A Field Guide To Tequila

Whether you’re already an aficionado who likes to slow-sip an artisanal extra-añejo or a margarita lover curious about your favorite drink and what makes it special, A Field Guide to Tequila takes you step by step into everything that makes tequila tequila, from how it came about, to how it’s made, to how to select, taste, and serve it. Beginning with the origin of every bottle of tequila—the unique blue agave (which is actually much closer, biologically, to a lily than a cactus)—it’s all here: The life cycle of the blue agave and the complex process of turning it into liquor. The five classes of tequila, including the unfortunate myth of blanco’s inferiority. How to read a tequila label. The seventeen tequila producers to know and brands you need to explore, from giants of the industry like Patrón and José Cuervo to traditionalists, artisans, and innovators, including Tapatío, Siete Leguas, Ocho, G4, and Cava de Oro. The real deal with so many celebrity tequila brands, a phenomenon t