Both tours begin with the unloading of the agave hearts which have been stripped of their leaves. They are first roasted in huge ovens for 2-3 days, until they turn a caramel color and taste like a very sweet yam but with a firmer texture. Next, this mass is crushed and the juice allowed to ferment in huge vats. The tour follows all of the distillation process and ends in the bottling room where the familiar labels are added and they are boxed up for export. This small region leads the nation in tequila production, more than 15 million gallons yearly.
Exports go mainly to the United States, England and Germany.
It is in the tasting room where you can really appreciate the differences between the liquors. Anejo or reposado is the aged liquor and is gold in color. Tequila joven is young and clear. The proper way to drink it is to lick some grains of salt from the top of your fist, suck on a a lime, take a drink of tequila, then follow that with a drink of sangrita, which is a mixture of the juices of oranges and hot peppers. The historic Sauza family home is on the distillery grounds and is available to tour.