With National Tequila Day on July 24, it might be time to add to your knowledge and your personal bar. Tequila is a blue agave-based spirit solely distilled in the Mexican state of Tequila, and has seen a popularity boom in the last several years. In fact, there are more than 100 distilleries producing the spirit, including brands like El Jimador, Casa Noble, Patron, Casa Dragones, Espalon and Don Julio, to name a very few, and it’s estimated that 300 million blue agave plants are harvested each year. Whether you sip it or mix it, it’s a little like history in a glass.

Sip it

Tequilera Bertha González Nieves, the co-founder and CEO of Casa Dragones, is an excellent teacher on the merits of the spirit and advocates enjoying your tequila by sipping. The com-pany’s newest product, Casa Dragones Barrel Blend (Find it at Más Por Favor Taqueria y Te-quila, Zuma at The Cosmopolitan, Elio at Encore and at Total Wine & More, if you want to take it home), features an añejo tequila aged in French and American oak barrels, which are toasted to help impart flavor to the tequila. That, and the desert locale the agave is raised in, brings a number of flavors and sensations to the drink. She recently held a tasting and shared her method for sipping tequila.

In a Glencairn whiskey glass (or a lowball glass, or something with a tulip shape to catch the fragrance), pour about an ounce or two of tequila. Nieves suggests you look for color, body, aroma, taste and finish. First, bring the back of your hand near your nose, to bring yourself to a neutral place. Then gently inhale the tequila, and identify fragrances (like pear and floral notes, which are traditional with tequila, she says). Then sip it and see what you can identify. You might experience a sweetness, mineralogy, fruity notes and other flavors. As the sip ends, see what comes out. With the Casa Dragones Barrel Blend, it might be a pepperiness. Then start again.

Scorpion Stinger

Scorpion Stinger

Mix It

To try fabulous cocktails that star tequila, check out these options.

At Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House at MGM Grand, try one of these spicy concoctions. The Cucumber Fresca features 21 Seeds cucumber jalapeño tequila, Chacho jalapeño aguardiente, Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur and lemon and lime juice. The Scorpion Stinger is made with Sanito Mezquila (an unusual blend of tequila and mezcal), Chaco jalapeño aguardiente, honey syrup and ruby red grapefruit juice.

Downtown, Carson Kitchen mashes up a margarita and a Paloma with the Get Shorty (photo at top by Chris Wessling). Carson Kitchen general manager Matt Harwell explains: “It’s not a Paloma, there’s no soda bubbles. It’s not a margarita, there’s no orange liqueur. All portions are different, and it’s in the middle somewhere.” It also goes down easy, pairing with a number of dishes at the restaurant.

Here is Carson Kitchen’s recipe:

Get Shorty

1.5 ounce El Jimador tequila

.75 ounce grapefruit juice

.5 ounce lime juice

.5 ounce cayenne/paprika simple syrup

Rim with sea salt, chile powder and lime zest

 

Serve on the rocks and garnish with a lime wheel