Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/10329
COVER STORY Bringing Home the Silver with Jose Cuervo JOSE CUERVO TRADICIONAL SILVER he van bounces along a dirt path off a small road in the countryside of Jalisco, and our little group is gaily recount- ing the previous night’s adventures in Guadalajara, fueled by tequila cocktails and some crazy blue Mexican energy drink. Rows of giant aloe-looking plants stretch out to meet the horizon on the other side of each window. I’ve written about and worked on tequila- and mez- cal-based concoctions for years, yet this is the first time I’ve seen actual Mexican blue agave face to face. I’m more than a little thrilled. We stop in a clearing between rolling hills dotted with the succulent plants, which are more closely related to the lily than to the cactus. Like school kids on a field trip, we pile out and take turns flinging our arms around sombrero-wearing jimadores (agave harvesters) and mug for our respective cameras. A burro, tethered by a rope to a wooden pole kicks up the dust, silently musing at yet another vanload of gringos keen to learn about his land’s native spirit. We’ve come to partake in the spectacular celebrations surrounding the release of this year’s Reserva de la Familia, Jose Cuervo’s high- end, small-batch tequila, and also to be among the first Americanos to enjoy Jose Cuervo Tradicional Silver, which is about to launch in the United States. But first we are getting a lesson on how tequila is made. t Tradicional Silver, the latest expression of silver tequila from Jose Cuervo, in a Margarita from Hacienda de Vega in San Diego. 76 / the tasting panel / may 2010 BRIGHTENS AN ALREADY STELLAR PORTFOLIO by Natalie Bovis