Distillers of fine tequilas increased prices by 39 percent, on average. And, according to the Regional Tequila Chamber in Guadalajara, Mexico, the price for agave, the spiny plant that is the raw material of tequila, shot up nearly 300 percent. Blame it on nature, impute the elements or pin it on proletarian movements against oppressive capitalism, but for the tequila industry as a whole, this may be the most important year in recent history. The problems began in the mid-1990s. During the last decade, Americans splurged on premium tequilas, buying just over 3 million bottles in 1995, more than 6.5 million in 1999.
People know a hell of a lot more now about tequila than they do about vodka or bourbon.
These are sipping tequilas aged in charred oak barrels for several months or several years. They offer 665 mind-numbing tequilas, a rather excessive selection. It would take weeks to sample each brand. Mezcal, on the other hand, uses spirits distilled from eight different varieties of agave grown in Oaxaca. By Mexican law, all tequilas must contain at least 51 percent blue agave.