¡Paraiso de Tequila!
When we disembarked our flight in Los Cabos on Feb 13, we had a lot of plans for the upcoming week. Most of them involved putting on a fun birthday for little Drew, who would be turning three during our stay. A piñata had to be purchased and cake had to be baked. But I'm a tequila lover, and naturally my desire for tequila exploration (and consumption) bubbled just below the surface. Would I find a good selection? Would the prices be good? Would I fall in to a tourist trap? Answers were soon to come. We hailed a van and set out on our way to the resort.
CABO REÁL
Where Blue Agave Breezes Whisper Through the Swaying Palms...
Immediately upon our arrival at Melia Cabo Reál, my wife and I were presented with margaritas. Mmmm, tasty and refreshing. OK, I thought, we're on the right track. We paid an up-front all-inclusive fee, which included all food and booze, so I was determined to get our money's worth. I soon discovered that the the resort had a fairly limited selection of tequila, but it was everywhere you went. There are multiple bars and restaurants there, and they all offer a few choices. I soon found what would become my "house" tequilas for the week. For 'ritas it would be Jímador Blanco or Reposado, for icy shots by the pool it would be 100 Años Repo, and for a straight-up drink with dinner it would be Herradura Repo. Melia also had Don Julio, but I am not a fan of DJ.
I actually developed a taste for the Cién Años. It's by no means the best tequila I've ever had, but it was a smooth and drinkable 100% repo that beats Patrón by a mile. On ice it was nice. While I was enjoying these agave tequilas, I was noticing the many other Americans (it was about 75% Yanks and 25% Mexicans and other nationalities like Germans, Italians and Asians) ordering 'ritas with no preference. The bars were pouring not even Cuervo Gold in those...it was, I dunno, some well-liquor like El Toro or something. Ugh! Hangover in a bottle.
After a couple days I started drinking palomas instead of margaritas. In Mexico they have a kind of Fresca that I've never seen here. (I'd like to find it here -- any suggestions?). The MexiFresca comes in yellow cans and it is NOT diet. It actually tastes like a sweet grapefruit soda, instead of whatever indistinguishable flavor one finds in American Fresca. That, with Jimador Blanco, a squeeze of lime and salt on the rim and ... mmmm... Paloma en la playa paraisa!
(Speaking of "paradise", I learned a some Spanish I didn't know: The word for "paradise" is NOT "paradiso", it is "paraiso" with no "d". Just a little aside for ya).
IN TOWN
On day-three we took the free shuttle in to Cabo San Lucas, about 10-miles south of the resort. The bus dropped us at the Peurto Paraiso mall. As we walked in the main entrance, I was be-dazzled by the amount of tequila for sale, well, everywhere. Even shops that were not liquor stores had it. There was a souvenir shop with tequila. A drugstore; tequila. Deli; tequila. T-shirt shop; tequila. And there were at least three full-blown liquor stores, one called Hacienda de Tequila. Oh boy! Jackpot!
Cabo's Famous Arco, Where Pacific and Sea of Cortez Meet
Next of course I had to check selection and prices. The first bottle I looked at was a 750 of Corralejo repo, one of my everyday tequilas around here. At my local store I pay $39.99 plus tax -- about $43 bucks. In Cabo? $11 US dollars, no tax! Eee-Leven bucks! Wowza! And this was an American tourist mall, meaning better deals could be found off the beaten track. But since we weren't going off the beaten track (with wife and 3-year-old in-tow)these prices would have to do.
On that first trip, I scored a 750 of Siete Leguas repo for $23 and one of El Tesoro blanco for about the same. The Mexicans hold the ET in high esteem, I gathered. I also grabbed an $11 bottle of Corralejo. Did I mention it was only $11 bucks? Should have bought ten of those. I saw dozens of different labels -- Aha Toro, Centennario, Herradura, Partida, Los Abuelos, 100 Años, Cabo Wabo and more more more. Then I spied one of my all-time favorites, Chinaco! It became unavailable around here in about 2007. Bought a 750 of the repo. Such a beautiful gold color I have rarely seen. One thing I liked about these stores is that that all offer free tastes of tequila. I tasted the Los Abuelos repo, which was wonderful and I had them set me aside a bottle. At $40 that was pricey, and the bottle is a little big and heavy for travelling. Eventually I opted not to buy it. (Funny how things are relative; if I had seen the Abuelos here for $40 I'd buy it and look over my shoulder like a thief who had just stolen something!)
On our second trip in to town a couple days later, I only bought one more bottle. I love Espolón, especially the blanco, and I was hoping to find some. This proved to be harder than I expected. The first two places I tried didn't have it. Then I left the Americanized confines of the mall to a place across the street whose sign proclaimed the "Lowest Tequila Prices" would be found there. I perused the shelves and was about to give up when, on a bottom shelf in the back, I found TWO bottles of El Espolón blanco. One was the typical tall 750ml, and the other was, wow, this short, round 750 bottle. I had never ever seen even a picture of Espo in that bottle. According to the labels, the contents were identical, and so was the price, $300 pesos. That's about $25 USD. I pay over $40 for that here, and the only place that has it is running out. I bought it, choosing the little squat bottle just for the novelty of it. Thought it might be a little easier to pack also.
Interestingly, one tequila I hardly saw at all in Cabo was Patrón. A couple stores had it, a few didn't. None of the bars I went to offered it. One guy told me it was more expensive in Mexico than in the US. This reinforces what I already knew: Patrón is an American product.
So to total my score: I returned with one Corralejo repo, one Siete Leguas repo, one Chinaco repo, one EL Tesoro blanco and one Espolón blanco. It's a total of 3.75 liters, well under the duty-free limit for three travellers.
Then, upon my return, I found on our doorstep a just-delivered sample bottle of T1 Tequila Uno Blanco Ultra Fino. It's incredible. We're going to have a lot of fun tasting and comparing these nice tequilas. More on that later....!
As they like to say in Cabo, "¡No te preocupes!" which of course means, NO WORRIES!
Chinaco Repo Review on Tequila.net
El Tesoro Blanco Review on Tequila.net
Espolón Blanco Review on Tequila.net
7 Leguas Repo Review on Tequila.net
