Tequila!!!

Finally took the day trip to Tequila!  And as one would expect, it was super fun.  First we stopped at one of the agave fields (the plant that tequila is made from) which happened to be almost right at the base of this volcano--so the land was really fertile--but there were also obsidian rocks everywhere!  So naturally, I picked up a few specimens, and I'm pretty darn excited about it.  Anyway, at the field they showed us how they plant the agave, how they cut it back, and of course how they harvest it.  We got to taste the part they use to make the tequila, which is basically this white, really dense and tough, cabbage flavored substance.  Less than delicious, but still worth tasting.  Then they let us try this creme that the workers made from the leaves of the plant.  It was probably one of the best moisturizers I've ever put on my skin! Ugh, it was nice.  I wanted more.  So then from there they took us into the actual town of Tequila where we toured the Jose Cuervo distillery.  It was really interesting.  First they steam cook the "pineapples" (that's what they call the core of the agave plant after all the leaves have been cut off because it looks kind of like a pineapple).  At this point it's basically turned all the starches and stuff into sugars,  so what was once white is now this great caramel color.  They let us sample pieces of it.  I think I would almost compare it to the meat of a coconut.  But you didn't eat the actual substance, you just sucked out the sugar water, but it was tasty.  They also make this honey product from the sugar water.  It was interesting because it did taste a lot like normal honey, but for some reason it doesn't alter your glucose levels (I think maybe because it's a different form of sugar?  I really don't remember why) so it's totally safe for diabetics.  But that's a tangent-- continuing on with the tequila process now: next they pulverize the steam cooked "pineapples" to get out all the sugar water.  Then they let it ferment and then distill it twice and add distilled water.  That makes regular white/clear tequila.  To get rested tequila(the light amber color), it is stored in white oak barrels for up to four months.  To get aged tequila (darker amber), it is stored for between one and three years, and to get extra-aged (or the darkest amber color), it is stored for between 3 and 5 years.  The darker the color, the more expensive.  So now you know, lol.  It really was super fun though.  You can check out facebook for pictures too :)