My 20-year-old daughter and I went to the El Tapatio Tequila Factory for their tour. The distillery is in El Pitillal, which is located about 1 mile behind Wal-Mart. We took the bus to Wal-Mart and then took a taxi to the distillery. The taxi cost 30 pesos (about $3).
They have tours at 11:30am, 1pm, and 3pm every day (I don’t know about holidays). They have three different types of tours. For 75 pesos, you get the 30-minute tour, a welcome margarita, and tequila tasting. For 125 pesos, you get the same, plus the tour is 45 minutes and you get snacks (chips, salsa, guacamole, and tacos). For 250 pesos, the tour is 60 minutes and you get a Mexican buffet.
We made reservations for the short tour through our resort concierge. When we arrived, we were seated and three brightly dressed Mexican dancers danced for us. We were served our margaritas (blended or on the rocks). The margaritas were excellent. My daughter doesn’t like tequila, but she liked these.
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The tour was very basic. Our guide showed us the agave plant and explained how they harvest the plant. He explained the history of mescal and tequila. He showed how they do the distilling. It was short but informative.
We then did the tequila tasting. We tasted eight different tequilas. There were almond, coffee/chocolate, and cherry tequilas. There was one that was in a bottle shaped like a pregnant woman’s torso, which is reputed to be an aphrodisiac. The triple-distilled 100% agave tequilas are very smooth. And they said that 100% agave tequilas do not give you a hangover. My favorite was the almond-flavored tequila, which tasted like amaretto.
There prices for the tequila range from about $20 to $50 for a 750ml bottle. It is more than a bottle of Cuervo in the States, but sooooo much better. (Cuervo is only 51% agave.)
After the welcome margarita and eight samples, it was a good thing that we were taking the bus back to our resort. It was a good price for the tequila that we drank, plus the tour.