Your tequila or mezcal shot starts in the field.

It isn't easy to appreciate good tequila and understand the process of making a bottle at 20 years old.

Although I live in Ensenada, a city in northern Mexico where tequila activities are null, I feel a solid connection to the land where this Mexican distillate was born because my paternal grandparents are from Tequila Jalisco, even though they did not work in the production of tequila.

While I may not be a tequila or spirits expert, I'd love to share my personal experiences taking photos of mezcal, tequila, and other beverages.

I first encountered tequila over 17 years ago during my college days. At that time, my only knowledge of the drink came from media and family gatherings. I observed people taking shots from small, elongated glasses called "caballitos" and then licking salt off a lemon slice.

I believed that lemon and salt could cure bad aftertastes of shots, similar to the ones I made as a child when my mother gave me Scott's Emulsion.

When I first tasted tequila, I wouldn't say I liked it. Perhaps it was the taste of cheap tequila or the high alcohol content I wasn't accustomed to drinking. These two factors caused me to reject this drink for many years until I learned about the fields where the process of making this drink originates.

The first time I visited the tequila fields was thanks to some photography for the Tequila Ocho brand in Arandas Jalisco, Mexico. Part of the photography job was to take pictures of the agave fields. When we arrive at the area, everything is dark; we wait for the sun to rise while I see how the sky lightens with shades of pink and purple. This makes me start to distinguish the agaves through silhouettes drawn along many hectares.

Seeing these landscapes for the first time, I started taking pictures from all angles, open shots, close-ups, and macros of the agave stalks and landscapes nearby. After a few minutes, there is enough sunlight, and the color of the agaves stands out in contrast to the red earth that is peculiar to Arandas Jalisco.

I learned that the Tequilana Weber agaves have a maturation process of 6 to 8 years after being planted, a fact that made me think about the importance of nature in this drink, but above all, the patience that contrasts how people take a shot in two seconds.

As the morning progressed, we moved from the fields to the jimadores, who were in charge of cutting the agave stalks to leave only the pineapple and load it onto the trucks.

Although it was 8:00 a.m., the heat was reflected by my sweat and desire to drink water; I was only carrying my backpack, which is a moderate job compared to what I was seeing the jimadores doing. They take the coa, which is their work tool. They stick it into the stalks and cut one by one or as many as the movement allows. This coa is very sharp, but occasionally, during the day, all the jimadores stop for a few minutes to sharpen it.

Some of them wear protectors on their pants that help protect them from the thorns, and the leg with the protector is the one they use to step on the agave and dig it up with the help of their coa. This will depend on whether they are tequila or mezcal; the tools can be different, for mezcal is a drink that uses a great variety of agaves.

Walking among the agaves, it is impossible not to get spiked, and when that happens, you remember to step back more carefully; the rule is simple: never walk backward, always in front.

The jimadores comment that when they start La Jima, their hands fill with blisters, blood and, usually, they get a fever for two days or more; this and long hours in the field, fatigue, sun, earth, sweat, hunger, and lack of shade is what makes you can take a shot of tequila or mezcal.

These aspects go unnoticed because we do not know them, but the fact that we do not see them does not mean that they do not exist and are indispensable to making tequila.

The work in the field is only one part of the process of making tequila or mezcal. It is the most crucial part because it is connected to nature and depends on the climate in which this plant develops. Still, at the same time, it depends on a person who takes care of the fields, cleans the weeds, and maintains these agaves so that they grow big enough and yield enough sugars to make the mezcal or tequila.

Every shot you take, you think about the work behind the drink, and by knowing the work and processes, you value more the mezcal or tequila you have in your hands. If you do not take it in a shot and enjoy it little by little, tequila or mezcal will taste tastier.

Salud!

Please share your opinion if you like this blog or are interested in drinks. Also, if you know someone interested in cocktails, drinks, and distillates, please tell them about this post.

Email me if you want your mezcal or tequila brand to stand out with attractive photos. I'd be happy to collaborate with you to create images that capture the essence of your brand.