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Tequila
tasting at the Page Museum
Thursday, June 22, 2000
By
Alexander Perez
TequilaAficionado.com Editor-In-Chief
With dinosaur bones and fossils as a
backdrop, John
Braggs an avid tequila aficionado and restaurateur, gave an
eloquent textbook presentation on the history of tequila to
the 200 in attendance at the Page Museum. What we heard was a
shortened version of his usual 2-hour seminar which you can
hear at Pancho's, his restaurant in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico,
and sample one of his 427 tequilas on hand.
John took the audience through the early beginnings of tequila
-- pulque, a native low alcohol drink that goes back to the
Mayans and Aztecs and the introduction of Mezcal wine by the
Spaniards using the distillation process -- to the present and
what we know today as tequila. All these derived from the same
magical plant, the Agave.
He continued with a slide presentation demonstrating
everything from agaves to the distillation process
courtesy of Tequila Herradura. John emphasized the difference
between the types of tequilas and the methods by which they
acquire their tastes during distillation. He encouraged all
tequila lovers to buy "Tequila futures" since, in
fact, there is an ongoing shortage as well as a disease
attacking the Weber blue agave, the only agave (of the over
400 species found in Mexico) that can be legally used for
the production of tequila.
 Following
John's informative lecture, we were treated to a short but
sprited lecture by Brent Karner (the Museums Entomologist and
Coordinator of the Insect Zoo) who gave us the facts on the
"worm in the bottle". Brent enlightened the audience
with the fact that the "gusano rojo" (red worm) is
the worm actually placed in mezcal bottles, never tequila.
He amused us with his first magical experience with "the
worm" when he was in college and how this might have
sparked his interest and career in insects. Later at the
tasting, he shared his "gusano rojos" with those
bold enough to try them and Brent ate a few for the crowd.
Interestingly, he mentioned how we, along with the Canadians,
are the only people with aversions to insects. Almost 80% of
the world eats insects as part of their regular diet. I asked
him if he likes to taste what he studies, he smiled and gave
me an emphatic "Yes."
After both presentations we were invited to the Museum's
Atrium where we were greeted by the live South American
sounds of Sikus, as well as hors d'oeuvres and tequila donated
by Tequila Herradura. The representatives from Sadrac, the
importers of Herradura, were on hand serving their classics:
Herradura Silver, Reposado and Añejo. As always, the tequila
was great! By the reactions on some of the faces, I think some
had never imagined 100% agave tequila could taste this good.
Thank you Linda Simeone for bringing this program together and
the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits for having us.
Related links:
www.panchos.com
www.herradura.com
www.nhm.org
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