Mexico for Dia de los Muertos here we come!

Day 1 – Travel and exploring Tlaquepaque

We had to be at the airport by 6:15 am, so we decided to splurge on a night at the Grand Hyatt DFW the night before with our friends, Billy and Mo. I love this hotel and the convenience of staying at the airport!

Of course, as in all of our trips, we began the morning at the Admiral’s Club with mimosas.

Once we arrived in Guadalajara, we were transported to Tlaquepaque where we checked into our home for the next two nights at Casa Morales. This boutique hotel only has seven rooms, which was perfect for our group which required five of the seven. The hotel felt like we were staying in someone’s home and our hosts only added to that welcome. As everything in town, the hotel was decked out for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Once we dropped off our luggage, it was time to explore Tlaquepaque! The decorations were phenomenal. Ofrendas (memorial altars) for those passed on occupied the middle of the pedestrian streets. Marigolds were everywhere to be seen. Many of the pedestrians were decked out for the holiday with coronas (floral crowns) and painted faces.

We made a quick stop at a bottle shop to buy our first bottles of tequila. Cascahuin Tahona was about 2/3 the price we find in the states, so Robert purchased one 750 ml and another 375 ml to share on the bus, as is the custom on these trips.

After strolling the streets for a while, it was time to enjoy our first drink. Robert, of course, ordered tequila, but I chose a tequila cocktail, called the Xicalco, that consisted of pineapple juice, mezcal, pineapple syrup with jalapeño, and “salted beer air”, which we learned was a foam made from beer and salt. It was beautiful and tasty!

After enjoying our drinks it was time for our dinner reservations at Casa Luna. Blaine, our fearless leader, ordered for the table. I was so engrossed in tasting all the delicious food, I forgot to take photos! I did remember to get pictures of our desserts and our dessert drink, a Carajillo. A Carajillo has only two ingredients, espresso and Licor 43 in equal amounts. Our server took the two small bottles and poured them in a shaker over ice until rich and foamy and poured them into our glass. It was a perfect complement to the sweet corn bread and flan we had for dessert.

To finish the evening, we headed to El Gallo Altanero, a bar in Guadalajara to absorb some of the local atmosphere and have some more good tequila.

Day 2 – Dia de los Muertos

Today we head for our first tequila tasting! Our original venue for the tequila tasting cancelled on us so, a quick call to Pancho and, Blaine had another tasting set up at Axno with Espiritu. At Axno, Espiritu explained that he had many tequilas with which we were acquainted, but today we would be tasting other agave distillates that are produced in much smaller batches. We were introduced to raicillas, sotols, and palmillas as well as a couple mezcals. These are all made from agave but are not considered tequila.

Distillates that are marked as ancestral must be cooked in pit ovens, crushed by hand, fermented in clay pots or tree trunks, and must be distilled in clay pot stills over fire. Artesanal distillates must be cooked in pit ovens or masonry ovens, fermented in wooden vats, and distilled in stills heated by direct fire.

As we sampled the various distillates, we discussed the aromas and tastes of each. Espiritu explained that alcoholic spirits should not burn when going down. It should warm you. This brought about the first quote from the trip, “If the spirit doesn’t burn your chest it is because the spirit is hugging your heart.”

We tried a variety of distillates ending with a sotol that had hints of chocolate covered cherries and a palmilla that smelled like freshly mown grass and tasted like wet earth after a cleansing rain. The last one affected me profoundly and I may have become a little misty eyed, which brought out the second quote from this trip, “If it makes you cry, you buy!” The only problem was that this was one of the rare offerings that was not available. C’est la vie!

Finally, Espiritu seeing that we were serious agave fans, brought out a couple of unmarked jugs and let us taste a couple of raicillas that came from his personal stash.

As we waited for our bus we were introduced to one more new concept and the third quote for the trip, “I’m not drunk, just spiritualized!” 🤣

I realized this afternoon that one of the wonderful things about these experiences is that they remind us to live in the moment. The chances are very slim that I will ever get a chance to taste these particular spirits again. It reminded me to stay in this moment and enjoy the experience right here and right now.

It was now time to return to our hotel and get ready for the evening festivities. The facepainting was quite involved and took almost 45 minutes per person. All of the ladies participated, but due to lack of time, the guys had very simple versions that took only about five minutes.

Dressed appropriately and ready for the night, we boarded our bus for dinner. The highlight of this evening was dinner at Xokol, on of the 50 best restaurants in the world. The two centerpieces of the restaurant are the open kitchen and one, very long communal table. Once again, Blaine took the lead and ordered for the group. I am going to be hard pressed to remember every dish we had but I will do my best.

First, we all ordered drinks. Robert ordered a paloma and I ordered something called, a Pulque-Tiki. I don’t remember everything in the drink but it had pineapple juice, lime juice, and pulque (an ancient alcohol made from the fermented sap of the agave plant.) It was served in a clay cup topped with a crisp that crumbled in my hand and a quenelle (football shape) of mango sorbet. It was so good I ordered another one with dessert.

The first course consisted of the most delicious grilled oysters I have ever tasted served over hot rocks, Xokol’s signature corn tortilla, a meatball in a delicious sauce, and crispy empanadas.

The second course had a tortilla stuffed with pork, a salad of thinly sliced beets and radishes with creamy and tart goat cheese, and a fresh tamale in a spicy broth.

The main course consisted of bean and cheese tostadas, short ribs in an amazing mole sauce, and freshly grilled fish in an herbal broth with peas and lima beans. I’m not normally one to fawn over fish, but this fish was amazing even if there were peas and lima beans in the sauce!

This was among the top five meals I have ever had in my life. If the meal wasn’t awesome enough, Robert was talking with the server and mentioned that he had spent time working in a kitchen. She offered to give him a tour of the kitchen. Did he ask if I could tag along? No! When he got up to to to the kitchen, I glared at him over the counter until the server asked if I would like to join to which I answered with a resounding, “Yes!” It was a very small kitchen, but we were introduced to every chef in the kitchen and were shown how they “stamp” the design on their corn tortillas. Hint: they brush an edible purple tincture on an iron stamp then they set the tortilla on top. From there they place the tortilla on the comal to cook. We were also shown the molcajete where they crush the ingredients for the salsa and, finally, we met the bartender, who I commended for his creative cocktails and we returned to our seat for dessert.

The final course, dessert, consisted of three very different offerings, one of which was sorbet made with nitrogen (just like you see on TV!)

My descriptions are far from adequate, so check out the pictures to get a much better idea of just how phenomenal it really was.

The last stop was for drinks at Farmacia Rita Perez, a local spot in Guadalajara. After a tequila espresso martini for me and a tequila for Robert, Robert and I and our friends, Billy and Mo, decided that we were done for the evening and called for an Uber to take us back to our hotel. For the second time in my life, I was convinced I was about to be on an episode of Dateline. Everything started out fine until I looked at the GPS the driver was following and saw that it was showing only a ten minute drive. I was pretty sure we were at least thirty minutes from our hotel….Next thing we knew, he was pulling into an industrial area with a number of warehouses where trucks were being loaded. He stopped in the middle of the warehouses and announced that we had reached our destination, though, he did not recommend we get out because it wasn’t a safe area. After checking the addresses, we realized that Casa Morales in Guadalajara is not the same as Casa Morales in Tlaquepaque.

Fortunately, Mo speaks fluent Spanish and explained to the driver that we were not getting out and he needed to take us to our hotel. He said he would not drive to Tlaquepaque, but would take us somewhere safe so we could get another Uber. Mo told him we would pay cash so he could cancel his next ride and we wanted to be returned to the Farmacia. He agreed. We texted our group and told them we were on our way back and not to leave without us. We were delivered safely back to the Farmacia and ordered another round while the adrenaline wore off. Our bus showed a half hour later and we enjoyed a safe ride back to Casa Morales in Tlaquepaque.

Day 3 – Farewell to Tlaquepaque and on to Tequila

Another trip to the main street of Tlaquepaque for a final look (and to find the ATM again) and it was time to checkout. We stopped at the Brick Lane Food Truck for breakfast and some of the best chilaquiles in the world. Robert ordered Enchiladas Suizas on the advice of the server and mimosas for the table. We finished the meal with fresh apple pie a la mode.

After breakfast, we headed towards Tequila. We made a quick stop at Cascahuin to buy a couple bottles. After that quick stop, we stopped at Cantaritos El Guero #1 to experience the largest cocktail I have ever seen. A Cantarito consists of freshly squeezed lime juice, salt, orange and pineapple juice, tequila reposado, Squirt grapefruit soda, and ice. Blaine ordered a “two bottle” cocktail for our group. It took two of our men to carry it to the table! When all was said and done, we were only able to drink half of it, though we tried our best. 🤷‍♀️

The other crazy part of the experience at Cantaritos El Guero #1 is the battle of the mariachis. I counted at least five different mariachi bands playing for the crowd, sometimes at the same time, playing different songs in different keys. It was joyous cacophony! 😳

After doing our best to drink our Cantarito, we reboarded our bus and headed to Casa Salles, our home for the next two days in Tequila. Once we found our rooms, it was time for another drink. This time it was the famous Batanga at La Capilla. We walked down to the bar and ordered the required Batanga. A Batanga is named after the knife you use to stir it. It consists of El Tequileño Blanco tequila, lime juice, and Mexican Coca-Cola and is served in a glass with a salted rim. The first time that I heard of this drink I thought, “Oh, it’s just a Cuba Libre (rum and coke) with tequila.” I thought it would be very sweet, but if it is mixed properly it is only slightly sweet with a delicious citrus flavor. This is the perfect drink for sitting on the patio on a hot summer day. The salted rim sounds terrible, but instead is the perfect accompaniment to the sweetness and tartness of the beverage. I can describe this until I run out of words, you just have to try it!

Batanga recipe: Salt the rim of a glass, fill glass with ice, squeeze a fresh lime into the glass, add 2 oz El Tequileño blanco tequila, fill glass with Mexican Coke (regular coke will not work), stir with a large knife. Enjoy!

After dinner Robert and most of the rest of the group went into town to visit two local establishments, Ixtete and El Beso. Billy, Mo, and I opted to stay and have a drink by the pool at the resort.

By now you are probably thinking that we spent the entire time intoxicated. However, that was not the case. In Mexico, tequila is bottled at only 38% ABV so it is generally not as potent as what we get in the US. Also, the spirits we were tasting were all additive free so, between the low ABV and lack of additives, we were able to consume more than we normally would and still wake up hangover free.

Day 4 – Cazcanes and Jungle Juice

Today we visited our first distillery. Jesse was our guide for the day. The first thing he did was introduce us to the master distiller, Don Chico. Don Chico is the mastermind behind Cazcanes tequila and very particular with the tequilas they produce.

Cazcanes welcomed us with a large Mexican breakfast of chilaquiles and roast pork as well as Mexican pastries. This was a good start to the day since we would be tasting a lot of tequila. Our breakfast table overlooked the barrel room where the tequila was being aged.

After breakfast we were escorted around the distillery and introduced to the processes used by Cazcanes which are quite scientific and modern. It was interesting to see how Don Chico took the old recipe and was able to adapt to new technologies. After the distillery tour, it was time to taste the product. I now have a couple of new favorites. The Cazcanes Blanco No. 9 and No. 10 both have notes of spices. No. 10 revived memories of drinking Glühwein (hot, mulled wine) at the Christmas Markets in Germany. The reposado No. 7 was one of the best reposados I have tasted.

From the main Cazcanes facility, we headed into the jungle to meet Humberto, the original inspiration for Cazcanes. Humberto handcrafts a limited special edition for Cazcanes called Nuestro Raices. We drove down some very rough roads on the side of a mountain until we could go no further in the van. Then we disembarked to trek through the jungle to Humberto’s distillery. Humberto met us to give us a tour of his unique way of handcrafting his spirit. His oven is an old water tank turned on its side. Everything here is wood fired. From the oven, the agave is chopped by hand and loaded in the back of a pickup to go to the “shredder.” Humberto’s shredder is an old wood chipper driven by a diesel bus engine. The agave is loaded in the wood chipper and thrown against the wall into piles of shredded agave. From there it is loaded by pitchfork into a water trough where it is rinsed to glean all of the pure agave juice available. The juice is then fermented and loaded into the wood fired stills where the magic happens and the agave spirit is born.

We were treated to a taste of the “jungle juice” as it came off the still. (Robert was even allowed to put a little bit in his water bottle for later. 😉) Then we bade a fond farewell to our new friend, Humberto, and headed back down the mountain to our bus. Trekking through the mountain jungle is not without its dangers and, within sight of our bus, I slipped on some rocks and twisted my ankle. However, once we arrived back at Casa Salles, I found a lovely chaise by the pool and enjoyed a paloma or two for anesthesia. Fortunately tonight, dinner was at the hotel. While some of our group went into town to visit Ixtete and El Beso, I opted to stay at the hotel and nurse my ankle, saving it for tomorrow’s adventures.

If you find a bottle of Cazcanes Nuestros Raices, I recommend you give it a try!

Day 5 – Caballito Cerrero, Guadalajara, and Lucha Libre

Today we visited a very different kind of distillery. After checking out of Casa Salles, we once again we drove down some very rough dirt roads along the mountainside to reach Caballito Cerrero. Thankfully, there was little walking to get to the main facility and with Robert’s arm to lean on, I was able to make it through the tour.

The owners of Caballito Cerrero originally produced tequila. However, since there are very specific regulations on what you can and cannot do to call your product tequila, they have chosen to forgo the label and produce an agave distillate. Most distillers spend a lot of time tasting the product at various stages of the process and adjusting the recipe as they go, at Caballito Cerrero they stick to their recipe come rain or shine. Each batch has its own personality, but as far as we could tell, each batch is delicious.

Caballito Cerrero has been making an agave spirit for centuries, at least as far back as the 1600’s (more on that later.) It is still family run by the Jimenez family. One of the things they have done well here is to use gravity to help with the process. The agave plants are on the side of the mountain and the pinas can be rolled down the hill to the trucks. The ovens are loaded from the top so the pinas can be rolled from the trucks into the ovens. The ovens are unloaded from below where they can be rolled to the shredder. Once the agave is shredded it can be rinsed and put in the fermentation tank and then the stills.

The barrel room at Caballito Cerrero consists of only sixteen wooden barrels. Unlike other distilleries, Caballito reuses their barrels over and over and they do not refresh them with new chars; what you see is what you get. They stick to the recipe and do not deviate. So far, it has served them well. We were treated to tastes right from the barrels. My favorite was the reposado that was aged in French oak. It had hints of wine in its aroma and taste. I liked it enough to purchase two bottles!

From the distillery, we drove up the mountain to the archaeological site. It is the oldest known distillery in Mexico dating to the 1600’s. Here again you could see the use of gravity in the production process. Pinas were rolled down the hill directly into the pit oven. From the oven they were rolled to the tahona for crushing and then into a trough to be fermented and distilled in underground tanks.

With a few more bottles and a few less pesos, we headed into Guadalajara for our last night in Mexico. For lunch we stopped at a restaurant around 2:30 pm to find that we could only order breakfast until 3:00 pm. So, enmoladas (basically enchiladas but with mole sauce) and a chai latte it was. From there we made our way to our hotel, a Doubletree in Guadalajara. We had a few hours to walk around and enjoy the sights which still sported decorations for Dia de los Muertos before leaving for our special treat this evening.

This evening was an experience I’m not sure I could have ever anticipated. We had tickets to see Lucha Libre. Lucha Libre is Mexican professional wrestling in which most of the participants wear masks. Unmasking a luchador is a major event. Robert is a big fan of wrestling so, he was very excited. Along the way, we stopped for some street tacos and a beer for dinner.

On the way to the arena, we saw a hotel with an ofrenda to luchadors (the wrestlers). The closer we got to the arena, the more crowded it became until we were holding on to each other to make sure we stayed together. We had some extra tickets so Espiritu joined us for the event. It was quite the spectacle. We had seats just a few rows back from the ring so some of the action was quite close to us. People on the front row were prone to losing their drinks and snacks as the luchadors exited the ring to wrestle other luchadors. There is no doubt these men (and women) are amazing athletes as well as accomplished actors and choreographers.

There are two levels in the arena that are separated by a chain link fence. Frequently, the patrons in the two areas shout insults at each other such as, “You are sissies” (a nicer version of the actual insult) or “You have no father.” It was quite lively, but fortunately relatively good natured. After watching five matches, the fun was over and we found our way back to the hotel.

At the hotel, Espiritu produced a bottle of the la palmilla that I had loved from his bag. What a wonderful surprise and the perfect souvenir!

Day 6 – Time to go home

As all things must come to an end, it was time to return home. As we begin our trip, we ended our trip in the airport lounge with quesadillas, a breakfast sandwich, and, of course, mimosas. Adios, until next time!

If you are interested in knowing more about this tour, feel free to reach out to me at hatsontravel@gmail.com for information on upcoming tours.