to pair.

Our guide Farid Fajer taught us to let the liquid sit in the glass to allow the first whiff of ethanol to blow off and the aromas to open before sipping. The translucent black glasses made for a truly blind tasting experience, because, Fajer said, “not knowing what the spirit is … shows you the soul of the spirit.” We learned unaged, blanco tequilas offer the purest flavor of cooked agave, and which key terms to look for on a label when shopping for a bottle to take home, (100% agave and Hecho en Mexico, or made in Mexico, are good indicators of quality spirits), but Fajer warns to watch out for any additives.

Some people also like to see the NOM, the distiller registration number. This number indicates who made the tequila, as opposed to just the brand name.

At Acre Resort Los Cabos, tastings focus on the four types of La Tierra de Acre Mezcal, made by the resort’s partner producers. Hotel guests can enjoy a complimentary pre-dinner lesson; others can join in for $35.

“The No. 1 thing our guests are most surprised about with their tasting experience is in the mezcal-making process itself,” said Acre’s mezcal sommelier Justin Lizarraga. The families that make Acre’s mezcals are fourth-generation mezcaleros who mostly use the same traditional methods, such as roasting the agave underground and crushing it with a tahona.

“The making process is far more art than science, and we try to communicate that with our tastings. We hope our guests learn that mezcal is so much more than ‘smoky tequila,’” Lizarraga said.

La Tierra de Acre Mezcal CEO Jordan Haddad offers a view of the bigger picture. “The industry growth in mezcal has been enormous over the last 20 years. There is almost twice as much mezcal product now consumed outside of Mexico compared to within Mexico,” Haddad said. “We believe that through education programs such as ours that consumers will be able to take this increased agave spirit awareness home with them.”

The stunning Waldorf Astoria Pedregal houses a collection of over 100 native Mexican and agave spirits in their aptly named Agave Study bar. Dip your toe into their lesser-known native liquids (including Jalisciense raicilla, Sonoran bacanora, and Chihuahuan sotol, which is actually not agave-based) plus an impressive collection of rare and aged bottles. Pedregal’s experts share the wealth in several curated outdoor guided tasting programs starting at $95 per person, all complete with a view of the Pacific Ocean from Cabo’s southernmost tip, and migrating whales, in season.

A less formal tequila-tasting experience can be found in downtown Cabo at Pancho’s Restaurant. Make a reservation for a 45-minute tour through four styles of tequila at three different price points, then stick around for a rollicking night with tableside guacamole, steaks and local seafood.

Further north, an hour’s drive up the Baja Coast at Hyatt’s Rancho Pescadero, the hotel’s bar staff offers a Mezcal and Tequila Experience that includes paired traditional botanitas (snacks) and a margarita-making lesson using fresh local fruits and garnishes for $60 per person.

Mezcal enthusiasts can find deeper study in Oaxaca, the spiritual and physical home of Mexico’s mezcal production. Asis Cortes, whose father Don Valentin Cortes is a maestro mezcalero, runs a tasting room in Oaxaca City called La Pulquisima, a restaurant, Comeré Oaxaca, that features traditional local cuisine, and a small adventure company, Expediciones Oaxaca, which takes guests out to the palenques and agave fields to meet the people behind the agave spirits produced in the region.

“Mezcal is something living and therefore changing,” Cortes said. “We have to see it in its environment to really comprehend what mezcal is, it is not enough to describe its aromas and flavors, it is always necessary to go further. The future of mezcal depends on understanding the patience, dedication and love of Maestros Mezcaleros and of course, sharing all this with everyone who is visiting Oaxaca and is looking for real culture. … The way in which we can ensure the permanence of this culture for many more years is through education.”

Lisa Futterman is a freelance writer.