Tequila

After Hours Booze is a late-night alcohol delivery service that delivers top-shelf liquor to the comfort of your own home or party, we’re open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so the fun never stops!!

More goods may be found at afterhoursalcoholdeliverytoronto.ca.

Get alcohol delivery today!

Everything You Need to Know About Tequila’s History


Despite its associated with rabble-rousers like salt and lime, or one-hit wonders like the Tequila Sunrise from the 1970s, this agave spirit has stood the test of (a lot of) time. It is as highly regarded among professional bartenders as bourbon and scotch. George Clooney even invested his hard-earned cash in launching a brand of the thing.

Like those who make bourbon, Tequila distillers, sometimes called America’s Native Spirit, must follow a set of strict criteria. These include making sure each bottle is created in the right place with the right ingredients and that reposado and also varieties are matured for the appropriate period. However, as the saying goes, Rome (or, in this instance, Tequila, Jalisco) was not built in a day—or even millennia.

The Aztecs Ferment Agave from 1000 B.C. to 200 A.D.


It wasn’t always the partygoer’s preferred shot. It was never intended to be the cocktail we know today. Instead, the Aztecs loved pulque, a fermented drink made from the sap of the agave plant (this technique was also likely used by the Olmecs, an even older civilization dating back to 1000 B.C. that was based in the lowlands of Mexico). The milky liquid was so significant to Aztec society that two gods were worshipped who were linked to alcohol. Mayahuel, the maguey goddess, was the first, and her spouse Patecatl, the pulque deity, was the second. Though the earliest mention of pulque occurred about 200 A.D. on stone walls, the drink only became popular centuries later when the Aztecs were surprised by a visit by the Spanish.

The Spanish Distill Agave in the 1400s and 1500s


While there are many ideas about how agave distilling began, one popular story includes the Spanish conquest and crude mud stills. The thirsty Spaniards couldn’t go too long without their brandy, so when supplies ran out, they made do with mud and agave, resulting in what we now know as mezcal. (Keep in mind that while all mezcals are tequilas, not all tequilas are mezcals.) The Spanish government established a trade route between Manila and Mexico in the mid-1500s, and the Marquis of Altamira erected the first large-scale distillery in the early 1600s.

From the 1700s through the 1800s, modern tequila is created.


The Cuervo family began professionally distilling the drink in 1758, followed by the Sauza family in 1873 (we’re sure a few more tiny manufacturers in between). Don Cenobio Sauza, according to Slate, was the one who identified blue agave as the best for making it.

The Margarita was created in 1936.


During Prohibition, tequila found a home among American scofflaws, much as rye whisky from Canada did. Drinkers in the United States began taking advantage of Mexico’s luscious agave nectar—not to mention the more than one hundred establishments in Tijuana that were copious with drink and simple to access—because they couldn’t get their hands on anything beyond second-rate whiskey and bathtub gin.

Tequila became Mexico’s intellectual property in 1974.


In 1974, the Mexican government claimed “tequila” to be their intellectual property in an attempt to claim ownership of the phrase. This necessitated the production and aging of tequila in certain parts of Mexico and made it illegal for other nations to create or sell their own “tequila.” The Tequila Regulatory Council was also established to ensure quality and promote the spirit’s culture.

By 1936, it was legal to drink in the United States again, and traveling to Mexico for a good time was no longer necessary. However, a newspaperman named James Graham and his wife traveled to Tijuana. He ended themselves at one of the remaining bars, managed by an Irishman named Madden, who was well-known in the region for his Tequila Daisy. Though Madden conceded that the drink’s inception was a fortuitous accident, it has since become one of the most well-known in the United States (Margarita in Spanish means daisy). When was the last time you didn’t have one at Cinco de Mayo? (Assuming, of course, that you observe that peculiarly American Mexican festival.)

Agave’s Love Affair with Bartending in 2015


Bartenders worldwide are taming the basic agave nectar into more than simple Margaritas and Tequila Sunrises, from the lowly pulque to today’s craft tequilas. Phil Ward created Mayahuel in 2009 to celebrate the present condition of outstanding tequila and mezcal in the United States (the name was inspired by the Aztec god, who birthed 400 drunken rabbit babies). The bar was instrumental in popularizing tequila-based traditional drinks like the Oaxaca Old Fashioned. Since then, several notable bars have opened around the country, notably 400 Rabbits in Austin, Texas. In addition, Ivy Mix, the Best American Bartender at this year’s Tales of the Cocktail, has launched Leyenda, a Mexican-inspired watering hole selling tequila drinks that would make the Olmecs raise a glass in awe.